Choose the most appropriate article to fill in the blank:
From the top of the lighthouse, we watched a ship slowly disappear below ______ horizon.
Answer & explanation
Correct answer: option 1
The correct answer is Option (1) → the
Complete sentence: From the top of the lighthouse, we watched a ship slowly disappear below the horizon. The horizon is the line far away where the sky seems to meet the sea or the land. There is only one horizon.
| Option | When to use | Example |
|---|---|---|
| (1) the (answer) | before a thing that is only one of its kind, like “the sky” | We watched the moon rise over the river. |
| (2) an | before a vowel sound; “horizon” begins with a clear h sound, which is a consonant sound | The lighthouse keeper gave us an old map of the coast. |
| (3) a | “A” means any one of many things; there are not many horizons to choose from | We saw a fishing boat near the shore. |
| (4) No article | plural or uncountable nouns used in a general sense; “horizon” is a singular noun that can be counted, so it needs an article | Ships use lighthouses to find the coast. |