Fill in the blank with a suitable Article if necessary :
I don't think ________ mother is home yet.
Answer & explanation
Correct answer: option 4
The correct answer is Option (4) → zero article
Complete sentence: I don't think Mother is home yet. The speaker means his or her own mother.
| Option | When to use | Example |
|---|---|---|
| (1) a | "A mother" means any mother. The speaker is talking of a particular person, his or her own mother. | – |
| (2) an | An goes before a vowel sound, and "mother" begins with a consonant sound. It would also mean any mother. | – |
| (3) the | One does not speak of one's own mother as "the mother". "The mother" is used for someone else's mother already mentioned (the mother of the child). | – |
| (4) zero article (answer) | Words such as Mother, Father, Uncle, Grandma, when used by members of a family for their own relative, act like a proper noun (a name). A name takes no article, so nothing comes before "mother". | Father has gone to the market. |
Contrast: one's own "mother", used like a name, takes no article. "The mother" is someone else's mother already mentioned.