Choose the correct pair of articles to fill in the blanks in the given sentence.
________ cow is ________ useful animal.
Answer & explanation
Correct answer: option 2
The correct answer is Option (2) → the, a
Articles with a class of animals:
- "The" before a singular noun can stand for a whole class: "the cow" here means cows in general.
- "A" is used before a singular countable noun beginning with a consonant sound: "a useful animal" ("useful" begins with a "y" sound).
- Complete sentence: The cow is a useful animal.
Why the Other Options are Incorrect?
Option 1: a, an — Incorrect. "An useful" is wrong: "useful" begins with a "y" sound, a consonant sound, so it takes "a".
Option 3: an, the — Incorrect. "An cow" is wrong, because "cow" begins with a consonant sound, and "the useful animal" would point to one particular animal.
Option 4: an, an — Incorrect. Both are wrong: "an cow" and "an useful", since both words begin with consonant sounds.