Question

Fill in the blank with a suitable article from the options given. __________ little knowledge is ________ dangerous thing.
a. A, a
b. The, a
c. No article, a
d. No article, the

Answer 1

Hint: Articles are used to define a noun. There are two types of articles - definite and indefinite. The definite article, the, is used to indicate something specific. Indefinite articles, a and an are used to indicate something unspecific.

Complete answer:
From the hint given to us, we understand the meaning of articles. Articles are always placed before a noun or at the beginning of a noun phrase. For example, The little boy was searching for his mother. Let us now analyse the given options one by one.

a. In the first option, we are given two indefinite articles. We observe that in the first blank, an article does not fit correctly. Hence, we can say that option ‘a’ is not the correct answer.
b. In the second option, we are given one definite article and one indefinite article. We observe that in the first blank, an article does not fit correctly. Hence, we can say that option ‘b’ is not the correct answer.
c. In the third option, we are given no article and one indefinite article. We observe that the first blank does not require any article and the second blank requires an indefinite article. Hence, we can say that option ‘c’ is the correct answer.
d. In the fourth option, we are given no article and one definite article. We observe that ‘dangerous thing’ is not specific and thus, does not require a definite article. Hence, option ‘d’ is not the correct answer.
Thus, we can conclude that the correct answer is option ‘c’ - No article, a.

Note: It is to be noted that articles are not used before proper, plural uncountable and abstract nouns. The indefinite article ‘a’ is placed before a word that begins with a consonant. The indefinite article ‘a’ is placed before a word that begins with a vowel.