Fill in the blanks with correct articles in English

Though 'useful' begins with a vowel letter 'u', it starts with a consonant sound /juː/ (like 'you'). Therefore, 'a useful metal' is correct. Articles are determined by sound, not spelling. 'An' would be incorrect here because the initial sound is consonantal.

'Honorable' begins with a vowel sound /ɒ/ (like 'ah'), even though it starts with 'h'. The 'h' is silent, so 'an honorable man' is correct. This follows the rule that articles are based on pronunciation, not spelling. 'A honorable' would be incorrect.

'Able' begins with a vowel sound /eɪ/, so 'An able man' is grammatically correct. The article choice depends on the initial sound, not the first letter. The construction means 'a man who is capable' and follows standard article rules.

When describing a city as one of many with a characteristic, we use the indefinite article. 'Banaras is a holy city' is correct because there are many holy cities in the world. 'The holy city' would suggest Banaras is the ONLY holy city, which isn't true (Mecca, Jerusalem, etc.).

'The truth' is the correct idiomatic expression. Truth is treated as a definite abstract noun here - the concept of truth as a singular, universal quality. 'A truth' would mean one particular truth among many (like 'a little white lie'), but the context means truthfulness as a virtue.

'The' is used here because the speaker likely points to a specific sky visible to both people. 'THE blue sky' refers to the particular sky being observed at that moment. While 'A blue sky' could work in generic contexts, 'the' fits when pointing out or referencing the sky present in the shared situation.

'Young' begins with a consonant sound /j/, so 'a young Parsee' is correct. 'Parsee' (also spelled Parsi) refers to a Zoroastrian of Persian descent in India. The article follows the standard rule: consonant sound gets 'a', vowel sound gets 'an'.

Use 'a' before words beginning with consonant sounds. 'Magical' starts with the consonant sound /m/, not a vowel sound, so 'a' is correct.

'Happy' begins with the consonant sound /h/, so it takes the article 'a'. The sentence describes a general, non-specific place, not a particular one.

'Hour' starts with a vowel sound /aʊ/ because the 'h' is silent. Always use 'an' before words beginning with vowel sounds, regardless of spelling.

The sun is a unique celestial body - there is only one sun in our solar system. Unique things take the definite article 'the'.

The sentence refers to a specific, particular school known to both speaker and listener. Specific nouns take 'the' - compare with 'A school will shortly close' (any school).

'A year ago' is a fixed time expression using the indefinite article 'a'. It means 'one year' without specifying which year.

'Difficult' begins with the consonant sound /d/, so use 'a'. The sentence treats Sanskrit as one of many languages, not the only one.

'European' begins with the consonant sound /j/ (like 'you-r-oh-pee-an'), not a vowel sound. Articles depend on pronunciation, not spelling.

The Yamuna is a specific, unique river. Proper names of rivers take the definite article 'the'.

The sentence describes the Ganga as one of many sacred rivers, not the only sacred river. When something represents a category, use 'a'.

'King of the forest' is a unique title - there is only one king in a forest. Unique, one-of-a-kind roles take the definite article 'the'.

'Fool' is a singular countable noun in a general statement. Use 'a' for singular, non-specific people or things.

Use 'a' before consonant sounds. 'Holy' starts with 'h' (a consonant sound), so 'a holy river' is correct. The word 'The' in 'The Ganga' is part of the river's proper name, not the article filling the blank.

Country names that include political entities like 'United', 'Republic', 'Kingdom', or 'States' take 'the'. USA stands for 'United States of America' - a plural political union, so 'the USA' is correct.

'Special' starts with consonant sound 's', so use 'a'. The sentence makes a general statement about rice being a special crop in China, not referring to one specific crop.

'Angry' starts with vowel sound 'æ', so use 'an'. 'An angry look' is the correct phrase. Even though 'angry' is spelled with 'a', we focus on the sound, not the letter.

In exclamations starting with 'What', use 'a/an' before singular countable nouns. 'Lovely' starts with consonant sound 'l', so 'What a lovely scene!' follows the correct exclamatory structure.