Fill in the Blanks

‘Lie’ means recline. ‘Lay’ means to put down. 

Its ‘go on foot’, which means ‘walk’.

‘Latter’ denotes the second of two, distinguished from former.

‘Back’ is the answer.

'During' expresses a period of time or duration.

'Useful' begins with a consonant sound /j/ (as in 'you'), not a vowel sound, so the correct article is 'a.' Articles are determined by the spoken sound that follows, not the written letter. Even though 'useful' starts with 'u,' it takes 'a' because the /j/ sound is consonantal.

'Wonderful' starts with the consonant sound /w/, so the correct article is 'a.' This follows the standard rule: 'a' before consonant sounds, 'an' before vowel sounds. The choice depends on pronunciation, not spelling.

'European' begins with a consonant sound /j/ (like 'you'), not a vowel sound, so 'a' is correct. This is a classic example where spelling can be misleading - the first letter is 'e' but the sound is consonantal. Articles follow pronunciation, not orthography.

'The sun' requires the definite article 'the' because 'sun' is a unique entity in our solar system - there is only one. When referring to singular, one-of-a-kind natural objects (the sun, the moon, the sky), we always use 'the.' 'A' or 'an' would imply there are multiple suns to choose from.

'Honourable' begins with a vowel sound /ɒ/ (the 'h' is silent), so the correct article is 'an.' In words where 'h' is silent (honour, hour, honest), we use 'an' because the first sound is a vowel. This distinguishes it from words with pronounced 'h' like 'happy' or 'house' where we'd use 'a.'

'Untidy' begins with a vowel sound /ʌ/ (as in 'up'), so 'an' is the correct article. The choice of article depends on whether the word starts with a vowel or consonant sound when spoken. Since 'untidy' is pronounced starting with a vowel, it requires 'an.'

The phrase 'the blue sky' requires the definite article 'the' because it refers to a specific, identifiable sky - the one we can all see above us. When pointing out something visible or specific in context, 'the' is appropriate. 'A blue sky' would suggest any blue sky in general, not the one we're looking at.

'The girl' is correct because the speaker is referring to a specific, identifiable person - the one sitting there. When we point out someone particular in context (someone both speaker and listener can see or know), we use the definite article 'the.' 'A girl' would refer to any unspecified girl.

'Easy' begins with a vowel sound /i:/ (as in 'ee'), so 'an' is the correct article. The word 'easy' starts with a vowel when pronounced, requiring 'an' rather than 'a.' This follows the basic rule of using 'an' before vowel sounds and 'a' before consonant sounds.

When identifying the single longest item in a category (the longest river, the tallest building, the deepest ocean), we use 'the' with the superlative form. 'The longest river' is correct because there is only one longest river, making it unique and definite. 'A' or 'an' would incorrectly suggest there are multiple longest rivers.