Choose correct article for the blank : This wine is ......... expensive.

Question

Accepted Answer

The correct option is 4:
The sentence "This wine is ......... expensive" uses the adjective "expensive" to describe the uncountable noun "wine." In this specific construction, where the subject ("This wine") is modified by a general adjective ("expensive"), the use of an article is grammatically incorrect because the word "expensive" itself acts as the predicate adjective completing the sentence's meaning. Articles like 'a', 'an', or 'the' are generally used before nouns, or before adjectives that immediately precede a noun, but not before an adjective standing alone after a linking verb (like 'is') to describe the subject. Since the word 'expensive' is functioning as a complement to the verb 'is' and describing the wine generally, no article is required, resulting in the correct sentence: "This wine is expensive." The use of a Zero article (no article) correctly reflects the standard syntactic rule for adjectives in this position.

The incorrect option is 1 (an): The indefinite article 'an' is used before singular, countable nouns starting with a vowel sound, but it is not used directly before an adjective like "expensive" when the adjective is not followed by a noun, or when the noun ("wine") is uncountable. Using "an" here would suggest a missing countable noun.

The incorrect option is 2 (the): The definite article 'the' is used to refer to specific or previously mentioned nouns. Although 'wine' is identified by 'This', the article 'the' is still incorrect when placed directly before the adjective "expensive" functioning as a predicate adjective. We would not say "This wine is the expensive."

The incorrect option is 3 (a): The indefinite article 'a' is only used before singular, countable nouns starting with a consonant sound. Since 'wine' is an uncountable noun in this context and 'expensive' is not followed by a singular countable noun, 'a' is grammatically inappropriate.