I saw ____ one-eyed beggar near the market yesterday.

2026

I saw ____ one-eyed beggar near the market yesterday.

Answer: A. aConceptThe choice between ‘a’ and ‘an’ depends on the first pronounced sound of the following word or phrase, not on its first written letter. Use ‘a’ before…

  1. A.

    a

  2. B.

    the

  3. C.

    an

  4. D.

    No article needed

Attempted by 9 students.

Show answer & explanation

Correct answer: A

Concept

The choice between ‘a’ and ‘an’ depends on the first pronounced sound of the following word or phrase, not on its first written letter.

Use ‘a’ before a consonant sound and ‘an’ before a vowel sound. ‘The’ marks an identifiable noun, while the zero article omits a determiner only in contexts that permit it.

Application

  1. Pronounce ‘one-eyed’ as /wʌn aɪd/.

  2. Its first sound is /w/, which is a consonant sound.

  3. ‘Beggar’ is a singular countable noun introduced for the first time, so the required phrase is ‘a one-eyed beggar’.

Cross-check and contrast

  • ‘a’ precedes the consonant sound /w/ in ‘one-eyed’.

  • ‘an’ is reserved for a following vowel sound.

  • ‘the’ would require the beggar to be specific or already identifiable from the context.

  • No article would leave this singular countable noun phrase without the required determiner.

Result: The complete sentence is ‘I saw a one-eyed beggar near the market yesterday.’

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