Fill in the blank with the correct article.

They were too poor to afford _____ telephone

The correct answer is "a".

Key Points

• The indefinite article "a" is used before nouns that are indefinite or general in nature. In this sentence, "telephone" is not specific and refers to any telephone in general. Therefore, "a" is the appropriate article to use. And, also "telephone" begins with the consonant sound so "a" is the correct article to use.
• "An" is the indefinite article used before nouns that begin with a vowel sound. Since "telephone" begins with a consonant sound, "an" is incorrect in this sentence.
• "The" is the definite article used before a specific noun that is already known or has been previously mentioned. Since there is no specific telephone referred to in the sentence, "the" is incorrect.
• Thus, the correct answer is "a"

Correct Sentence: They were too poor to afford a telephone