Identifying the Grammatically Correct Sentence

The question asks us to select the sentence that is grammatically correct from the given options. To do this, we need to carefully examine each sentence for errors in grammar, particularly focusing on article usage (a, an, the) and sentence structure.

Analyzing Each Sentence for Grammatical Errors

Let's break down each option to identify any grammatical issues:

• Option 1: "The rider who met with a accident was not wearing a helmet, the police said."
  • The article 'a' is used before "accident". "Accident" starts with a vowel sound (/æ/). The correct indefinite article before a vowel sound is 'an'. So, it should be "an accident".
• Option 2: "The rider who met with an accident was not wearing an helmet, the police said."
  • The article 'an' is used before "helmet". "Helmet" starts with a consonant sound (/h/). The correct indefinite article before a consonant sound is 'a'. So, it should be "a helmet".
• Option 3: "A rider who met with the accident was not wearing the helmet, an police said."
  • The article 'an' is used before "police". "Police" starts with a consonant sound (/p/). The correct article here should be 'the' when referring to the police force as a source of information. So, it should be "the police said".
  • Also, while "A rider" is possible, "The rider" is more specific and likely fits the context of discussing a particular accident. "the accident" is appropriate if it refers to a specific, known accident. "the helmet" might be appropriate if a specific helmet is implied, but "a helmet" is more general and often correct when referring to one out of many.
• Option 4: "The rider who met with the accident was not wearing a helmet, the police said."
  • "The rider" refers to a specific rider involved.
  • "met with the accident" refers to a specific, known accident.
  • "not wearing a helmet" uses the indefinite article 'a' correctly before the consonant sound /h/ and refers to one out of many possible helmets (or the absence of any helmet).
  • "the police said" correctly uses 'the' before "police" when referring to the police force as a source.
  • The overall sentence structure and punctuation are correct for reporting a statement from the police.

Why Option 4 is Grammatically Correct

Based on the analysis, Option 4 correctly uses articles and follows standard sentence structure. The definite article 'the' is used for "rider" and "accident," suggesting specific entities known in the context. The indefinite article 'a' is used for "helmet," indicating any helmet. The phrase "the police said" is a standard way to attribute a statement.

Let's summarize the correct usage points seen in Option 4:

• Use 'the' before a noun when it is specific or already known (the rider, the accident).
• Use 'a' before a singular countable noun starting with a consonant sound (a helmet).
• Use 'the' before "police" when referring to the institution reporting information.

Revision Table: Common Article Errors

Additional Information: Understanding Articles

Articles are words that modify nouns. In English, the articles are 'a', 'an', and 'the'.

• Indefinite Articles (a, an): Used for singular, countable nouns when the noun is general or not specific.
  • Use 'a' before a noun starting with a consonant sound (a cat, a house, a uniform - because 'uniform' starts with a /j/ sound).
  • Use 'an' before a noun starting with a vowel sound (an apple, an hour - because 'hour' starts with an /aʊ/ sound).
• Definite Article (the): Used for specific or particular nouns, whether singular or plural, countable or uncountable.
  • Use 'the' when the noun has already been mentioned.
  • Use 'the' when the noun is unique (the sun, the moon).
  • Use 'the' before a superlative adjective (the best).
  • Use 'the' when the noun is made specific by a phrase or clause (the book on the table, the person who called).