The We say the when there is only one of : something ?What is the longest river in the world We went to the most expensive restaurant .in town The only television program he watches is . the news
Paris is the capital of France. Everybody left at the end of the meeting. The earth goes around the sun. The universe/ the moon/ the world. We say: the sea the sky the ground the countryside the country Would you rather live in a town or in the
country? (a rural area) Dont sit on the ground! Its wet. We looked up at all the stars in the sky. We say go to sea/ be at sea (without the) :when the meaning is go/be on voyage Ken is a seaman. He spends most of his life .at sea But: I would love to live near the sea ( not
near sea) We say space ( not the space) when we mean space in the universe: There are millions of stars in space. ( not in the space) But: He tried to park his car but the space wasnt big enough.
Cinema theater radio television : We say the cinema/ the theater . We went to the cinema last night ? Do you often go to the theater Note that when we say the cinema/ the theater we dont necessarily mean one . particular cinema or theater
: We usually say the radio . We often listen to the radio . I heard the news on the radio :But we usually say television .We often watch television . I watched the news on television But: can you turn off the television, please ? (the television set)
Meals: we dont normally use the with : the names of meals ?What time is lunch . We had dinner in a restaurant ?What did you have for breakfast . Ann invited me to (or for) dinner But we say a meal: We had a meal in a restaurant.
We also say a when there is an adjective before lunch/ breakfast Thank you. That was a very nice lunch. Revision : Fill in the blanks with some, a/an or ?Have you got ___ camera .Bill has got ___ big feet ? Do you collect___ stamps
!What___ beautiful garden You need ___ visa to visit ___ countries but not all of . them .Im staying with_____ friends Fill in the blanks with a/an or the: We live in ___ small flat, near __ center of the office. This is___ warm day we decided to sit in ___
garden. Paul went to ___ movies to see __ animal film. Irving speaks English to __ new student. Please hand me __ calculator? What do you usually have for__ breakfast? Ben has__ terrible headache.
!What __ expensive hat They have written ___ new book called the . inside out .What __ wonderful day .This has been ___ most wonderful day Dont put the glass on __ television, the water .may spill onto it
Uses of The Singular or plural Types of articles Articles
Nouns Both The = definite article a/an = indefinite
articles ( an= a e u I o) The a an Countable nouns Only singular
The = definite article The Uncountable nouns
- We use the + a singular countable noun to talk about a type of plant, animal.. etc. The rose is my favorite flower. The giraffe is the tallest of all animals. - In these examples, the doesnt mean one particular thing. The rose = roses in general. Note that we can also use a plural noun without the. For example: roses are my
favorite flowers. We use the + a singular countable noun when we talk about a type of machine, an . invention etc ? When was the telephone invented The bicycle is an excellent mean of . transport : We also use the for musical instruments
? Can you play the guitar . The piano is my favorite instrument The + adjective: We use the with some adjectives ( without a noun). The meaning is always plural. (the rich- the poor- the elderly the disabled) For example: the rich .. Here we mean rich
people in general. Do you think the rich should pay more taxes? The rich get rich, and the poor stay poor. We use the especially with these adjectives: The rich
The old The blind The sick The injured The poor The young The deaf
The dead The unemployed The man over there is collecting money for the blind. Why doesnt the government do more to help the unemployed? So, these expressions are always plural. You cannot say a blind or an
unemployed. You have to say a blind man , an unemployed woman The + nationality words: You can use the with some nationality adjectives when you mean the people of the country The French are famous for their food ( French people)
Why do the English think they are so wonderful? You can use the in this way with these nationality words: the British the Welsh the Spanish the Dutch the English the Irish the French The Swiss Also with nationality words ending in ese
( the Japanese, the Chinese ..) With other nationalities you have to use a :plural noun ending in s Russians) the( Italians) the( Arabs) the( Scots) the( Turks) the(
Plural and Uncountable Nouns with and without the We dont use the before a noun when we mean something in general: - I love flowers. ( flowers in general, not a particular group of flowers) - Doctors are paid more than teachers. - Crime is a problem in most big cities. (not
the crime) We say most people/ most dogs ( not the most) Most people like George. We say the.. when we mean something in particular: I like your garden. The flowers are beautiful
(not flowers are) ( the flowers= the flowers in your garden, not flowers in general) Children learn a lot from playing. (= children in general) But: we took the children to the zoo. ( = a particular group of children, perhaps the speakers own children) Salt is used to flavour food.
but: can you pass me the salt, please? (= the salt on the table) The difference between something in general and something in particular is .not always very clear I like working with people ( people in general) I like working with people who are lively ( not
all people but people who are lively is still a general idea) I like the people I work with ( particular group of people) Do you like apples? ( in general) Do you like red apples? ( not all apples but red apples in general) Do you like the apples we had with our
meal last night ( particular apples) Hospital/ the hospital, school/ .the school etc - Someone goes to hospital or is in hospital if he is ill or injured. We are not thinking of a particular hospital but we are thinking of the idea of hospital.
- Jack had an accident a few days ago. He had to go to hospital. He is still in hospital now. Jill went to the hospital to visit him. She is at the hospital now. Prison School University College Church We say: a criminal goes to prison ( not the
prison). a child goes to school. a student goes to university/ college. We dont use the when we are thinking of the idea of these places and what they are used for: After I leave school, I want to go to university ( as a student)
Why arent the children at school today? ( pupils) Mrs. Kelly goes to church every Sunday. ( for a religious service) Kens brother is in prison for robbery. ( He is a prisoner.) We say in prison but usually at school/university/college in/at church
Mr. Kelly went to the school to meet his daughters teacher ( he didnt go as a pupil) Excuse me, where is the university please? ( a particular building) The workmen went to the church to repair the roof ( not for a religious service) Ken went to the prison to visit his brother ( he went as a visitor)
Bed Work Home We say: go to bed/ be in bed ( not the bed) . Its time to go to bed now ? Is Tom still in bed We say: go to work/ be at work/ start work/ finish work ( not the work) Why isnt Ann at work today? What time do ? you finish work
Go home/ come home/ be at home / stay at home ( not the home) Come on! Lets go home. Will you be at home tomorrow? Theres no preposition with go/come/ arrive home ( not to home) Revision
:Fill in the blanks with the or . elephant is my favorite animal__ ?Who invented__ car . Braille is invented for __ blind . Joan is sick. He is at __ hospital now . All __ bicycles have wheels . Italians are famous of their creativity__ . She went to__ school for many years
.Dont jump on __ bed . Paul is in __ prison now to visit his brother Kids go to __ bed at 8:00 .I want to go __ home right now
