Can you say it a better way? Use two nouns together.
► (I read an interesting article in a newspaper yesterday.) / read an interesting newspaper article yesterday.
1 (Have you got any shirts made of cotton?)
2 (What shall I do with this bottle that had lemonade in it?;
3 (Have you got a bag to carry shopping in?)
4 (Is there a shop that sells shoes near here?)
5 (I'd like a table in the corner, please.)
6 (I'll need some boots to climb in.)
7 (Do you operate computers?)
3 Two nouns together (A-E)
Look at the definitions and write the words.
? a station from which trains leave a train station
? a bottle once containing medicine and made of glass a glass medicine bottle
1 a wall made of stone
2 a centre where information is given to tourists
3 a towel you use after having a bath
4 clothes for working in
5 a block of offices in the centre of a city
6 a graph showing sales
7 a card that gives you credit
8 a race for horses
9 the Director of Marketing
10 a tour by bicycle at the end of the week
TEST 14 Nouns and agreement (Units 76-82)
Test 14A
Some of these sentences are correct, and some have a word which should not be there. If the sentence is correct, put a tick (/). If it is incorrect, cross the unnecessary word out of the sentence and write it in the space.
? Would you like a piece of chocolate? /
? I like a classical music very much. a
1 That's a wonderful news!
2 Do you own a computer?
3 I heard an interesting piece of information today.
4 I saw your friend playing a golf.
5 There's some luggage in the car.
6 I bought a carton of some milk.
7 The gates were made of an iron.
8 You need an experience to run a business like this.
Test 14 B
Tessa is talking about her shopping trip. Write the missing words. Use one word only in each space.
I spent (►)some time looking round the shops in Oxford Street yesterday. I spent far too (1) money, of course. I bought some (2) ... : three dresses, a sweater, a blouse, two (3) . of
trousers and a skirt. I enjoyed myself- it was great (4) .. . The skirt is really nice. A hundred
pounds (5). .. ... quite expensive, but I couldn't resist it. Anyway, it was reduced from a hundred and
twenty pounds, so I made a (6) .. of twenty pounds. One of the dresses (7) ... fit, I've
discovered, but I can take it back next time I go. I had a wonderful time and bought all these lovely things, But it was very crowded. Everyone (8) .. rushing about. And the traffic (9) terrible. I
usually have a coffee and a (10) of cake, but the cafes were all full, so I didn't bother.
Test 14C
Complete the second sentence so that it has a similar meaning to the first. Use the word in brackets.
► Could I have some bread, please? (piece) Could I have a piece of bread, please ?
1 All the windows were broken, (every)
2 The money I earn isn't enough to live on. (earnings)
3 There were bits of paper everywhere, (litter)
4 We went to the hotel to get a meal, (food)
5 Judy bought some binoculars, (pair)
6 I need a new book of cheques, (cheque)
7 I'll have some orange juice, please, (glass)
8 The reporter needed some information, (two)
Test 14 D
Each of these sentences has a mistake in it. Write the correct sentence. ► Can you lend me some pen to write this cheque? Can you lend me a pen to write this cheque ?
1 We can't sit here because the grass are wet.
2 Do you want a butter on your bread?
3 All my belonging was stolen.
4 Do you have any informations about hotels?
5 The police is questioning two men.
6 Can we have two coffee, please?
7 The news aren't very good, I'm afraid.
8 I just want to go into this shoes shop.
9 It's only a short travel by train.
Test 14E
Choose the correct form.
► The house is built of stone/a stone.
1 Each team wear/wears a different colour.
2 Let me give you an advice/a piece of advice.
3 Everyone was watching the football match/the match of football.
4 We had to take our luggage through customs/a customs.
5 The band is/are proud of their success.
6 I haven't got many/much friends.
7 Three hours is/are long enough to look round the museum.
8 I wear this glass/these glasses when I go out.
9 My father had a job at the steelwork/steelworks.
10 We couldn't find an/any accommodation.
11 Do you eat meat/a meat?
12 The contents of the box was/were thrown away.
13 Noise/A noise woke me up in the middle of the night.
14 Cattle was/were driven hundreds of miles by the cowboys.
15 One of the windows is/are open.
16 What would it be like to travel at the speed of light/a light?
17 Is there a sport club/sports club near here?
18 E-mail is a relatively new mean/means of communication.
19 We make furniture out of many different wood/woods.
20 Someone has/have kidnapped the President!
83 A/an and the (1)
A Introduction
Read this true story about an American tourist in Britain.
A man from California was spending a month in Britain. One day he booked into a hotel in Cheltenham, a nice old town in the West of England. Then he went out to look around the place. But the man didn't return to the hotel. He disappeared, leaving a suitcase full of clothes behind. The police were called in, but they were unable to find out what had happened to the missing tourist. It was a mystery. But two weeks later the man walked into the police station in Cheltenham. He explained that he was very sorry, but while walking around the town, he had got lost. He had also forgotten the name of the hotel he had booked into. So he had decided to continue with his tour of the country and had gone to visit a friend in Scotland before returning to pick up the case he had left behind.
A/an goes only with a singular noun. With a plural or an uncountable noun we use some. He left a case, (singular) He left some cases, (plural) He left some luggage, (uncountable)
The goes with both singular and plural nouns and
with uncountable nouns.
He needed the case, (singular)
He needed the cases, (plural)
He needed the luggage, (uncountable)
B Use
When the story first mentions something, the noun has a or an.
A man booked into a hotel in Cheltenham.
These phrases are new information. We do not know which man or which hotel. But when the same thing is mentioned again, the noun has the.
The man didn't return to the hotel.
These phrases are old information. Now we know which man and which hotel - the ones already mentioned earlier in the story. We use the when it is clear which one we mean.
A/AN
Would you like to see a show?
(I don't say which show.)
The cyclist was hit by a car.
(I don't say which car.)
In the office a phone was ringing.
(The office has lots of phones.)
Has Melanie got a garden?
(We do not know if there is one.)
The train stopped at a station.
(We don't know which station.)
We took a taxi.
We could hear a noise.
I wrote the number on an envelope.
C A man/he and the man/someone
We use a/an + noun or someone/something when we aren't saying which one.
A man/Someone booked into a hotel.
He left a case/something behind.
THE
Would you like to see the show?
(= the show we already mentioned)
Whose is the car outside?
('Outside' explains which car I mean.
/ was in bed when the phone rang.
{ the phone in my house)
She was at home in the garden.
(We know she has one.)
Turn left here for the station.
(= the station in this town)
We went in the car. (= my/our car)
We could hear the noise of a party.
I wrote it on the back of an envelope.
We use the + noun or he/she/it when we know which one.
The man/He didn't return to the hotel.
The case/It contained clothes.
83 Exercises
1 The use of a/an and the (A-C)
Complete this true story. Put in a/an or the.
(►A man decided to rob (1)............................... bank in the town where he lived. He walked into (2)
bank and handed (3)........................... note to one of (4)............................. cashiers. (5) .. cashier
read (6) .. note, which told her to give (7)... .. man some money. Afraid that he might
have (8) .. gun, she did as she was told. (9)................................. man then walked out
of (10) .. building, leaving (11)............................. note behind. However, he had no time to
spend (12) .money because he was arrested (13)............................................. same day. He had
made (14)....................... mistake. He had written (15).................................. note on (16)........................... back
of (17) . envelope. And on (18).............................. other side of (19)...................... envelope was
his name and address. This clue was quite enough for (20)....................................... detectives on the case.
2 A man/he and the man/someone (C)
Replace the sentences which contain an underlined word. Use a/an or the with the word in brackets.
► We didn't have much time for lunch. David made something for us. (omelette) David made an omelette for us.
1 They ran the race before they held the long jump. Matthew won it easily, (race)
2 The driver turned left. Suddenly someone ran into the road, (child)
3 Vicky was lying on the sofa. She was watching something on television, (film)
4 I had to take a train and then a bus. It was half an hour late, (bus)
5 A shoplifter tried to steal some clothes. The camera videoed her, (thief)
3 The use of a/an and the (A-C)
Complete the conversations. Put in a/an or the.
► Laura: Look outside. The sky is getting very dark.
Trevor: I hope there isn't going to be a storm.
1 Mike: I'm going out for....................... walk. Have you seen my shoes?
2 Melanie: Would you like....................... tomato? There's one in...................... fridge.
David: Oh, yes, please. I'll make myself................................. cheese and tomato sandwich.
3 Sarah: If you're going into....................... city centre, can you post these letters for me?
Mark: Yes, I'll take them to............................. main post office.
4 Rita: I've got ................ problem with my phone bill. Can I see someone about it?
Receptionist: Yes, go to........................ fifth floor.......................... lift is along the corridor.
5 Tom: I didn't know Melanie had......................... dog.
David: It isn't hers. She's just taking it for a walk while....................................... owner is away.
6 Vicky: I've got........................ headache. I've had it all day.
Rachel: Why don't you go to....................... health centre? It's open until six.
7 Andrew: Guess what. I found....................... £50 note on the pavement this morning.
Jessica: You really ought to take it to...................... police station, you know.
84 A/an and the (2)
A Introduction
We use a/an and the when we aren't saying which one, and we use the when we know which one.
A tourist arrived in Cheltenham to look around the town. Look again at the story and the examples in Unit 83.
B The sun, etc
When there is only one of the things we are talking about, we use the.
The sun was going down. The government is unpopular.
A drive in the country would be nice. We shouldn't pollute the environment. Normally there is only one sun or one government in the context. We mean the government of our country and the sun in our solar system.
We normally say: the country(side), the earth, the environment, the government, the moon, the ozone layer, the Prime Minister, the sea(side), the sky, the sun, the weather
We also use the with cinema, theatre and (news)paper.
Do you often go to the cinema? I read about the accident in the paper.
Note that we say a/the police officer but the police.
A police officer came to the hotel. NOT A-police-came to-the hotel. The police came to the hotel. (= one or more police officers)
C A nice day, etc
A phrase which describes something has a/an.
It was a lovely day. Cheltenham is a nice old town.
It's a big hotel. This is a better photo. But we use the with a superlative.
It's the biggest hotel in town. This is the best photo.
We also use a/an to classify something, to say what kind of thing it is.
The play was a comedy. The man's disappearance was a mystery. We use a/an to say what someone's job is.
My sister is a secretary. Nick is a car salesman.
D A or an?
The choice of a or an and the pronunciation of the depend on the next sound.
a or the + consonant sound an or the + vowel sound
a cup the cup an aspirin the aspirin
a poster the poster an egg the egg
a shop etc an Indian etc
a boiled egg an old photo
a record an umbrella
It is the sound of the next word that matters, not the spelling.
a one-way street an open door
a uniform an uncle
a holiday an hour
a U-turn an MP
84 Exercises
The sun, etc (A-B)
Complete these sentences about pollution and the environment. Put in a/an or the. ► There was a programme on television about dangers to the environment.
1 There was also .................. article about pollution in .................. paper.
2. ozone layer will continue to disappear if we don't find way to stop it.
3 ..world's weather is changing. Pollution is having ............. effect on our climate.
............. best doctor I've ever had.
............ nicer person.
supermarket.
I went to see Doctor Pascoe yesterday. She's She's very nice, isn't she? You couldn't meet You were...................... long time at..................
Yes, I know. There was.................. enormous queue. I was thinking of complaining
to.................... manager.
Why were you late for your meeting?
Well, first I had to go to.................... hotel I'd booked into. I took . taxi