Talking in general: no article and a/an

Use indefinite article a / an

• when first describing something, or making a general statement about something not known or without any details. Use an when the word following begins with a vowel.

Suddenly a man appeared outside the window.

That is an interesting point.

• to give an example.

A thermometer is used for measuring temperature.

• to describe one of a class of things or people.

Paula is an Italian.

She's a teacher.

It's a racing bike.

• for rates and speeds etc.

Same people can cycle at 50 km an hour.

Phil earns €500 a month.

• to mean one.

What would you like to eat? Can I have a banana?

• to refer to large whole numbers, fractions, weights and distances.

a hundred a million a third a fifth two and a half a kilo a metre and a half

• with a headache, a cold etc.

I've got a headache / a toothache / an earache.

Have you got a cold?

Note that most illness words use zero article.

I've got fiu.

She's suffering from appendicitis.

• in the expressions what a... !, such a... !

We use what a ... when we are surprised or impressed by something.

What a fantastic idea!

What a great bike you have got!

We use such a ... for emphasis with singular nouns.

This is such a difficult problem!

Thanks, you've been such a good friend

• to describe one example of a set of things.

That's a Picasso. (a work of art)

This is a Robbie Williams song.

Use definite article the

• with things or people already mentioned.

First, I take a test tube. Then into the test tube I pour 50 cc of water

• when a noun is made definite by details following it.

That man outside was the man that the police were looking for.

• when we definitely know what is being talked about.

Are you going to the post office? Can you get me same stamps?

Pass me the salt, please.

• with nationality adjectives that refer to all the people of that nationality, e.g. Chinese, Japanese, French, Spanish, British, Swiss.

The French drink a lot of wine.

The Swiss are famous for their banks.

• with plural nationality nouns in same way, eg Russians, Americans, Poles, Greeks, Turks.

The Russians and the Poles are used to cold weather.

• with a singular noun to describe a class of things.

The car has taken over our cities.

• with the names of shops and places with a general reference.

Anna's at the cinema / the supermarket / in the garden / in the mountains / at the beach etc.

• with some familiar objects when we think of them as the only one.

One moment the Sun was shining in the sky Then the Moon seemed to rise out of the sea.

• with the names of oceans.

They crossed the Pacific in a small boat.

Use zero article

• to describe something general or uncountable.

Love makes the world go round.

Water boils at 100°e.

Same people believe that men and women think differently

• with proper names, though these can begin with the if they have details following them.

Kate lives in Manchester in a little street called Green Street.

This is Mary Smith. She is the Mary Smith I told you about.

• with general examples, countable or uncountable.

Doctors often have to work more than a hundred hours a week.

Water is a scarce resource in many parts of the world.

• to talk about school subjects, such as geography, history etc.

If you want to study physics, you have to be good at maths.

• to refer to days, months or parts of the day.

I’ll see you on Monday at midday.

School begins in September.

• with continents, countries, lakes, mountains etc. When plural, we use the.

Lake Geneva borders France and Switzerland

From here you can see the Alps.

• with at home, at school, in hospital, in prison, in bed when we speak in general.

David isn't at school today. He's in bed at home.

But when referring to something other people know about, e.g. a specific place, building etc we use the.

The bus stops outside the school.

Leave the towels on the bed.

• with such ... for emphasis with plural or uncountable nouns.

You are such noisy children!

This is such wonderful ice cream!

(INTERMEDIATE)

Exercise 1. Underline the correct word.

a. I don’t like that coat. The / A colour is horrible.

b. He doesn't like going to see the / a dentist.

c. She asked for the / a cup of coffee, but she got tea instead.

d. The / A laboratory is a place where scientific experiments are done.

e. I don't believe he's the / a policeman, he looks too young!

f. She is a / an intelligent woman.

g. I went to the / a bank today and they said I didn't have any money!

h. Who left the / a door open?

i. A / An hotel is more expensive than a / an youth hostel.

j. The / A film starts at half past seven.

Exercise 2. Underline the correct option. This may include a space (-) for zero article.

a. The / - Republic of Slovenia lies at a / the heart of the / - Europe.

b. It is where the / - Alps face the / - Pannonian plains and the / - Mediterranean meets

the / - Karst region.

c. To the north is the / - Austria and the / - Hungary is to the / - east.

d. To the south is the / - Croatia and to the west is the / - Italy.

e. A / The / - weather here is ideal for the / - holidays.

f. There are approximately 2,000 hours of a / the / - sunshine per year, and there is plenty of the / - snow in winter.

g. There are many woods and forests covering more than half of a / the / - country.

h. In the / - Kocevje area in one of a / the / - oldest forests in the / - Europe, it is possible to walk among the trees for days.

Exercise 3. Choose the correct form, A, B or C, to complete the sentence.

a. If you want to be healthier, think carefully about B you eat.

A food B the food C a food

b. If you don't enjoy ..., I do something else.

A the exercise B an exercise C exercise

c. Try learning .....

A a new sport B new sport C the new sport

d. Sometimes the food you eat is less important than ....

A food you don't eat B a food you don't eat C the food you don't eat

e. Do you eat enough …?

A fruit and vegetables B the fruit and vegetables C fruit and the vegetables?

f. There is a saying, ‘… a day keeps the doctor away.'

A The apple B A apple C An apple

g. … chocolate cake should only be eaten occasionally.

A The piece of B Piece of C A piece of

h. Stress also makes … unhealthy.

A the people B people C a people

i. If you've had …, try and do something nice for yourself.

A the bad day B bad day C a bad day

j. You could visit a friend or go to

A cinema B the cinema C a cinema

Exercise 4. Complete the text a / an or the.

Exercise 5. Complete the text with a/an, the or leave blank for zero article.

Exercise 6. Complete the text with a/an, the or leave blank for zero article.

Exercise 7. Complete the text with a/an, the or leave blank for zero article.

Exercise 8. Complete the text with a/an, the or leave blank for zero article.

a. – people often say they have flu when all they have is … cold and ... slight temperature.

b. … full name of flu is ... influenza.

c. … real flu is caused by … virus.

d. There are many different kinds of ... flu virus.

e. They give you ... high temperature, aching muscles and … headache.

f. They also give you ... cold shivers and … feeling of …tiredness.

g. You may also get ... cough.

h. There is no treatment as antibiotics cannot kill … viruses.

i. You should go to … bed and rest.

j. If you go to … school and mix with others, you will spread … virus to them, so it is better to stay at … home until you feel better.

Exercise 9. Complete the text with a/an, the or leave blank for zero article.

Exercise 10. Complete the text with a/an, the or leave blank for zero article.

Exercise 11. Complete the text with a/an, the or leave blank for zero article.

Talking in general: no article and a/an

1 when we talk about something in general, we use plural or uncountable nouns without the.

Shoes are expensive. (= shoes in general)

Milk is good for you. (= milk in general)

When we talk about something in particular, we use the.

These are the shoes which I bought last week. (= the particular shoes which I bought last week)

Could you pass the milk, please? (= the particular milk on the table)

More examples:

General Particular

I like horses. Look at the horses in that field.

Life isn't easy. I've got a book about the life of J. F. Kennedy.

He only cares about money. Where is the money I gave you yesterday?

It’s not always easy to know if something is general or particular. For example:

General Particular

I enjoy talking to old people. (= old people in general) Do you know the old people sitting over there?

(= the particular old people sitting over there)

2 we can also talk about something in general by using a/an (meaning ‘any’) with a singular countable noun.

A vegetarian doesn't eat meat.

An architect designs buildings.

EXERCISES

I Add the where necessary.

I find history an interesting subject. We studied the history of the Spanish Civil War at school.

1 Andrew hates ___examinations.

2 How did you get on in ___examinations yesterday?

3 Do you take ___sugar in ____coffee?

4 'Where is ___coffee I bought?' 'It's in ___kitchen.'

5 I'm a vegetarian, I don't eat ___meat or ___fish.

6 I'll put ____shopping away. Shall I put ____meat into ___freezer?

7 Do you like ____English beer?

8 Do you think ____love is the most important thing in ___life?

II Rephrase these general statements using a/an, as in the example.

Example: Carpenters make things from wood. A carpenter makes things from wood.

1 Florists sell flowers.

2 Children need love.

3 Corkscrews take corks out of bottles

4 Large cars are expensive to run.

5 Teetotallers don't drink alcohol.

Date: 2014-12-29; view: 5252