The Definite Article THE

We use the:

We do not use the:

· with nouns which are unique. E.g. theSun, the Eiffel Tower · with the names of cinemas (the Rex), hotels (the Carlton), theatres (theGlobe), museums (theBritish Museum), newspapers/magazines (theTimes but:Time magazine), ships (the Mary Rose), organizations (the EU), galleries (theTate Gallery). · with the names of rivers (the Nile), seas (theCaspian Sea), groups of islands/states (the Canary Islands, the USA), mountain ranges (the Alps) deserts (theSahara Desert), oceans (the Atlantic), canals (the Panama Canal), names with ‘of’ (the Leaning Tower of Pisa) NOTE: theequator, the North/South (Pole), the north of England · with the names of musical instruments and dances E.g. the piano, the tango · with the names of families (the Greens), nationalities ending in -sh, -ch or -ese (the French, the British, the Japanese). Other plural nationalities are used with or without the (the Americans, the Greeks) · with titles (the King, thePrince of Wales, the President) But: The is omitted before titles with proper names (Queen Victoria) · with adjectives/adverbs in the superlative form. E.g. He’s the most respected man in the firm.But:When most is followed by a noun, it does not take the. E.g. Most children like cartoons. · with the words morning, afternoon, evening and night. E.g. We eat dinner in the evening. But: at night, at noon, at midnight, by day/night, at 4 o’clock, etc. · with historical periods/events, E.g. theMiddle Ages, the Crimean War (but: World War II) · with the words only, last, first (used as adjectives) E.g. He was the first person to arrive.

· with uncountable and plural countable nouns when talking about something in general, that is, when we cannot answer the question ‘Who?’ or ‘Which?’ E.g. Fish live in water. · with proper names. E.g. Mark lives in Brighton. · with names of sports, games, activities, days, months, celebrations, colours, drinks, meals and languages (when they are not followed by the word ‘language’) E.g. I often play chess. We speak German. But:The German language is difficult to learn. · with the names of countries (Italy, but: the Netherlands, theLebanon, the Sudan, theVatican City), cities (Paris, but: the Hague), streets (Oxford Street, but: theHigh Street, theStrand, the Mall, theLondon road, the A19, the M6 motorway), squares (Trafalgar Square), bridges (Tower Bridge, but: theBridge of Sighs, theHumber Bridge), parks (Hyde Park), railway stations (Victoria Station), mountains (Ben Nevis), individual islands (Tahiti), lakes (Lake Geneva), continents (Asia) · with possessive adjectives or the possessive case E.g. That is my car. · with two-word names when the first is the name of a person or place E.g. Kennedy Airport, Windsor Castle but the White House (because ‘White’ is not the name of a person or place) · with names of pubs, restaurants, shops, banks and hotels named after the people who started them and end in –s or –’s (Lloyds Bank, Harrods, Dave’s Pub but: the Red Lion (because ‘Red’ is not the name of a person or place)) · with the words bed, church, college, court, hospital, prison, school, universitywhen we refer to the purpose for which they exist. E.g. Sarah went to university. (She is a student.) But:Her father went to the school to see her teacher yesterday. · with the word work (= place of work). E.g. He is at work. · with the words home, Father/Mother when we talk about our own home/parents. E.g. Father is at home. · With by + means of transport: by car/bus, etc. E.g. She travelled by train. But: She left on the 8 o’clock train this morning. · with the names of illnesses. E.g. He’s got malaria.But: flu/the flu, measles/the measles, mumps/the mumps

Note:

· We use the with words beach, station, cinema, theatre, coast, country(side), ground, jungle, seaside, weather, world, shop, library, city, sea (But: to be at sea = to be sailing), etc. E.g. Let’s go to the beach. We spent the weekend in the country.

· We usually don’t use the with the word television. E.g. I like watching television in the evening. But: Turn on the television. (the television set)

· The is optional with seasons. E.g. My favourite season is (the) spring.

· We use the + adjective to refer to a group of people usually with adjectives: poor, rich, sick, injured, elderly, unemployed, homeless, disabled, young, old, dead, blind, deaf, mentally ill. E.g. The young are usually impatient.

2. Fill in the gaps with one of the words from the list adding the where necessary. Use each word twice.

prison, school, bed, sea, hospital

1. The minute we reached the beach, the children ran into _________. 2. My brother is in the navy. He is at _______ for months sometimes. 3. I usually go to _________ about 11 pm to get a good night’s sleep. 4. The cat is sleeping on ________. 5. The Prime Minister visited _________ yesterday and talked to the prisoners. 6. The man who robbed the bank is in ________ now. 7. The ambulance took the injured people to _________. 8. I must go to _________ to visit my aunt. She’s had an operation. 9. We saw the children in their classrooms as we walked past _________. 10. I want to go to university when I leave __________.

3. Choose the correct alternative.

1. Catherine loves cats / the cats. 2. Look at cats / the cats. 3. I don’t like coffee / the coffee but I like tea / the tea. 4. You cut cake / the cake and I’ll pour coffee / the coffee. 5. Life / The life will be different in the future. 6. Life / The life of a mayfly is extremely short. 7. I enjoy swimming / the swimming in the sea. 8. Children / The children usually like playing games. 9. Children / The children have gone to the park. 10. All people / the people in this room are my relatives. 11. All people / the people should have freedom of speech. 12. Villages / The villages in this part of the country are very beautiful 13. Breakfast / The breakfast is the most important meal of day / the day. 14. Paul was only / the only person who remembered me. 15. In Stone Age / the Stone Age, people lived in caves. 16. I would like to travel to Spain / the Spain. 17. We travelled to London by train / the train. 18. He is learning to play flute / the flute.

4. Fill in a, an, the where necessary.

1. Shall we have ____ lunch at ____ home or go to ____ Royal Oak? 2. ____ Prince Philip visited ____ Royal Albert Hall yesterday. 3. ____ Peter’s Bar is situated in ____ Terminal 1 at ____ Heathrow Airport. 4. ____ Browns were ____ first to leave ____ party at ____ midnight. 5. We landed at ____ Charles de Gaulle airport in ____ Paris and were met by ____ ambassador in person. 6. Tim’s gone to ____ hospital to pick up ____ results of ____ tests ____ Mum had ____ last week. 7. ____ most world maps are out of date now, due to ____ political events which have taken place recently. 8. ____ Chicago Bulls, from ____ USA are one of ____ best-known basketball teams. 9. When ____ Berlin Wall was pulled down it was ____ great moment in ____ history. 10. Lots of people go for ____ exotic holidays in ____ Asia, but you must take care not to catch ____ malaria. 11. We decided to go to ____ island of Sicily last summer and we’ve decided to go to ____ island again this year; either to ____ Rhodes or ____Canaries. 12. In ____ Jerusalem we visited ____ Dome of the Rock and ____ Church of the Holy Sepulchre and saw the site of ____ Solomon’s Temple. 13. Lots of people are without jobs in ____ city, so ____ government has decided to give ____ unemployed special benefits. 14. Tarzan, ____ Lord of ____ Jungle, had a friend called ____ Cheetah. 15. Many people go climbing in ____ mountains like ____ Alps or ____ Himalayas. 16. ____ English spend their holiday in hot countries because they enjoy going to ____ beach. 17. ____ royal yacht sailed across ____ Indian Ocean. 18. You’ll find my house if you walk along ____ Green Street and turn right into ____ High Street. 19. Many of ____ England’s young men died in ____ First World War. 20. ____ Vatican City is one of ____ most beautiful places in ____ Rome. 21. ____ people from ____ Brazil dance ____ samba really well. 22. We went to ____ pub rather than ____ cinema because ____ Father wanted to.

5. Fill in the correct article.

A) ____ football team who have won ____ World Cup ____ most times is ____ Brazil. They have won ____ competitions four times. ____ team also hold ____ record for ____ greatest number of ____ goals scored overall and have played in every one of ____ tournament’s finals.

B) ____ tallest man in ____ world was born in ____ USA in 1918. His name was ____ Robert Wadlow and ____ last time he was measured, in 1940, he had reached a height of 2.72 m. His hands were 32.4 cm from ____ wrist to tip of ____ middle finger.

C) ____ David was waiting at ____ King’s Cross Station. He was about to travel to ____ Newcastle by ____ train for ____ job interview. However, ____ train was late and he had been standing on ____ platform for over ____ hour.

D) I take ____ bus to ____ school every day I leave ____ house at eight o’clock in ____ morning. It is ____ five-minute walk from my house to ____ bus-stop. ____ journey to school takes about ____ quarter of ____ hour.

E) ____ Queen is going to visit ____ Bridgeford next week to open ____ new hospital which has been built in ____ town. It will be ____ exciting event which all ____ local people will attend.

F) ____ Stuart has got ____ cold, so he has to stay in ____ bed. His mother has made him ____ bowl of soup and he has got ____ box of tissues on his ____ bedside table. He will probably spend most of ____ day sleeping.

6. Read the following proverbs and fill in a, an, the or -.

1. ____ Rome wasn’t built in ____ day. 2. ____ actions speak louder than ____ words. 3. ____ apple ____ day keeps ____ doctor away. 4. When in ____ Rome, do as Romans do. 5. Where there is ____ will, there is ____ way. 6. You can’t teach ____ old dog ____ old tricks. 7. You can’t get ____ blood from ____ stone. 8. You can’t make ____ omelette without breaking ____ eggs. 9. ____ more you get, ____ more you want. 10. ____ more ____ merrier. 11. ____ home is where ____ heart is. 12. Fire is ____ good servant but ____ bad master.

UNIT 2

Дата добавления: 2015-08-18