Names of shops and other businesses

Shops and other businesses that are regular features in towns or cities can be used with the definite article when you do not want to pick out a particular one:

He’s at the dentist’s.

Mother sent me to the butcher’s to get a nice joint of beef.

Some words like this are:

baker’s bank pub

barber’s dentist’s

doctor’s greengrocer’s

hairdresser’s post office

In these cases the activity is as important as the place. You go “ to the post office ” to get some stamps, “ to the bank ” to get some money.

If you want to have some drink you can say “ Let’s go to the pub ” without having a particular one in mind. But of course the difference is not always clear, or important.

When he tired of painting he went to the pub.

Names of languages and religions

· Names of languages and religions are used without any article unless the nouns language and religions are mentioned: English, French, Hinduism.

But: the English language, the Italian language, the Hindu religion.

Note. Notice the phrases: Translated from the German. and What is the French for "book"?

· Names of languages and religions are used with the definite article if they have been made definite:

The Spanish in the movie I saw last week was poorly pronounced.

Names of grammati­cal categories

· We find the definite article with names of some grammati­cal categories, such as names of tenses, moods, voices, cases and others: the Past Indefinite, the Passive Voice, the Conditional Mood, the Genitive Case.

· Use the indefinite article if you want to describe one particular instance: Singing is a Present Participle.

Practice

Exercise 1. In the sentences below, only one of the underlined noun groups is appropriate. Cross out the one that is wrong.

1. A train/The train would be best; it leaves every hour. 2. He was a supreme master of ballet/a ballet. 3. Both of them found work in hospital/the hospital. 4. Can you play a guitar/the guitar? 5. Lithuanian borders were set up in the spring/a spring. 6. Since they built the bridge no one uses a ferry/the ferry any more. 7. She has returned to a theatre/the theatre after an absence of five years. 8. She could not imagine people going to church/the church looking so dull and unhappy. 9. I once played a guitar/the guitar which had only five strings. 10. In a summer/summer it’s hot but in winter/a winter it’s very cold. 11. Next year you’ll be able to go by hovercraft; they’re starting a new service. It’ll be much quicker than a boat/the boat. 12. Our lives are dominated by televisions/a television. 13. The door was closed when I went to bed/the bed. 14. She started learning a piano/the piano at the age of five. 15. During a day/the day it was very hectic but at the night/night it was desolate.

Exercise 2. In the sentences below, only one of the underlined noun groups is appropriate. Cross out the one that is wrong.

1. You’ll have no trouble getting home; a bus/the bus doesn’t stop running till midnight. 2. This town is boring. What we need is a cinema/the cinema. 3. We drove to university/the university, opposite which was a temple. 4. I’ve always had a flute/the flute, ever since I was a child. 5. What are you doing after lunch on Tuesday/a Tuesday? 6. There are many ways for tourists to get around London. If you don’t mind travelling in tunnels, take an underground/the underground; if you like to see where you’re going, sit on the top deck of a bus/the bus; and if you’re in a hurry, take a taxi/the taxi. 7. “You’re dressed up.” – “Yes, we’re going to opera/the opera. ” 8. Robert moved closer to the bed/bed. 9. I’m afraid a violin/the violin is an instrument I never mastered. 10. Past/The past is forgotten. 11. Film/The film is both a respected art form and a form of mass entertainment. 12. People get sent to the prison/prison for that sort of thing. 13. It was summer/a summer of intense heat. 14. “What can we do tonight?” – “Well, we could go to movies/the movies. ” 15. How are we going to get from the church/church to the reception? 16. Air force relief flights continue in morning/the morning. 17. I wanted to go to university/the university but I wanted to be an actor more. 18. I did a lot of work in Hamburg in the eighties/eighties.

Exercise 3. Write the correct article where necessary.

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