Tema 1. the Definite Article. Exercises

7/28/2019 Tema 1. the Definite Article. Exercises

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Tema 1. The Definite Article. 1.1. Use and Omission

In general, the definite article points to what has a specific identity. You can go and look at

it, perhaps pick it up, drop litter on it, or take a photograph of it. It is the one and only. It is

unique.

In conversation, the refers to something known to both speakers, possibly personal. For

example:

If the reference of the word is not specific, but general, you will not use the. Frequently,

generalisations are made in the plural. For example:

It is important to remember that the article depends on the reference of the word. If you

use the word to refer to a specific, then it takes the:

But in the following sentence fire and door are used in a general way, and do not take

the:

IMPORTANT: Think of the reference of the word.

The house plant died.

The goldfish lost its colour.

The telephone bill came today.

Mr Smith is sitting in the garden.

House plants like shade.

Goldfish often lose their colour.

Luckily, telephone bills dont come every day.

Mr Smith is reading the book you gave him about gardens.

THE: Specific Reference:

The fire has gone out. The door is open.

This is a fire that you can see, now just ashes, and the door is one you can

get up and close.

In case of fire, doors should not be left open.


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Exercise 1: Which of the nouns in these sentences are specific, and need the? Which are

general, and do not take the?

1. Put______ kettle on.

2. Switch______ light on.

3. ______ light is needed to read by.

4. Im going to______ library.

5. Please pass______ mustard.

6. I like______ mustard on______ sausages.

7. ______ doctor gave me this medicine.

8. ______ cat has fleas.

9. ______ cats kill______ birds.

10. ______ central heating has broken down.

11. In the tropics, you do not need______ central heating.

12. He was late at______ office again.

13. The President was in______ office for four years.

14. ______ weather is depressing.

15. Some countries have______ climate; England has______ weather.

16. ______ marmalade is on______ table next to_______ cornflakes.

17. ______ marmalade is not put on______ cornflakes.

18. ______ fridge is empty. Ill have to go to______ supermarket.

19. I prefer______ open-air markets to_______ supermarkets.

20. _______ car must go to_______ garage.

Look at this sentence:

Getting Specific Information:

Mrs Smith took the children to the park.


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Without other information, the assumption is that these are Mrs Smiths own children, and

that the place they went to is near to where the Smiths live. If the reference is not clear,

then information is added to make it clear. A phrase or clause may be used. For example:

In order to get the specific information, you can use which?:

Which flowers?:

The truth, the freedom, the accident, the work, the expectations, the hopes. But, as the

examples show, the can also be used with abstractions. With the, these abstractions

are still specific.

Exercise 2: Complete:

1._______ policies of_______ government have been criticised by_______ press.

2._______ truth of_______ matter is that________ organization is top-heavy.

One complication which gives some students difficulty is the idea of classes or groups which

have a specific identity, and so take the definite article: the good, the bad, the ugly.

We use the with these kinds of place names:

seas (the Atlantic)

mountain groups (the

Himalayas)

island (the West Indies)

rivers (the Rhine)

deserts (the Sahara)

Mrs Smith took the children staying with her next-door neighbour

to the park.

Mr Smith planted the flowers.

The ones he bought at the garden centre.

Abstractions:

Names of Places and Other Things:


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lakes (the Great Lakes)

most hotels (the Grand

Hotel, the Hilton)

most cinemas (the

Odeon)

theatres (the Playhouse)

most museums and art

galleries (The British Museum)

We usually use no article with continents, countries, departments, towns, streets, lakes.

Exceptions: places whose name contains a common noun like republic, state, union:

Britain the UK

Texas the State of Texas

The United States

In British English, the is unusual in the title of the principal public buildings and

organisations of a town:

Oxford University

Bristol Zoo

Salisbury Cathedral.

In American English, the is more often used in such cases.

The Oxford University

The San Diego Zoo.

The names of newspapers usually have the.

The Times.

The Washington Post

The names of magazines do not always have the.

New Scientist

And, to make matters even more interesting, note that the article is left out:

- In some common fixed expressions to do with place:

send to prison/go to prison

/be in prison.

Omission of the Definite Article:


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stay at school/Go to school/be

at school/start school/leave

school

go to bed/be in bed

take to hospital/go to

hospital/ be in hospital.

go home/arrive home/come

home/ be at home/leave

home/stay at home.

run away to sea

leave by car

study at university/go to

university/ be at university

go to work/be at work/start

work/ /finish work


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- Illnesses:

flu

measles

-

Meals: breakfast, lunch, dinner..I never have breakfast .Dinneris ready!

- Sports:

My favourite sports are tennisandfootball.

- Languages or subjects:

Do you think English is difficult?

Toms brother is studyingphysics and chemistry.

we usually use the with superlatives because there is normally only one best, biggest,

etc individual or group (so it is clear which one(s) we are talking about).

For the same reason, we usually use the with ordinals, next, last, same and only.

Exercise 3: Complete with the, where needed:

1.______ little boy fell off______ bicycle.

Superlatives:

French cooking is the best in the world.

At 104, he is the oldest in the village.

Mrs Smith was the most beautiful of all the women Mr Smith had met.

That boiled egg was the worst I ever had.

We went to the same school.

When is the first bus to Birmingham tomorrow?

Jim is the same age as Mary: theyre twins.

This is the only pair of glasses I have.


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2.______ children like______ sweets.

3. I have lost______ book I took out of______ library.

4.______ cats love______ fish.

5. Smoking______ cigarettes is unhealthy.

6. Mr and Mrs Jones go to______ church on______ Sunday.

7. They go to_______ church round______ corner.

8.______ students read______ books.

9.______ student was reading______ book you gave him.

10._______ world is coming to an end on_______ Friday.

11. He goes to_______ work while Mrs Jones stays at_______ home.

12._______ children go to_______ school.

13. Mr Jones goes to_______ office while Mrs Jones stays at_______ home.

14. They live in_______ house on_______ corner of_______ street.

15._______ children go to_______ school over there.

16._______ dogs bark,________ birds cheep, and________ cats mew.

17._______ cat screeched when________ dog bit it.

18._______ bird flew away when________ cat jumped.

19._______ dog is called Dudu; but not all_______ dogs have_______ names.

20._______ dogs are not allowed in_______ park.

21. Were you able to get________ books you needed from________ library?

22. _______ Prime Minister likes to watch _______ cricket, but the burdens of

_______ office prevent him doing so.

23. Take_______ Piccadilly bus on_______ other side of________ street.

24. _______ men and women have to face many problems in ________ living with

each other.

25. What was_______ name of_______ shop that advertised _______ discounts?

26.______ wind in summer blows from_______ west.

27. Vegetarians suffer from_______ wind.

28.______ Amazon flows from______ Andes to______ Atlantic.

29.______ Queen will speak on______ Christmas Day.

30. Mary wants to learn_______ French before she goes to_______ Continent.

Exercise 4: Complete with the, where needed:


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1. In Paris, we stayed at ______ George V Hotel, ate at _______ Maxims, and visited

______ Louvre.

2._______ Smiths were supposed to come to_______ lunch we gave at_______ Ritz,

but______ Mrs Smith phoned to say they had to take _______ young one to_______

hospital.

3. Some buildings are world-famous:

_______ Acropolis, Big Ben, White House _______ Taj Mahal _______ St Peters

_______ Pyramids,_______ Lenins Tomb.

4. Experts were appointed to investigate ________ causes of________ disease, known

as ________ yellow fever, which broke out among ________ American troops after

________ Spanish-American War.

5.________ brevity is________ soul of________ lingerie.

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Tema 1. the Definite Article. Exercises