Alison's mother is not a pupil. She is not 'at school', she doesn't 'go to school'. But if she wants to see Alison's teacher, she goes to the school (= Alison's school, a particular school).
B. We use prison, hospital, university, and church in a similar way. We do not use the when we are thinking of the general idea of these places and what they are used for. Compare:
#1 * Ken's brother is in prison for robbery. (He is a prisoner. We are not thinking of a particular prison.)
* Jack had an accident last week. He was taken to hospital. He's still in hospital now. (as a patient)
* When I leave school, I want to go to university.
* Mrs Kelly goes to church every Sunday. (to a religious service)
#2 * Ken went to the prison to visit his brother. (He went as a visitor, not as a prisoner.)
* Jill has gone to the hospital to visit Jack.
* She's at the hospital now. (as a visitor)
* Excuse me, where is the university, please? (= the university buildings)
* The workmen went to the church to repair the roof. (not for a religious service)
With most other places, you need the. For example, the cinema, the bank, the station. See Units 71C and 72D.
C. Bed work home
We say: 'go to bed/be in bed' etc. (not 'the bed'):
* It's time to go to bed now.
* This morning I had breakfast in bed.
but * I sat down on the bed. (a particular piece of furniture)
'go to work/be at work/start work/finish work' etc. (not 'the work'):
* Ann didn't go to work yesterday.
* What time do you usually finish work?
'go home/come home/arrive home/be at home' etc.:
* It's late. Let's go home.
* Will you be at home tomorrow afternoon?
D. We say 'go to sea/be at sea' (without 'the') when the meaning is 'go/be on a voyage':
* Keith is a seaman. He spends most of his life at sea.
but * I'd like to live near the sea.
* It can be dangerous to swim in the sea.
EXERCISES
73.1 Complete the sentences using a preposition (to/at/in etc.) + one of the following words:
bed home hospital prison school university work
You can use the words more than once.
1. Two people were injured in the accident and were taken _to hospital._
2. In Britain, children from the age of five have to go ---.
3. Mark didn't go out last night. He stayed ---.
4. I'll have to hurry. I don't want to be late ---.
5. There is a lot of traffic in the morning when everybody is going ---.
6. Cathy's mother has just had an operation. She is still ---.
7. When Julia leaves school, she wants to study economics ---.
8. Bill never gets up before 9 o'clock. It's 8.30 now, so he is still ---.
9. If you commit a serious crime, you could be sent ---.
73.2 Complete the sentences with the word given (school etc.). Use the where necessary.
1. (school)
a. Every term parents are invited to the school to meet the teacher.
b. Why aren't your children at school today? Are they ill?
c. When he was younger, Ted hated ---
d. What time does --- start in the mornings in your country?
e. A: How do your children get home from ---? By bus?
B: No, they walk --- isn't very far.
f. What sort of job does jenny want to do when she leaves ---?
g. There were some people waiting outside --- to meet their children.
2. (university)
a. In your country, do many people go to ---?
b. If you want to get a degree, you normally have to study at ---.
c. This is only a small town but --- is the biggest in the country.
3. (hospital)
a. Nora works as a cleaner at ---.
b. When Ann was ill, we all went to --- to visit her.
c. My brother has always been very healthy. He's never been in ---.
d. Peter was injured in an accident and was kept in --- for a few days.
4. (church)
a. John's mother is a regular churchgoer. She goes to --- every Sunday.
b. John himself doesn't go to ---.
c. John went to --- to take some photographs of the building.
5. (prison)
a. In many places people are in --- because of their political opinions.
b. The other day the fire brigade were called to --- to put out a fire.
c. The judge decided to fine the man -c500 instead of sending him to ---.
6. (home/work/bed)
a. I like to read in --- before I go to sleep?
b. It's nice to travel around but there's no place like ---!
c. Shall we meet after --- tomorrow evening?
d. If I'm feeling tired, I go to --- early.
e. What time do you usually start --- in the morning?
f. The economic situation is very bad. Many people are out of ---
7. (sea)
a. There's a nice view from the window. You can see ---.
b. It was a long voyage. We were at --- for four weeks.
c. I love swimming in ---.
UNIT 74. The (3) (Children/the children)
A. When we are talking about things or people in general, we do not use 'the':
* I'm afraid of dogs. (not 'the dogs') (dogs = dogs in general, not a particular group of dogs)
* Doctors are paid more than teachers.
* Do you collect stamps?
* Crime is a problem in most big cities. (not 'the crime')
* Life has changed a lot in the last 30 years. (not 'the life')
* Do you often listen to classical music? (not 'the classical music')
* Do you like Chinese food/French cheese/Swiss chocolate?
* My favourite sport is football/skiing/athletics. (not 'the football the skiing' etc.)
* My favourite subject at school was history/physics/English. We say 'most people/most books/most cars' etc. (not 'the most ...'--see also Unit 87A).
* Most people like George. (not 'the most people')
B. We use the when we mean particular things or people. Compare:
#1 In general (without 'the')
* Children learn a lot from playing. (= children in general)
* I often listen to music.
* All cars have wheels.
* Sugar isn't very good for you.
* Do English people work hard? (= English people in general)
#2 Particular people or things (with the)
* We took the children to the zoo. (= a particular group, perhaps the speaker's own children)
* The film wasn't very good but I liked the music. (= the music in the film)
* All the cars in this car park belong to people who work here.
* Can you pass the sugar, please? (= the sugar on the table)
* Do the English people you know work hard? (= only the English people you know, not English people in general)
C. The difference between 'something in general' and 'something in particular' is not always very clear. Compare these sentences:
#1 In general (without 'the')
* I like working with people. (= people in general)
* I like working with people who are lively. (not all people, but 'people who are lively' is still a general idea)
* Do you like coffee? (= coffee in general)
* Do you like strong black coffee? (not all coffee, but 'strong black coffee' is still a general idea)
#2 Particular people or things (with the)
* I like the people I work with. (= a particular group of people)
* Did you like the coffee we had after our meal last night? (= particular coffee)
EXERCISES
74.1 In this exercise you have to write whether you like or dislike these things:
boxing cats fast food restaurants football hot weather mathematics opera small children rock music zoos
Choose FOUR of these things and begin your sentences with one of these:
I like .../ I don't like... I don't mind... I love .../ I hate... I'm interested in .../ I'm not interested in ...
1. _I don't like hot weather very much._
2. ---
3. ---
4. ---
5. ---
74.2 Complete the sentences using one of the following. Use the where necessary.
(the) basketball (the) questions (the) history (the) hotels (the) meat (the) lies (the) information (the) patience (the) people (the) water (the) grass (the) spiders
1. My favourite sport is basketball.
2. The information we were given wasn't correct.
3. Many people are afraid of ---.
4. A vegetarian is somebody who doesn't eat ---.
5. The test wasn't very difficult. I answered all --- without difficulty.
6. Do you know --- who live next door?
7. --- is the study of the past.
8. George always tells the truth. He never tells ---.
9. We couldn't find anywhere to stay in the town. All --- were full.
10. --- in the pool didn't look very clean, so we didn't go for a swim.
11. Don't sit on ---. It's wet after the rain.
12. You need --- to teach young children.
74.3 Choose the correct form, with or without the.
1. I'm afraid of _dogs/the dogs._ ('dogs' is correct)
2. Can you pass _salt/the salt_, please? ('the salt' is correct)
3. _Apples/The apples_ are good for you.
4. Look at _apples/the apples_ on that tree! They're very big.
5. _Women/The women_ live longer than men/the men.
6. I don't drink _tea/the tea._ I don't like it'
7. We had a very nice meal. _Vegetables/The vegetables_ were especially good.
8. _Life/The life_ is strange sometimes. Some very strange things happen.
9. I like _skiing/the skiing_ but I'm not very good at it.
10. Who are _people/the people_ in this photograph?
11. What makes _people/the people_ violent? What causes aggression/the aggression?
12. _All books/All the books_ on the top shelf belong to me.
13. Don't stay in that hotel. It's very noisy and _beds/the beds_ are very uncomfortable.
14. A pacifist is somebody who is against _war/the war._
15. _First World War/The First World War_ lasted from 1914 until 1918.
16. One of our biggest social problems is _unemployment/the unemployment._
17. Ron and Brenda got married but _marriage/the marriage_ didn't last very long.
18. _Most people/The most people_ believe that _marriage/the marriage_ and _family life/the family life_ are the basis of _society/the society._
UNIT 75. The (4) (The giraffe/the telephone/the piano etc.; the + adjective)
A. Study these sentences:
* The giraffe is the tallest of all animals.
* The bicycle is an excellent means of transport.
* When was the telephone invented?
* The dollar is the currency (= money) of the United States.
In these examples, the... does not mean one particular thing. The giraffe one particular type I animal, not one particular giraffe. We use the (+ a singular countable noun) in this way to talk about a type of animal, machine etc.
In the same way we use the for musical instruments:
* Can you play the guitar?
* The piano is my favourite instrument.
Compare a:
* I'd like to have a guitar.
* We saw a giraffe at the zoo.
Note that we use man (= human beings in general/the human race) without 'the':
* What do you know about the origins of man? (not 'the man')
B. The + adjective
We use the + adjective (without a noun) to talk about groups of people, especially:
the young the old the elderly the rich the poor the unemployed the homeless the sick the disabled the injured the dead
The young = young people, the rich = rich people etc.:
* Do you think the rich should pay more taxes to help the poor?
* The homeless need more help from the government.
These expressions are always plural in meaning. You cannot say 'a young' or 'an unemployed'. You must say 'a young man', 'an unemployed woman' etc. Note also that we say 'the poor' (not 'the poors'), 'the young' (not 'the youngs') etc.
C. The + nationality
You can use the with some nationality adjectives to mean 'the people of that country'. For example:
* The French are famous for their food. (= the people of France)
* Why do the English think they are so wonderful? (= the people of England) In the same way you can say:
the Spanish the Dutch the British the Irish the Welsh
Note that the French/the English etc. are plural in meaning. You cannot say 'a French/an English'. You have to say 'a Frenchman/an Englishwoman' etc.
You can also use the + nationality words ending in -ese (the Chinese/the Sudanese etc.):
* The Chinese invented printing.
These words can also be singular (a Japanese, a Sudanese).
Also: the Swiss/a Swiss (plural or singular)
With other nationalities, the plural noun ends in -s. For example:
an Italian a Mexican a Scot a Turk (the) Italians (the) Mexicans (the) Scots (the) Turks
EXERCISES
75.1 Answer the questions. Choose the right answer from the box. Don't forget the. Use a dictionary if necessary.
1. animals: tiger elephant rabbit cheetah giraffe kangaroo
2. birds: eagle penguin swan owl parrot robin
3. inventions: telephone wheel telescope laser helicopter typewriter
4. currencies: dollar lira escudo rupee peseta yen
1. a. Which of the animals is tallest? _the giraffe._
b. Which animal can run fastest?
c. Which of these animals is found in Australia?
2. a. Which of these birds has a long neck?
b. Which of these birds cannot fly?
c. Which bird flies at night?
3. a. Which of these inventions is oldest?
b. Which one is most recent?
c. Which one is especially important for astronomy?
4 a. What is the currency of India?
b. What is the currency of Portugal?
c. What is the currency of your country?
75.2 Put in the or a where necessary. If the sentence is already complete leave an empty space(-)
1. When was _the_ telephone invented?
2. Can you play ---music instrument?
3. Jill plays --- violin in an orchestra.
4. There was --- piano in the corner of the room.
5. Can you play --- piano?
6. Our society is based on --- family.
7. Martin comes from --- large family.
8. When was --- paper first made?
9. --- computer has changed the way we live.
75.3 Complete these sentences using the + one of these adjectives:
injured poor rich sick unemployed young
1. _The young_ have the future in their hands.
2. Ambulances arrived at the scene of the accident and took --- to hospital.
3. Life is all right if you have a job, but things are not so easy for ---.
4. Julia has been a nurse all her life. She has spent her life caring for ---.
5. In England there is an old story about a man called Robin Hood. It is said that he robbed --- and gave the money to ---.
75.4 What do you call the people of these countries?
1. Canada?
one person (a/an ...): a Canadian
the people in general: the Canadian
2. Germany?
one person (a/an ...):
the people in general:
3. France?
one person (a/an ...):
the people in general:
4. Russia?
one person (a/an ...):
the people in general:
5. China?
one person (a/an ...):
the people in general:
6. Brazil?
one person (a/an ...):
the people in general:
7. England?
one person (a/an ...):
the people in general:
8. and your country?
one person (a/an ...):
the people in general:
UNIT 76. Names with and without the (1)
A. We do not use 'the' with names of people ('Ann', 'Ann Taylor' etc.). In the same way, we do not normally use 'the' with names of places. For example:
continents: Africa (not 'the Africa'), Europe, South America
countries: France (not 'the France'), Japan, Switzerland
states, regions etc.: Texas, Cornwall, Tuscany, Central Europe
islands: Corsica, Sicily, Bermuda
cities, towns etc.: Cairo, New York, Madrid
mountains: Everest, Etna, Kilimanjaro
But we use the in names with 'Republic', 'Kingdom', 'States' etc.:
the United States of America (the USA)
the United Kingdom (the UK)
the Dominican Republic
Compare:
* We visited Canada and the United States.
B. When we use Mr/Mrs/Captain/Doctor etc. + a name, we do not use 'the'. So we say:
Mr Johnson/Doctor Johnson/Captain Johnson/President Johnson etc. (not 'the...')
Uncle Robert/Aunt Jane/Saint Catherine/Princess Anne etc. (not 'the...')
Compare:
* We called the doctor. but We called Doctor Johnson. (not 'the Doctor Johnson')
We use mount (= mountain) and lake in the same way (without 'the'):