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Unit 73 · Articles and nouns

the 1

Study

A

We use the when there is only one of something:

›

Have you ever crossed the equator? (there is only one equator)

›

Our apartment is on the tenth floor.

›

Buenos Aires is the capital of Argentina.

›

I'm going away at the end of this month.

We use the + superlative (best, oldest etc.):

›

What's the longest river in Europe?

Compare the and a/an (see also Units 71–72):

›

The sun is a star. (= one of many stars)

›

The hotel where we stayed was a very old hotel.

›

We live in an apartment on the tenth floor.

›

What's the best way to learn a language?

B

We say 'the same':

›

Your sweater is the same colour as mine. (not is same colour)

›

'Are these keys the same?' 'No, they're different.'

C

We say:

the world the universe the sun the moon the earth
the sky the sea the ground the country (= not a town)
›

I love to look at the stars in the sky. (not in sky)

›

Do you live in a town or in the country?

›

The earth goes round the sun, and the moon goes round the earth.

We also use Earth (without the) when we think of it as a planet in space (like Mars, Jupiter etc.).

›

Which is the planet nearest Earth?

We say space (without the) when we mean 'space in the universe'. Compare:

›

There are millions of stars in space. (not in the space)

›

I tried to park my car, but the space was too small.

D

We say:

(go to) the cinema, the theatre

›

I go to the cinema a lot, but I haven't been to the theatre for ages.

TV / television (without the), but the radio

›

I watch TV a lot, but I don't listen to the radio much.

›

but Can you turn off the television, please? (the television = the TV set)

the internet

›

The internet has changed the way we live.

E

We usually say breakfast/lunch/dinner (without the):

›

What did you have for breakfast?

›

We had lunch in a very nice restaurant.

But we say 'a big lunch', 'a wonderful dinner', 'an early breakfast' etc.

›

We had a very nice lunch. (not We had very nice lunch)

F

We say: size 43, platform 5 etc. (without the)

›

Our train leaves from platform 5. (not the platform 5)

›

Do you have these shoes in size 43? (not the size 43)

In the same way, we say: room 126, page 29, vitamin A, section B etc.

Exercises (4)

0/4 exercises checked
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73.1

Put in the or a where necessary. If no word is necessary, leave the space empty.

  1. 1
    1
    a: Our apartment is on tenth floor. b: Is it? I hope there's lift.example
  2. 2
    2
    a: Did you have nice holiday? b: Yes, it was best holiday I've ever had.
  3. 3
    3
    a: Where's nearest shop? b: There's one at end of this street.
  4. 4
    4
    a: It's lovely day, isn't it? b: Yes, there isn't cloud in sky.
  5. 5
    5
    a: We spent all our money because we stayed at most expensive hotel in town. b: Why didn't you stay at cheaper hotel?
  6. 6
    6
    a: Would you like to travel in space? b: Yes, I'd love to go to moon.
  7. 7
    7
    a: What did you think of movie last night? b: It was OK, but I thought ending was a bit strange.
  8. 8
    8
    a: What's Jupiter? Is it star? b: No, it's planet. It's largest planet in solar system.
73.2

Which is right? (For the, see also Unit 72.)

  1. 1
    1
  2. 2
    2 Sarah spends most of her free time watching
  3. 3
    3 Do you ever listen to
  4. 4
    4
  5. 5
    5 Have you had
  6. 6
    6 It's confusing when two people have
  7. 7
    7 What do you want for
  8. 8
    8 Fruit is an important source of
  9. 9
    9 This computer is not connected to
  10. 10
    10 I lay down on
  11. 11
    10 and looked up at
  12. 12
    11
  13. 13
    11 to London leaves from
73.3

Put in the or a where necessary. (For a and the see also Units 71–72.)

  1. 1
    Sun is star. The sun is a star.
    The sun is a star.example
  2. 2
    I'm fed up with doing same thing every day.
  3. 3
    Room 25 is on second floor.
  4. 4
    It was very hot day. It was hottest day of year.
  5. 5
    We had lunch in nice restaurant by sea.
  6. 6
    What's on at cinema this week?
  7. 7
    I had big breakfast this morning.
  8. 8
    You'll find information you need at top of page 15.
73.4

Complete the sentences. Choose from the box and use the where necessary.

breakfastcinemagateGate 24lunchquestionquestion 3sea
  1. 1
    I'm hungry. It's time for .example
  2. 2
    There was no wind, so was very calm.
  3. 3
    Most of the questions in the test were OK, but I couldn't answer .
  4. 4
    'I'm going to tonight.' 'Are you? What are you going to see?'
  5. 5
    'I'm sorry, but could you repeat , please?'
  6. 6
    I didn't have this morning because I was in a hurry.
  7. 7
    (airport announcement) Flight AB123 to Rome is now boarding at .
  8. 8
    I forgot to shut . Can you shut it for me?