G
ESC
  • Type to search across all units
← All units

Unit 75 · Articles and nouns

the 3 (children / the children)

Study

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 specific group of dogs)

›

Doctors are usually paid more than teachers.

›

Do you know anybody who collects stamps?

›

Life has changed a lot in the last thirty years.

›

Do you like classical music / Chinese food / fast cars?

›

My favourite sport is football / skiing / athletics.

›

My favourite subject at school was history / physics / English.

We say 'most people / most shops / most big cities' etc. (not the most …):

›

Most shops accept credit cards. (not The most shops)

B

We use the when we mean specific things or people. Compare:

In general (without **the**) Specific people or things (with **the**)
**Children** learn from playing. (= children in general) We took **the children** to the zoo. (= a specific group, perhaps the speaker's children)
I couldn't live without **music**. The film wasn't very good, but I liked **the music**. (= the music in the film)
All **cars** have wheels. All **the cars** in this car park belong to people who work here.
**Sugar** isn't very good for you. Can you pass **the sugar**, please? (= the sugar on the table)
**English people** drink a lot of tea. (= English people in general) **The English people I know** drink a lot of tea. (= only the English people I know, not English people in general)
C

The difference between 'something in general' and 'something specific' is not always very clear. Compare:

In general (without **the**) Specific people or things (with **the**)
I like working with **people**. (= people in general) I like **the people I work with**. (= a specific group of people)
I like working with **people who say what they think**. (not all people, but 'people who say what they think' is still a general idea)
Do you like **coffee**? (= coffee in general) **The coffee we had after dinner** wasn't very good. (= specific coffee)
Do you like **strong black coffee**? (not all coffee, but 'strong black coffee' is still a general idea)

Exercises (4)

0/4 exercises checked
—
75.1

Choose four of these things and write what you think about them:

  1. 1
    Use: I like … / I don't like … I love … / I hate … I think ... is/are … I'm (not) interested in …
    I don't like hot weather very much.example
  2. 2
  3. 3
  4. 4
  5. 5
75.2

Which is right?

  1. 1
    Apples / The apples are good for you. (Apples is correct)
  2. 2
    Look at apples / the apples on that tree. They're very big.
  3. 3
    Who are people / the people in this picture?
  4. 4
    It annoys me when people / the people throw rubbish on the ground.
  5. 5
    My memory isn't good. I'm not good at remembering names / the names.
  6. 6
    What were names / the names of those people we met last night?
  7. 7
    First World War / The First World War began in 1914 and ended in 1918.
  8. 8
    A pacifist is somebody who is against war / the war.
  9. 9
    He's lazy. He doesn't like hard work / the hard work.
  10. 10
    Did you finish work / the work you were doing yesterday?
75.3

Complete the sentences using the following. Use the where necessary.

  1. 1
    (the) basketball (the) questions (the) biology
    My favourite sport is .example
  2. 2
    (the) grass (the) meat (the) water
    we were given wasn't correct.
  3. 3
    (the) patience (the) information (the) spiders
    Some people are afraid of .
  4. 4
    (the) people (the) hotels (the) lies
    A vegetarian is somebody who doesn't eat .
  5. 5
    The test wasn't hard. I answered without difficulty.
  6. 6
    Do you know who live in the flat next to yours?
  7. 7
    is the study of plants and animals.
  8. 8
    It's better to tell the truth. Telling often causes problems.
  9. 9
    We couldn't find anywhere to stay in the town. were all full.
  10. 10
    Don't swim in this pool. doesn't look very clean.
  11. 11
    Don't sit on . It's wet after the rain.
  12. 12
    You need to teach young children.
75.4

Which is right?

  1. 1
    Steve is very good at telling stories / the stories.
  2. 2
    I can't sing this song. I don't know words / the words.
  3. 3
    Don't stay in that hotel. It's noisy and rooms / the rooms are very small.
  4. 4
    I don't have a car, so I use public transport / the public transport most of the time.
  5. 5
    All books / All the books on the top shelf belong to me.
  6. 6
    Life / The life is strange sometimes. Some very strange things happen.
  7. 7
    We enjoyed our holiday. Weather / The weather was good.
  8. 8
    Everybody needs water / the water to live.
  9. 9
    I don't like films / the films with unhappy endings.