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Unit 72 · A and the

I like music I hate exams

Study

A

We do not use the for general ideas:

›

I like music, especially classical music.

(not the music ... the classical music)

›

We don't eat meat very often.

(not the meat)

›

Life is not possible without water.

(not The life ... the water)

›

I hate exams.

(not the exams)

›

Is there a shop near here that sells newspapers?

We do not use the for games and sports:

›

My favourite sports are football and skiing.

(not the football ... the skiing)

We do not use the for languages or school subjects (history/geography/physics/biology etc.):

›

Do you think English is difficult?

(not the English)

›

Tom's brother is studying physics and chemistry.

B

flowers or the flowers?

Compare:

Flowers are beautiful. (= flowers in general) I love this garden. The flowers are beautiful. (= the flowers in this garden)
I don't like cold weather. (= cold weather in general) The weather isn't very good today. (= the weather today)
We don't eat fish very often. (= fish in general) We had a great meal last night. The fish was excellent. (= the fish we ate last night)
Are you interested in history? (= history in general) Do you know much about the history of your country?

Exercises (3)

0/3 exercises checked
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72.1

Choose seven of these things and write sentences with: I like ... / I don't like ... / I love ... / I hate ... or ... is/are all right

  1. 1
    exams
    I hate exams.example
  2. 2
    dogs
  3. 3
    museums
  4. 4
    big cities
  5. 5
    tennis
  6. 6
    chocolate
  7. 7
    computer games
  8. 8
    parties
72.2

Are you interested in these things? Write sentences with: I'm (very) interested in ... / I'm not interested in ... / I know a lot about ... / I know a little about ... / I don't know much about ... / I don't know anything about ...

  1. 1
    (history)
    I'm very interested in history.example
  2. 2
    (politics)
  3. 3
    (sport)
  4. 4
    (art)
  5. 5
    (astronomy)
  6. 6
    (economics)
72.3

Which is right?

  1. 1
    My favourite sport is /.example
  2. 2
    I like this hotel. / are very nice.example
  3. 3
    Everybody needs /.
  4. 4
    Jane doesn't go to / very often.
  5. 5
    I went shopping this morning. / were very busy.
  6. 6
    'Where's /?' 'It's in the fridge.'
  7. 7
    I don't like /. I never drink it.
  8. 8
    'Do you do any sports?' 'Yes, I play /.'
  9. 9
    'What does your brother do?' 'He sells /.'
  10. 10
    We went for a swim in the river. / was very cold.
  11. 11
    I don't like swimming in /.
  12. 12
    Excuse me, can you pass /, please?
  13. 13
    I like this town. I like / here.
  14. 14
    / are good for you.
  15. 15
    / in this street are all the same.
  16. 16
    I can't sing this song. I don't know /.
  17. 17
    I enjoy taking /. It's my hobby.
  18. 18
    Do you want to see / that I took when I was on holiday?
  19. 19
    / is used a lot in /.
  20. 20
    / doesn't always bring /.