A. We
use the ... when there is only one of something:
* What
is the longest river in the world? (there is only one longest river)
* The
earth goes round the sun and the moon goes round the earth.
* I'm
going away at the end of this month.
Don't
forget the:
* Paris
is the capital of France. (not 'Paris is capital of...')
But we
use a/an to say what kind of thing something is (see Unit 70C). Compare the and
a:
* The
sun is a star. (= one of many stars)
* The
hotel we stayed at was a very nice hotel.
B. We
say: the sky the sea the ground
the country the environment:
* We
looked up at all the stars in the sky. (not 'in sky')
* Would
you rather live in a town or in the country?
* We
must do more to protect the environment. (= the natural world around us)
Note
that we say space (without 'the') when we mean 'space in the universe':
* There
are millions of stars in space. (not 'in the space')
but * I
tried to park my car but the space was too small.
C. We
use the before same (the same):
* Your
pullover is the same colour as mine. (not 'is same colour')
* These
two photographs are the same. (not 'are same')
D. We
say: (go to) the cinema, the theatre:
* I
often go to the cinema but I haven't been to the theatre for ages.
When we
say the cinema/the theatre, we do not necessarily mean one particular cinema or
theatre.
We
usually say the radio, but television (without 'the'):
* I
often listen to the radio.
* We
heard the news on the radio.
* I
often watch television.
* We
watched the news on television.
but *
Can you turn off the television, please? (= the television set)
Compare
a:
* There
isn't a theatre in this town.
* I'm
going to buy a new radio/television (set).
E.
Breakfast lunch dinner
We do
not normally use the with the names of meals (breakfast, lunch etc.):
* What
did you have for breakfast?
* We had
lunch in a very nice restaurant.
* What
time is dinner?
But we
use a if there is an adjective before breakfast, lunch etc.:
We had a
very nice lunch. (not 'we had very nice lunch')
F.
Platform 5 Room 126 etc.
We do
not use 'the' before noun + number. For example, we say:
* Our
train leaves from Platform 5. (not 'the Platform 5')
* (in a
shop) Have you got these shoes in size 43? (not 'the size 43')
In the
same way, we say: Room 126 (in a hotel) page 29 (of a book) Section A etc.
EXERCISES
72.1 Put
in the or a/an where necessary. If no word is necessary, leave the space
empty(-).
1. A:
Where did you have - lunch?
B: We
went to _a_ restaurant.
2. A:
Did you have --- nice holiday?
B: Yes,
'it was --- best holiday I've ever had.
3. A:
Where's nearest shop?
B:
There's one at --- end of this street.
4. A: Do
you often listen to radio?
B: No.
In fact I haven't got radio.
5. A:
Would you like to travel in --- space?
B: Yes,
I'd love to go to -- moon.
6. A: Do
you go to -- cinema very often?
B: No,
not very often. But I watch a lot of films on --- television.
7. A: It
was --- nice day yesterday, wasn't it?
B: Yes,
it was beautiful. We went for a walk by --- sea.
8. A:
What did you have --- breakfast this morning?
B:
Nothing. I never eat --- breakfast.
9. A:
Can you tell me where --- Room 25 is, please?
B: It's
on --- second floor.
10. A:
We spent all our money because we stayed at --- most expensive hotel in town.
B: Why
didn't you stay at --- cheaper hotel?
72.2 Put
in the where necessary. If you don't need the, leave the space empty(-).
1. I
haven't been to _the_ cinema for ages.
2. I lay
down on --- ground and looked up at --- sky.
3.
Sheila spends most of her free time watching --- television.
4. ---
television was on but nobody was watching it.
5. Have
you had --- dinner yet?
6. Mary
and I arrived at --- same time.
7.
You'll find --- information you need at --- top of --- page 15.
8. Peru
is a country in South America. --- capital is Lima.
72.3 Put
in the or a/an where necessary. If the sentence is already correct, put
'RIGHT'. (If necessary, see Unit 71 for a/an and the.)
1.
I Sun is star. _The sun is a star._
2. Tim
lives in small village in country. ---
3. Moon
goes round earth every 27 days. ---
4. What
is highest mountain in world? ---
5. I'm
fed up with doing same thing every day. ---
6. It
was very hot day. It was hottest day of year. ---
7. I
don't usually have lunch but I always eat good breakfast. ---
8. If
you live in foreign country, you should try and learn language. ---
9. We
missed our train because we were waiting on wrong platform. We were on Platform
3 instead of Platform 8. ---
72.4
Complete the sentences using one of the following. Use the if necessary.
breakfast cinema dinner
gate Gate 21 Question 8
sea
1. I
didn't have time for --- this morning because I was in a hurry.
2. 'I'm
going to --- this evening.' 'Are you? What film are you going to see?'
3. There
was no wind, so --- was very calm.
4. 'Are
you going out this evening?' 'Yes, after ---
5. The
examination paper wasn't too difficult but I couldn't answer ---
6. Oh
--- is open. I must have forgotten to shut it.
7.
(airport announcement) 'Flight BA123 to Vienna is now boarding at ---
Answer
72.1
2 a nice
holiday ... the best holiday
3 the
nearest shop ... the end of this street
4 listen
to the radio ... I haven't got a radio
5 to
travel in space ... go to the moon
6 go to
the cinema ... a lot of films on television
7 a nice
day ... by the sea
8 for
breakfast ... eat breakfast
9 where
Room 25 is ... on the second floor
10 the most expensive hotel ... a cheaper hotel
72.2
2 the
... the
3 -
4 The
5 -
6 the
7 the
information ... the top of page 15.
8 The
72.3
2 in a
small village in the country
3 The
moon ... the earth
4 the
highest mountain in the world
5 the
same thing
6 a very
hot day ... the hottest day of the year
7 have
lunch ... eat a good breakfast
8 live
in a foreign country ... the language
9 on the
wrong platform. We were on Platform 3 instead of Platform 8.
72.4
2 the
cinema 3 the sea
4
dinner 5 Question 8
6 the
gate 7 Gate 21
