A.
Study this example:
JOHN: I
had a sandwich and an apple for lunch. The sandwich wasn't very good but the
apple was nice.
John
says 'a sandwich', 'an apple' because this is the first time he talks about
them.
John now
says 'the sandwich', 'the apple because Karen knows which sandwich and which
apple he means - the sandwich and the apple he had for lunch.
Compare
a and the in these examples:
* A man
and a woman were sitting opposite me. The man was American but I think the
woman was British.
* When
we were on holiday, we stayed at a hotel. Sometimes we had our evening meal at
the hotel and sometimes we went to a restaurant.
B. We
use the when we are thinking of one particular thing. Compare a/an and the:
* Tom
sat down on a chair. (perhaps one of many chairs in the room)
but Tom
sat down on the chair nearest the door. (a particular chair)
* Ann is
looking for a job. (not a particular job)
but Did
Ann get the job she applied for? (a particular job)
* Have
you got a car? (not a particular car)
but I
cleaned the car yesterday. (= my car)
For a
see also Units 70 and 72A.
C. We
use the when it is clear in the situation which thing or person we mean. For
example, in a room we talk about 'the light/the floor/the ceiling/the door/the
carpet' etc.:
* Can
you turn off the light, please? (= the light in this room)
* I took
a taxi to the station. (= the station in that town)
* I'd
like to speak to the manager, please. (= the manager of this shop etc.)
In the
same way, we say (go to) the bank, the post office:
* I must
go to the bank to get some money and then I'm going to the post office to get
some stamps. (The speaker is usually thinking of a particular bank or post
office.
Also:
the doctor, the dentist:
* Carol
isn't very well. She's gone to the doctor. (= her usual doctor)
* I hate
going to the dentist.
Compare
a:
* Is
there a bank near here?
* My
sister is a dentist.
Don't
forget the:
* Susan
works in the city centre. (not 'in city centre')
* My
brother is in the army. (not 'in army')
D. We
say 'once a week/three times a day/-'1.20 a kilo' etc.:
* 'How
often do you go to the cinema?' 'About once a month.'
* 'How
much are those potatoes?' 'Ll.20 a kilo.'
* She
works eight hours a day, six days a week.
EXERCISES
71.1 Put
in a/an or the.
1. This
morning I bought _a_ newspaper and --- magazine ---newspaper is in my bag but I
don't know where I put --- magazine.
2. I saw
--- accident this morning --- car crashed into --- tree. --- driver of --- car
wasn't hurt but --- car was badly damaged.
3. There
are two cars parked outside: --- blue one and --- grey one. --- blue one
belongs to my neighbours; I don't know who --- owner of --- grey one is.
4. My
friends live in --- old house in --- small village. There is --- beautiful
garden behind --- house. I would like to have ---garden like that.
71.2 Put
in a/an or the.
1. a.
This house is very nice. Has it got --- garden?
b. It's
a beautiful day. Let's sit in --- garden.
c. I
like living in this house but it's a pity that --- garden is so small.
2. a.
Can you recommend --- good restaurant?
b. We
had dinner in --- very nice restaurant.
c. We
had dinner in --- most expensive restaurant in town.
3. a.
She has --- French name but in fact she's English, not French.
b.
What's --- name of that man we met yesterday?
c. We
stayed at a very nice hotel - I can't remember --- name now.
4. a.
There isn't --- airport near where I live --- nearest airport is 70 miles away.
b. Our
plane was delayed. We had to wait at --- airport for three hours.
c.
Excuse me, please. Can you tell me how to get to --- airport?
5. a.
'Are you going away next week?' 'No, --- week after next.'
b. I'm
going away for --- week in September.
c.
George has a part-time job. He works three mornings --- week.
71.3 Put
in a/an or the in these sentences where necessary.
1. Would
you like apple? _an apple._
2. How
often do you go to dentist? ---
3. Could
you close door, please? ---
4. I'm
sorry. I didn't mean to do that. It was mistake ---
5.
Excuse me, where is bus station, please? ---
6. I've
got problem. Can you help me? ---
7. I'm
just going to post office. I won't be long ---
8. There
were no chairs, so we had to sit on floor. ---
9. Have
you finished with book I lent you? ---
10. My
sister has just got job in bank in Manchester. ---
11. We
live in small flat near city centre. ---
12.
There's small supermarket at end of street I live in ---
71.4
Answer these questions about yourself. Where possible, use the structure in
Section D (once a week/three times a day etc.).
1. How
often do you go to the cinema? _Three or four times a year._
2. How
much does it cost to hire a car in your country? _About L30 a day._
3. How
often do you go away on holiday? ---
4.
What's the speed limit in towns in your country? ---
5. How
much sleep do you need? ---
6. How
often do you go out in the evening? ---
7. How
much television do you watch (on average)? ---
Answer
71.1
1 ...
and a magazine. The newspaper is in my bag but I don't know where I put the
magazine.
2 I saw
an accident this morning. A car crashed into a tree. The driver of the car
wasn't hurt but the car was badly damaged.
3 ... A
blue one and a grey one. The blue one belongs to my neighbours; I don't know
who the owner of the grey one is.
4 My
friends live in an old house in a small village. There is a beautiful garden
behind the house. I would like to have a garden like that.
71.2
1 a.
a b. the
c. the
2 a.
a b. a
c. the
3 a.
a b. the
c. the
4 a. an
... The b. the c. the
5 a.
the b. a
c. a
71.3
2 the
dentist
3 the
door
4 a
mistake
5 the
bus station
6 a
problem
7 the
post office
8 the
floor
9 the
book
10 a job
in a bank
11 a
small flat near the city centre
12 a
small supermarket at the end of the street
71.4
Example answers:
3 Once
or twice a year.
4 Thirty
miles an hour.
5 About
seven hours a night.
6 Two or
three times a week.
7 About two hours a day.