A.
Study these sentences:
* The
giraffe is the tallest of all animals.
* The
bicycle is an excellent means of transport.
* When
was the telephone invented?
* The
dollar is the currency (= money) of the United States.
In these
examples, the... does not mean one particular thing. The giraffe one particular
type I animal, not one particular giraffe. We use the (+ a singular countable
noun) in this way to talk about a type of animal, machine etc.
In the
same way we use the for musical instruments:
* Can
you play the guitar?
* The
piano is my favourite instrument.
Compare
a:
* I'd
like to have a guitar.
* We saw
a giraffe at the zoo.
Note
that we use man (= human beings in general/the human race) without 'the':
* What
do you know about the origins of man? (not 'the man')
B. The
+ adjective
We use
the + adjective (without a noun) to talk about groups of people, especially:
the
young the old the elderly
the rich the poor the unemployed the homeless
the sick the disabled the injured
the dead
The
young = young people, the rich = rich people etc.:
* Do you
think the rich should pay more taxes to help the poor?
* The
homeless need more help from the government.
These
expressions are always plural in meaning. You cannot say 'a young' or 'an
unemployed'. You must say 'a young man', 'an unemployed woman' etc. Note also
that we say 'the poor' (not 'the poors'), 'the young' (not 'the youngs') etc.
C. The
+ nationality
You can
use the with some nationality adjectives to mean 'the people of that country'.
For example:
* The
French are famous for their food. (= the people of France)
* Why do
the English think they are so wonderful? (= the people of England) In the same
way you can say:
the
Spanish the Dutch the British
the Irish the Welsh
Note
that the French/the English etc. are plural in meaning. You cannot say 'a
French/an English'. You have to say 'a Frenchman/an Englishwoman' etc.
You can
also use the + nationality words ending in -ese (the Chinese/the Sudanese
etc.):
* The
Chinese invented printing.
These
words can also be singular (a Japanese, a Sudanese).
Also:
the Swiss/a Swiss (plural or singular)
With
other nationalities, the plural noun ends in -s. For example:
an
Italian a Mexican a Scot
a Turk (the) Italians (the) Mexicans (the) Scots
(the) Turks
EXERCISES
75.1
Answer the questions. Choose the right answer from the box. Don't forget the.
Use a dictionary if necessary.
1.
animals: tiger elephant rabbit
cheetah giraffe kangaroo
2.
birds: eagle penguin swan
owl parrot robin
3.
inventions: telephone wheel telescope
laser helicopter typewriter
4.
currencies: dollar lira escudo
rupee peseta yen
1. a.
Which of the animals is tallest? _the giraffe._
b. Which
animal can run fastest?
c. Which
of these animals is found in Australia?
2. a.
Which of these birds has a long neck?
b. Which
of these birds cannot fly?
c. Which
bird flies at night?
3. a.
Which of these inventions is oldest?
b. Which
one is most recent?
c. Which
one is especially important for astronomy?
4 a.
What is the currency of India?
b. What
is the currency of Portugal?
c. What
is the currency of your country?
75.2 Put
in the or a where necessary. If the sentence is already complete leave an empty
space(-)
1. When
was _the_ telephone invented?
2. Can
you play ---music instrument?
3. Jill
plays --- violin in an orchestra.
4. There
was --- piano in the corner of the room.
5. Can
you play --- piano?
6. Our
society is based on --- family.
7.
Martin comes from --- large family.
8. When
was --- paper first made?
9. ---
computer has changed the way we live.
75.3
Complete these sentences using the + one of these adjectives:
injured poor rich
sick unemployed young
1. _The
young_ have the future in their hands.
2. Ambulances
arrived at the scene of the accident and took --- to hospital.
3. Life
is all right if you have a job, but things are not so easy for ---.
4. Julia
has been a nurse all her life. She has spent her life caring for ---.
5. In
England there is an old story about a man called Robin Hood. It is said that he
robbed --- and gave the money to ---.
75.4
What do you call the people of these countries?
1.
Canada?
one
person (a/an ...): a Canadian
the
people in general: the Canadian
2.
Germany?
one
person (a/an ...):
the
people in general:
3.
France?
one
person (a/an ...):
the
people in general:
4.
Russia?
one
person (a/an ...):
the
people in general:
5.
China?
one
person (a/an ...):
the
people in general:
6.
Brazil?
one
person (a/an ...):
the
people in general:
7.
England?
one
person (a/an ...):
the
people in general:
8. and
your country?
one
person (a/an ...):
the
people in general:
answer
75.1
1 b. the
cheetah
c. the
kangaroo (and the rabbit)
2 a. the
swan
b. the
penguin
c. the
owl
3 a. the
wheel
b. the
laser
c. the
telescope
4 a. the
rupee
b.
escudo
c. the
...
75.2
2 a 3 the
4 a 5 the
6
the 7 a
8 (-) 9 The
75.3
2 the
injured
3 the
unemployed
4 the
sick
5 the
rich ... the poor
75.4
2 a
German the Germans
3 a
Frenchman/a Frenchwoman the French
4 a
Russian the Russians
5 a
Chinese the Chinese
6 a
Brazilian the Brazilians
7 an
Englishman/an Englishwoman the English
8 a/an
... the ...
