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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:

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I'm afraid of dogs. (not the dogs)

(dogs = dogs in general, not a specific group of dogs)

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Doctors are usually paid more than teachers.

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Do you know anybody who collects stamps?

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Life has changed a lot in the last thirty years.

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

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My favourite sport is football / skiing / athletics.

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

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

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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
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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.