4 Some (d)

What would you say in these situations? Use a noun and decide if you need some or not.

• You and your friend would like a game of cards, but neither of you has a pack. We need some cards.

• You are describing Rachel to someone. Rachel's hair is dark. Rachel has dark hair.

1. You are eating nuts. Offer them to your friend. Would you like ?

2. You want a drink of mineral water. There's a jug on the table, but you don't know what's in it. Is there in this jug?

3. You've come home from a shopping trip with a few clothes. Tell your friend. I've bought

4. You are eating some bread that Melanie baked. It's lovely. Melanie, this is

5. The two women who live next door to you are both studying at the university. Tell your visitor. The women next door are

86 Cars or the cars?

A Introduction

We can use a plural noun (e.g. cars, parties) or an uncountable noun (e.g. ice hockey, music) without the. / love parties means that I love all parties, parties in general.

В General and specific meanings

GENERAL SPECIFIC

A plural noun or an uncountable noun on The + plural noun or uncountable noun has a

its own has a general meaning. specific meaning.

Cars are expensive to buy. The cars had both broken down.

Elephants are intelligent animals. We saw the elephants at the zoo.

I don't understand computers. The computers crashed at work today.

(= all computers, computers in general) (= the specific computers at my workplace)

You always need money. Laura put the money in her purse.

Glass is made from sand. David swept up the broken glass.

I'm quite fond of curry. The curry was delicious, thank you.

Natasha is studying music. The music was too loud. (= the music at a

(= all music, music in general) specific time, at a party for example)

A phrase or clause after the noun often shows that it is specific.

Look at the oil on your sweater. The apples you gave me were nice. But the nouns in these sentences have a general meaning.

hate people who never say hello. Life in the old days was hard. Life in the old days is still a general idea, not a specific life.

A phrase with of usually takes the. Compare these two structures. a book on Irish history a book on the history of Ireland

С Special uses of the

We use the + singular noun to make general statements about animals and about inventions and discoveries.

The tiger can swim. The fly is a common insect.

Who invented the camera? The electron is a part of every atom.

Here the tiger means all tigers, tigers in general. We use this structure mainly in written English. In speech, Tigers can swim is more usual.

We also use the with musical instruments. (But for American English see page 379.)

Natasha can play the piano, the violin and the clarinet. We do not use the with sports.

Shall we play tennis? not Shall we play the tennis?

Note that we listen to the radio but normally watch television.

86 Exercises

1 He likes golf (A)

Look at the pictures and say what people like. Use these objects: art, chemistry, chips, dogs, golf

► He likes golf.

1 3

2 4

2 General and specific meanings (B)

Complete the conversations. Put in the nouns and decide if you need the.

► Tom: Did you see the football (football) on television last night?

Melanie: No, I hate football (football). I was watching the news (news) on the other channel.

1 Rachel: Did your family have a dog when you were younger?

Vicky: No, thank goodness. I'm afraid of (dogs). I didn't like

(dogs) that were running around in the park yesterday. I was

afraid they were going to attack me.

2 Melanie: You shouldn't drive so much, Mark. You know that (cars)

cause (pollution), don't you?

Mark: Yes, but (cars) these days are cleaner than they used to be.

Isn't it (aeroplanes) that are mainly responsible

for (pollution) of the atmosphere?

3 Melanie: I've put some bread out in the garden for (birds).

Tom: You like (birds), don't you?

Melanie: Yes, I do. I love (wildlife), in fact. I'd much rather live in the

country if I could.

4 Laura: You're always reading books about (history), aren't you?

Harriet: It was always my favourite subject. Do you know anything

about (history) of this area?

Laura: No, but if you like looking round (museums) and

(old buildings), we could find out about it together.

3 Special uses of the (C)

Put in the correct noun and decide if you need the.

Use these nouns: atom, football, guitar, radio, telescope, television

► I was listening to a phone-in on the radio

1. Rutherford split in 1911.

2. Tom and his friends played in the park.

3. Mike is quite musical. He can play

4. The children spend a lot of time watching

5. Galileo developed for use in astronomy.

87 Prison, school, bed, etc

A Prison or the prison?

Compare these situations.

This man is in prison. He went to prison two The young woman is in the prison. She has gone

years ago. to the prison to visit her father.

We do not use the when we are talking about We use the when we mean the prison as a

being in prison as a prisoner. specific building. The young woman is in the

prison as a visitor.

Here are some examples with other buildings.

School is over at half past three. The school is a mile from here.

(= school activities) (= the school building)

Vicky is at college. The meeting was at the college.

(She is a student there.)

David is in hospital. Melanie waited in the hospital for news.

(He is a patient.)

Melanie is going to church. We wanted to look round the church, but it

(She is going to a service.) was locked.

We can also use jail and university in this way. But we do not leave out the before other nouns for

buildings, e.g. the cinema, the factory, the house, the library, the office, the pub, the shop, the station.

В Bed, home, etc

Here are some phrases with other nouns.

bed: in bed, go to bed (to rest or sleep) But sit on the bed, make the bed

home: at home, go home, come home, leave home But in the house, to the house, in the home

sea: at sea (= sailing) But on the sea, by the sea, at/to the seaside,

go to sea (as a sailor) on/to the coast

town: in town, go into town, leave town But the town centre, the city, the village

work: at work, go to work, leave work But the office, the factory

87 Exercises

1 Prison or the prison? (A)

Put in the words in brackets. Decide if you need the.

► The four members of the gang were sent to prison (prison). Their wives drove together to the prison (prison) every week to visit their husbands.

1 Not many people go to (church) regularly nowadays. I saw some tourists walking

to (church) last week, but they only wanted to take photos of it.

2 A group of people came out of (cinema), crossed the road and went into

(pub).

3 When my father was ill and had to go to (hospital), my sister went with him in

the ambulance. She's a doctor, and she works at (hospital).

4 Mark has always known what he wanted to do in life. After leaving (school),

he took a course in business studies at (college).

2 Prison, school, etc (A-B)

Complete this paragraph from a magazine article about Melissa Livingstone. Put in the words with or without the.

Today Melissa Livingstone is a popular actress and star of the TV soap opera 'Round the Corner'. But as a child she was very unhappy. She didn't do well at (►) school (school) , and she

never went to (1) (college). Her greatest pleasure was going

to (2) (cinema). Her family lived in an unattractive town and their home was next

to (3) (station). Melissa's father, Tom, was a sailor, and he spent months

at (4) (sea). He was hardly ever at (5) (home) and when he was,

he didn't do very much. Sometimes he spent all day in (6) (bed). Melissa's mother,

Susan, had to get up at five o'clock every day to go to (7) (work). When Tom lost his

job he stole a gold cup from (8) (church) Susan used to go to. He had to go

to (9) (prison) for a year. Melissa's mother was horrified at the shame he had

brought on the family.

3 Prison, school, etc (A-B)

Complete the sentences. Use in, at or to and these words:

bed, church, college, factory, home, hospital, library, prison, shop, town, work

Decide if you need the.

• We'll eat out tonight. I'll meet you in town later.

• This sweater was cheap. I bought it at the shop by the railway station.

1. The weather was awful. We stayed all weekend.

2. Melanie had an early night last night. She was at ten.

3. Emma's friend has just had a baby. Emma is going to visit her.

4. Vicky's parents are religious. They go every Sunday.

5. Laura doesn't like her job. She just goes to earn some money.

6. I've read these books. I'm taking them back

7. The man who did the robbery is no longer He was let out last month.

8. Jessica is a student. She's

9. It's very quiet when they've turned all the machines off.

88 On Friday, for lunch, etc

A Introduction

Henry: Don't forget we're meeting on Friday for lunch.

Sarah: Of course I haven't forgotten.

But remind me where we're eating.

Henry: The Riverside Restaurant. You've been there before. Claire was with us. It was the Friday before she went to Australia. We had a good lunch.

Phrases of time are usually without a/an or the. But we use a/an or the if there is a phrase or clause

after Friday, lunch, etc.

Were meeting on Friday for lunch. It was the Friday before she went to Australia.

We normally use a/an or the if there is an adjective. We had a good lunch.

В Years, seasons and months

I was born in 1974. That was the year I was born.

We play cricket in summer/in the summer. It was the winter of 1995 when things started to

Winter always depresses me. go wrong for the company.

I start the course in September.

С Special times

We go away at Christmas. We had a wonderful Christmas.

Easter is early this year. I started work here the Easter before last.

I'll be home for Thanksgiving.

D Days of the week

Yes, Thursday will be convenient. The storm was on the Thursday of that week.

I'll see you on Tuesday evening. We went surfing at the weekend.

E Parts of the day and night

/ can't sleep at night. It's warmer in/during the day.

I prefer to travel by day/by night. Someone got up in/during the night.

I must get to bed before midnight. We're meeting in the morning.

They arrived at the hotel in the evening.

We were on the beach at sunset. It was a beautiful sunset.

I hope to get there before dark. I couldn't see in the dark.

F Meals

I'll see you at breakfast. We had a quick breakfast.

We have supper at about eight. The supper David cooked was excellent.

I'm going out after lunch. The meal was very nice.

We'll need an evening meal.

88 Exercises

1 On Friday, etc (B-E)

Complete the conversations. Put in the words and use a/an or the if you need to. ► Rachel: Is it the pop festival on Friday (Friday)? Vicky: I think it's the Friday (Friday) after that.

1 Henry: Will you be in America for (Thanksgiving)?

Claire: Oh no. That's in (November), isn't it?

2 Nick: Are you doing anything at (weekend)?

Tom: Well, I'm going to the match on (Saturday), of course.

3 Ilona: Does it snow here at (Christmas)?

Emma Not often. We haven't had (white Christmas) for years.

4 Nick: How long have you lived here?

Harriet: We came here in (summer)

of (1997).

5 Laura: I'd like to look round the castle in (afternoon).

Trevor: Well, it's just a ruin. The building dates from (year) 900.

6 Mark: I like driving at (night) when the roads are quiet.

Trevor: Oh, I don't like driving in (dark). I'd much rather travel

during (day).

2 A/an or the with meals (F)

Laura is talking about the food she and Trevor had on holiday. Put in the words and use a/an or the if you need to.

(►) The meals (meals) we had weren't very good. We had (1) (breakfast) in the

hotel, and that wasn't too bad. We usually went out for (2) (lunch) because

(3) (lunch) they served in the hotel was always the same. And

(4) (dinner) we had at the hotel on our first evening was pretty awful, so we

tried a few restaurants. On our last evening we had (5) (marvellous meal) in a

Chinese restaurant. I wish we'd discovered the place a bit sooner.

3 On Friday, for lunch, etc (A-F)

Put in the words. Decide if you need to use the.

Claire: Hello, Henry. Come in.

Henry: Oh, sorry. You're having (►) lunch (lunch).

Claire: No, this is (1) (breakfast). I had a late night.

It was long after (2) (midnight) when I got in.

Henry: Someone told me you're going away after (3) (Christmas).

Claire: Yes, I'm going to the Seychelles on (4) (Wednesday).

Henry: What a life you lead, Claire. What time do you leave for the airport? Claire: Oh, in (5) (morning) some time. About ten.

It's cheaper to fly at (6) (night), but I decided

it would be easier during (7) (day).

Henry: I can drive you to the airport. I'm usually free on (8) (Wednesday)

mornings. I'd like to see you off.

Claire: That's sweet of you Henry, but I can take a taxi. Henry: I'll just check in my diary that it isn't (9) (Wednesday) of our next

board meeting. No, it's OK. I can do it. And when will you be back? Claire: At the beginning of (10) (February). The second, I think.

_{89 Quite a, such a, what a, etc}

A Introduction

After quite, such and what we can use a phrase with a/an, e.g. a game. There is often an adjective as well, e.g. such a good team.

В Very, quite, rather, etc

A/an goes before very, fairly, really, etc.

It's a very old house. It's a fairly long walk.

I made a really stupid mistake. But a/an usually goes after quite.

It s quite an old house. There was quite a crowd . A/an can go either before or after rather.

It's a rather old house, or It's rather an old house.

We can also use very, quite, rather, etc + adjective + plural or uncountable noun. They're very old houses. This is quite nice coffee.

С So and such a

SO SUCH A/AN

The structure is be + so + adjective. The structure is such + a/an (+ adjective) + noun. The test was so easy. It was such an easy test.

not It was a so easy test. not It was a such easy test.

The hill was so steep. It was such a steep hill.

It's so inconvenient without a car. It's such a nuisance without a car.

We can also use such + an adjective + a plural or

uncountable noun.

The weather is so nice. We're having such nice weather.

Tom's jokes are so awful. Tom tells such awful jokes.

Note these sentences with long, far, many/much and a lot of.

It's so long since I saw you. It's such a long time since I saw you.

Why are we so far from the beach? It's such a long way to the beach.

There were so many people. There were such a lot of people.

You waste so much time. You waste such a lot of time.

We can use this structure with so ... (that) or such ... (that).

Emma was so angry with Matthew Vicky got such a nice welcome (that) she

(that) she threw a plate at him. almost cried.

I was so unlucky you wouldn't believe it. I had such bad luck you wouldn't believe it.

D What a

In an exclamation we can use what a/an with a singular noun and what with a plural or uncountable noun.

+ singular noun: What a goal! What a good idea!

+ plural noun: What lovely flowers! What nice shoes you've got on!

+ uncountable noun: What rubbish! What fun we had!

89 Exercises

1 Very, quite, rather, so, etc (B-C)

What do you say in these situations?

• You're telling someone about the show you saw. It was quite good. You should go and see it. It's quite a good show.

• You are describing Harriet to someone who doesn't know her. She is fairly tall. Well, Harriet is a fairly tall woman.

1 You're talking about the Savoy Hotel, which is very grand.

Yes, I know the Savoy. It's .

2 You are talking about your journey. It was quite tiring.

I travelled a long way. It was .

3 You are telling someone about Claire's flat. It's really big.

I've been to Claire's place. It's .

4 You are telling a friend about your meal with Tom. It was quite nice.

We went to that new restaurant. We had .

2 So and such (C)

Complete the conversation. Put in so or such.

Sarah: Sorry I'm (^)so late. We had (►)such a lot to do at work.

Mark: You shouldn't do (1) much.

Sarah: The boss gets in (2) a panic about things. She makes (3) a big fuss.

Mark: Well, you shouldn't be (4) willing to work (5) long hours. No wonder

you're (6) tired. You'll make yourself ill, you know.

3 So... that and such ... that (C)

Match the sentences and combine them using 50 or such.

• Sarah was late home. All the tickets sold out.

• Mike hadn't cooked for a long time. He wouldn't speak to anyone.

1. The piano was heavy. He'd almost forgotten how to.

2. Tom was annoyed about United losing. It kept all the neighbours awake.

3. The band was a big attraction. Mark had already gone to bed.

4. Vicky had a lot of work to do. Mike and Harriet couldn't move it.

5. The party made a lot of noise. She was sure she'd never finish it.

• Sarah was so late home that Mark had already gone to bed.

• Mike hadn't cooked for such a long time that he'd almost forgotten how to.

4 What(D)

Put in what or what a.

► Come into the sitting-room. ~ Thank you. Oh, what a nice room!

1. Vicky believes in ghosts. ~ Oh, nonsense she talks!

2. Let's go for a midnight swim. ~ suggestion!

3. I think about you all the time, Emma. ~ lies you tell me, Matthew.

90 Place names and the

A Introduction

Man: Could you tell me where the Classic Cinema is, please?

Rachel: Yes, it's in Brook Street. Go along here and take the second left.

Whether a name has the depends on the kind of place it is - for example, a street {Brook Street) or a cinema (the Classic Cinema), a lake (Lake Victoria) or a sea (the North Sea).

Most place names do not have the. Some place names have the - for example, a name

Europe California Melbourne with the word cinema or sea.

Brook Street Lake Victoria the Classic Cinema the North Sea

Whether we use the can also depend on the structure of the name.

We do not use the with a possessive ('s). We often use the in structures with of, with an

adjective and with plural names.

at Matilda's Restaurant With of: the Avenue of the Americas

With an adjective: the White House

With a plural: the Bahamas

В Continents, countries, islands, states and counties

Most are without the. Words like republic and kingdom have the.

travelling through Africa the Irish Republic

a holiday in Portugal the United Kingdom (the UK)

on Jersey to Rhode Island Plural names also have the.

from Florida in Sussex the Netherlands the USA

the Canary Islands

С Regions

Regions ending with the name of a continent or Most other regions have the.

country are without the. the West the Middle East

Central Asia South Wales the Riviera the Midlands

Western Australia Phrases with of have the.

the South of France

D Hills and mountains

Most are without the. Hill ranges and mountain ranges have the.

She climbed (Mount) Everest. skiing in the Alps

down North Hill over the Rockies

E Lakes, oceans, seas, rivers and canals

Only lakes are without the. Seas, oceans, rivers and canals have the.

near Lake Michigan the Mediterranean (Sea)

beside Coniston Water across the Atlantic (Ocean)

the (River) Thames the Suez Canal

F Cities, towns, suburbs and villages

Most are without the. Exceptions are The Hague and The Bronx.

Harehills is a suburb of Leeds. Note also the West End (of London). Houston is west of New Orleans. We live in North London.

G Roads, streets, squares and parks

Most are without the. There are a few exceptions. along Morden Road the High Street The Avenue

in Church Street The Strand The Mall

on Fifth Avenue Main roads and numbered roads have the. near Berkeley Square the Bath road (= the road to Bath)

through Central Park the A5 the M6 (motorway)

H Bridges

Most are without the. But there are many exceptions. over Tower Bridge across the Golden Gate Bridge

on Brooklyn Bridge the Severn Bridge (= the bridge over

the River Severn)

I Stations and airports; important buildings

We do not use the with most stations and Exceptions are names with of or with a noun

airports; with religious, educational and official (science) or adjective (open). buildings or with palaces and houses. at the University of York

to Waterloo (Station) in the Palace of Westminster

at Orly (Airport) the Science Museum

near St Mary's Church the Open University

Merton College Norwich Museum past the White House

Lambeth Palace Ashdown House

J Theatres, cinemas, hotels, galleries and centres

A possessive form ('s) is without the. But usually theatres, cinemas, etc have the. St Martin's (Theatre) at the Globe (Theatre)

at Durrani's (Hotel) the Plaza (Cinema)

In the US, names with center are without the. outside the Dorchester (Hotel)

near Lincoln Center in the Tate (Gallery)

the Brunei shopping centre

К Shops and restaurants

Most shops and restaurants are without the. Names with a noun (body, studio) often have the. shopping at Bloomingdale's at the Body Shop

at Matilda's Restaurant The Studio Cafe

90 Exercises

1 Place names and the (B-F)

How much do you know about geography? Put in these names: Andes, Brussels, Irish Republic, Italy, Lab Michigan, River Nile, North, Pennsylvania, Tasmania, United Kingdom, West Indies Decide if you need the.

• Harrisburg is the capital of Pennsylvania.

• Dublin is in the Irish Republic.

1. Chicago lies on the shore of .

2. Sicily is a part of .

3 are a mountain range in South America.

4 is England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.

5 is an island to the south of Australia.

6 Jamaica is an island in .

7 flows through Egypt.

8 is the capital of Belgium.

9 Manchester is in of England.

2 Roads, buildings, etc (E-J)

Complete these sentences from a guide to London. Put in the words and decide if you need the.

• The train to Paris leaves from Waterloo Station (Waterloo Station).

• The National Theatre (National Theatre) is south of the river.

1. You can take a trip by boat along (Thames).

2. The Serpentine is a lake in (Hyde Park).

3. You can get to (Heathrow Airport) by underground.

4. Nelson's Column is in (Trafalgar Square).

5. Walk a little way along (Westminster Bridge).

6. From there you get a view of (Houses of Parliament).

7. The Queen lives at (Buckingham Palace).

8. Earl's Court is in (West London).

9 (Ml motorway) goes north from London.

10 (Ritz) is a very elegant hotel.

3 Roads, buildings, etc (F-K)

Complete the conversation. Put in the words and decide if you need the.

Sarah: We've just been to (►) the States (States) -to (1) (New York).

Claire: Oh, really? I was there at Christmas. Were you on holiday?

Sarah: Yes, and we really needed a break. It was wonderful. We saw

(2) (Statue of Liberty), and we walked in

(3) (Central Park). We did all the sights. We spent a day in

(4) (Metropolitan Museum of Art).

And we walked along (5) (Broadway) and around

(6) (Macy's) department store.

Claire: Where did you stay?

Sarah: In a small hotel near (7) (Washington Square), not far from

(8) (New York University).

Claire: Last time I was there I stayed at (9) (Paramount). It's a nice hotel

close to (10) (Broadway).

4 Roads, buildings, etc (I-J)

A woman is asking Trevor the way. Put in the words and decide if you need the.

Woman: Excuse me, can you tell me the way to (►) Millthorpe Station (Millthorpe Station)?

Trevor: Yes, go along here and turn left by (1) (Little Theatre) opposite a

building called (2) (Kingston House).

The road is (3) (Wood Lane).

Go along there, straight across (4) (High Street),

past (5) (Royal Hotel), and you'll see the station in front of you.

Woman: Thank you very much.

5 Roads, buildings, etc (G-K)

Look at the addresses and write the sentences.

Useful addresses for visitors to Seport

Seaport Bus Station, Queen's Road King Edward College, College Road

Grand Theatre, George Street St John's Church, South Street

Odeon Cinema, The Avenue Webster's department store, High Street

Clarendon Art Gallery, Newton Lane Bristol Hotel, Westville Way

► Seaport Bus Station is in Queen's Road.

1 The Grand Theatre

2 ……………………………………………………………………………………………………………

6 Place names and the (B-K)

Write the headlines of the articles in this month's edition of'Holiday', a travel magazine.

• walk / along / Princes Street A walk along Princes Street

• holiday / in / Bahamas A holiday in the Bahamas

1. day / at / Blenheim Palace

2. train journey / in / North Wales

3. tour / of / White House

4. beach I on I Riviera

5. shopping trip / to / Harrods

6. small town / in / France

7. trip / across / Severn Bridge

8. walk / around / Lake Windermere

9. visit / to / Tower Bridge

10. journey / across / Rockies

11. look / around / National Gallery

12. boat trip / along / Oxford Canal