Unit 75. The 3 (children / the children)
Unit 75; Part A
When we are talking about things or people in general, we do not use the: • I'm afraid of dogs. (not the dogs) (dogs = dogs in general, not a specific group of dogs) • Doctors are paid more than teachers. • Do you collect stamps? • Crime is a problem in most big cities. (not The crime) • Life has changed a lot in the last thirty years. (not The life) • Do you like classical music / Chinese food / fast cars? • My favourite sport is football/skiing/athletics. • My favourite subject at school was history/physics/English. We say 'most people / most books / most cars' etc. (not the most ...): • Most hotels accept credit cards. (not The most hotels) |
Unit 75; Part 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) |
Unit 75; Part 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 working with people who are lively. (not all people, but 'people who are lively' is still a general idea) | • I like the people I work with. (= a specific group of people) |
• Do you like coffee? (= coffee in general) | |
• Do you like strong black coffee? (not all coffee, but 'strong black coffee' is still a general idea) | • Did you like the coffee we had after dinner last night? (= specific coffee) |
Exercises
| Unit 74 Unit 75 Unit 76 | |
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