Unit 76. The 4 (the giraffe / the telephone / the piano etc., the + adjective)
Unit 76; Part A
![]() ![]() • 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 (= the money) of the United States. In these examples, the ... does not mean one specific thing. The giraffe = a specific type of animal, not a specific giraffe. We use the (+ 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 and the: • I'd like to have a piano. but I can't play the piano. • We saw a giraffe at the zoo. but The giraffe is my favourite animal. 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) |
Unit 76; Part B

We use the + adjective (without a noun) to talk about groups of people, especially:
the young the rich the sick the blind the injured the old the poor the disabled the deaf the dead the elderly the homeless the unemployed |
The young = young people, the rich = rich people etc. :
• Do you think the rich should pay higher taxes?
• The government has promised to provide more money to help the homeless.
These expressions are always plural in meaning. For example, you cannotsay 'a young' or 'the injured' for one person. You must say 'a youngperson', 'the injured woman' etc. Note that we say 'the poor' (not the poors), 'the young' (not the youngs) etc.
Unit 76; Part C

You can use the + nationality adjectives that end in -ch or -sh (the French / the English / the Spanish etc.) The meaning is 'the people of that country':
• The French are famous for their food. (= the people of France)
The French / the English etc. are plural in meaning. We do not 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 / the Japanese etc.):
• The Chinese invented printing.
But these words can also be singular (a Japanese, a Sudanese etc.). Also a Swiss (singular) and the Swiss (= the people of Switzerland)
With other nationalities, the plural noun ends in -s. For example:
an Italian → Italians a Mexican → Mexicans a Turk → Turks
With these words (Italians etc.), we do not normally use the to talk about the people in general (see Unit 75).
Exercises
![]() | Unit 75 Unit 76 Unit 77 | ![]() |
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