Unit 76. The 4 (the giraffe / the telephone / the piano etc., the + adjective)
Unit 76; Part 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 (= 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
The + adjectiveWe 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
The + nationalityYou 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
Answer the questions. Choose the right answer from the box. Don't forget the. Use a dictionary if necessary.Key.1 b the cheetah
с the kangaroo (and the rabbit)
2 a the swan
b the penguin
с the owl
3 a the wheel
b the laser
с the telescope
4 a the rupee
b the (Canadiani dollar
с the ...
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | ||||
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1 a Which of the animals is tallest? The giraffe
b Which animal can run fastest? ____________________
с 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? ____________________
с Which bird flies at night? ____________________
3 a Which of these inventions is oldest? ____________________
b Which one is most recent? ____________________
с Which one was especially important for astronomy? ____________________
4 a What is the currency of India? ____________________
b What is the currency of Canada? ____________________
с And the currencv of your country? ____________________
Put in the or a.Key.2 a
3 the
4 a
5 the
6 the
- a
8 The
1 When was the telephone invented?
2 Can you play _______ musical 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 _______ computer has changed the way we live.
Complete these sentences using the + the following:Key.2 the injured
3 the unemployed
4 the sick
5 the rich ... the poor
injured poor rich sick unemployed |
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. Itis said that he robbed ______________ and gave the money to______________.
What do you call the people of these countries?Key.2 a German Germans
3 a Frenchman/Frenchwoman the French
4 a Russian Russians
5 a Chinese the Chinese
6 a Brazilian Brazilians
7 an Englishman/Englishwoman the English
1 Canada 2 Germany 3 Fra nee 4 Russia 5 China 6 Brazil 7 England 8 and your country | one person (a/an ...) a Canadian ______________________ ______________________ ______________________ ______________________ ______________________ ______________________ ______________________ | the people in general Canadians ______________________ ______________________ ______________________ ______________________ ______________________ ______________________ ______________________ |
 | Unit 75 Unit 76 Unit 77 |  |
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