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
Choose four of these things and write whether you like them or not:Key.Example answers:
I like cats.
I don't like zoos.
I don't mind fast food restaurants.
I'm not interested in football.
boxing cats fast food restaurants football hot weather maths opera small children rock music zoos |
I like ... / I don't like ... I don't mind ...
I love ... /I hate ... I'm interested in ... / I'm not interested in ...
1 I don't like hot weather very much.
2 __________________________________
3 __________________________________
4 __________________________________
Complete the sentences using the following. Use the where necessary.Key.3 spiders
4 meat
5 the questions
6 the people
7 History
8 lies
9 the shops
10 The water
11 the grass
12 patience
(the) questions (the) meat (the) history (the) water (thel spiders (the) lies |
2 The information we were given wasn't correct.
5 Some people are afraid of ____________________.
6 A vegetarian is somebody who doesn't eat ____________________.
7 The test wasn't very difficult. I answered ____________________ without difficulty.
8 Do you know ____________________ who live next door?
7 ____________________ is the study of the past.
1 George always tells the truth. He never tells ____________________.
2 It was late when we arrived in the town, and ____________________ were shut.
10 ____________________ in the pool didn't look very clean, so we didn't go for a swim.
11 Don't sit on ____________________. It's wet after the rain.
12 You need ____________________ to teach young children.
Choose the correct form, with or without the.Key.3 Apples
4 the apples
5 Women ... men
6 tea
7 The vegetables
8 Life
9 skiing
10 the people
11 people ... aggression
12 All the books
13 the beds
14 war
15 The First World War
16 the Pyramids
17 the history of modern art
18 the marriage
19 Most people ... marriage ... family life ... society
1 I'm afraid of dogs /the dogs. (dogs is correct)
2 Can you pass salt / the salt, please? (the salt is correct)
3 Apples / The apples are good for you.
4 Look at apples / the apples on that tree! They're very big.
5 Women / The women live longer than men / the men.
6 I don't drink tea / the tea. I don't like it.
7 We had a very good meal. Vegetables / The vegetables were especially good.
8 Life / The life is strange sometimes. Some very strange things happen.
9 I like skiing / the skiing, but I'm not very good at it.
10 Who are people / the people in this photograph?
11 What makes people / the people violent? What causes aggression / the aggression?
12 All books / All the books on the top shelf belong to me.
13 Don't stay in that hotel. It's very noisy and beds / the beds are very uncomfortable.
14 A pacifist is somebody who is against war / the war.
15 First World War / The First World War lasted from 1914 until 1918.
16 I'd like to go to Egypt and see Pyramids / the Pyramids.
17 Someone gave me a book about history / the history of modern art / the modern art.
18 Ron and Brenda got married, but marriage / the marriage didn't last very long.
19 Most people / The most people believe that marriage / the marriage and family life / the family life are the basis of society / the society.
 | Unit 74 Unit 75 Unit 76 |  |
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