Unit 72. A / an and the
Unit 72; Part A
 Study this example: |
| Compare a and the in these examples: • A man and a woman were sitting opposite me. The man was American, but I think the woman was British. • When we were on holiday, we stayed at a hotel. Sometimes we ate at the hotel and sometimes we went to a restaurant. |
Unit 72; Part B
We use the when we are thinking of a specific thing. Compare a/an and the: • Tim sat down on a chair. (perhaps one of many chairs in the room)
Tim sat down on the chair nearest the door. (a specific chair)
• Paula is looking for a job. (not a specific job)
Did Paula get the job she applied for? (a specific job)
• Have you got a car? (not a specific car)
I cleaned the car yesterday. (= my car)
Unit 72; Part C
We use the when it is clear in the situation which thing or person we mean. For example, in a room we talk about the light / the floor / the ceiling / the door / the carpet etc. :
• Can you turn off the light, please? (= the light in this room)
• I took a taxi to the station. (= the station in that town)
• (in a shop) I'd like to speak to the manager, please. (= the manager of this shop)
In the same way, we say (go to) the bank, the post office:
• I have to go to the bank and then I'm going to the post office. (The speaker is usually thinking of a specific bank or post office.)
We also say (go to) the doctor / the dentist:
• Caroline isn't very well. She's gone to the doctor. (= her usual doctor)
• I don't like going to the dentist.
Compare the and a:
• I have to go to the bank today. Is there a bank near here?
• I don't like going to the dentist. My sister is a dentist.
Unit 72; Part D
We say 'once a week / three times a day / £1.50 a kilo' etc. :• 'How often do you go to the cinema?' 'About once a month.'
• 'How much are those potatoes?' '£1.50 a kilo.'
• Helen works eight hours a day, six days a week.
Exercises
Put in a/an or the.Key.1 ... and a magazine. The newspaper is in my bag, but I can't remember where I put the magazine.
2 I saw an accident this morning. A car crashed into a tree. Thedriver of the car wasn't hurt, but the car was badly damaged.
3 ... a blue one and a grey one. The blue one belongs to my neighbours; I don't know who the owner of the grey one is.
4 My friends live in an old house in a small village. There is abeautiful garden behind the house. I would like to have a garden likethat.
1 This morning I bought a newspaper and ______ magazine.
______ newspaper is in my bag, but I can't remember where I put ______ magazine.
2 I saw ______ accident this morning. ______ car crashed into ______ tree.
______ driver of ______ car wasn't hurt, but ______ car was badly damaged.
3 There are two cars parked outside: ______ blue one and ______ grey one.
______ blue one belongs to my neighbours; I don't know who ______ owner of ______ grey one is.
4 My friends live in ______ old house in ______ small village.
There is ______ beautiful garden behind ______ house. I would like to have ______ garden like that.
Put in a/an or the.Key.1 a a
b the
с the
2 a a
b a
с the
3 a a
b the
с the
4 a an ... The
b the
с the
5 a the
b a
с a
1 a This house is very nice. Has it got _________ garden?
b It's a beautiful day. Let's sit in _________ garden.
с I like living in this house, but it's a pity that _________ garden is so small.
2 a Can you recommend _________ good restaurant?
b We had dinner in _________ very nice restaurant.
c We had dinner in _________ best restaurant in town.
3 a She has _________ French name, but in fact she's English, not French.
b What's _________ name of that man we met yesterday?
с We stayed at a very nice hotel - I can't remember _________ name now.
4 a There isn't _________ airport near where I live. _________ nearest airport is 70 miles away.
b Our flight was delayed. We had to wait at _________ airport for three hours.
с Excuse me, please. Can you tell me how to get to _________ airport?
5 a 'Are you going away next week?' 'No, _________ week after next.'
b I'm going away for _________ week in September.
с Gary has a part-time job. He works three mornings _________ week.
Put in a/an or the where necessary.Key.2 the dentist
3 the door
4 a mistake
5 the bus station
6 a problem
7 the post office
8 the floor
9 the book
10 a job in a bank
11 a small flat in the city centre
12 a supermarket at the end of the street
1 Would you like apple? Whould you like an apple?
2 How often do you go to dentist? _____________________________
3 Could you close door, please? _____________________________
4 I'm sorry. I didn't mean to do that. It was mistake. _____________________________
5 Excuse me, where is bus station, please? _____________________________
6 I have problem. Can you help me? _____________________________
7 I'm just going to post office. I won't be long. _____________________________
8 There were no chairs, so we sat on floor. _____________________________
9 Have you finished with book I lent you? _____________________________
10 My sister has just got job in bank in Manchester. _____________________________
11 We live in small flat in city centre. _____________________________
12 There's supermarket at end of street I live in. _____________________________
Answer these questions about yourself. Where possible, use the structure in Section D (once a week / three times a day etc.).Key.Example answers:
3 About once a month.
4 Once or twice a year.
5 50 kilometres an hour.
6 About seven hours a night.
7 Two or three times a week.
8 About two hours a day.
1 How often do you go to the cinema? Three or four times a year.
2 How much does it cost to hire a car in your country? About £ 20 a day.
3 How often do you go to the cinema? _______________________
4 How often do you go away on holiday? _______________________
5 What's the usual speed limit in towns in your country? _______________________
6 How much sleep do you need? _______________________
7 How often do you go out in the evening? _______________________
8 How much television do you watch (on average)? _______________________
 | Unit 71 Unit 72 Unit 73 |  |