Study this example:
JOHN: I had a sandwich and an apple for lunch. The sandwich wasn't very good but the apple was nice. John says 'a sandwich', 'an apple' because this is the first time he talks about them.
John now says 'the sandwich', 'the apple because Karen knows which sandwich and which apple he means - the sandwich and the apple he had for lunch.
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 had our evening meal at the hotel and sometimes we went to a restaurant.
We use the when we are thinking of one particular thing. Compare a/an and the:
* Tom sat down on a chair. (perhaps one of many chairs in the room)
but Tom sat down on the chair nearest the door. (a particular chair)
* Ann is looking for a job. (not a particular job)
but Did Ann get the job she applied for? (a particular job)
* Have you got a car? (not a particular car)
but I cleaned the car yesterday. (= my car)
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)
* I'd like to speak to the manager, please. (= the manager of this shop etc.)
In the same way, we say (go to) the bank, the post office:
* I must go to the bank to get some money and then I'm going to the post office to get some stamps. (The speaker is usually thinking of a particular bank or post office.
Also: the doctor, the dentist:
* Carol isn't very well. She's gone to the doctor. (= her usual doctor)
* I hate going to the dentist.
Compare a:
* Is there a bank near here?
* My sister is a dentist.
Don't forget the:
* Susan works in the city centre. (not 'in city centre')
* My brother is in the army. (not 'in army')
We say 'once a week/three times a day/-'1.20 a kilo' etc.:
* 'How often do you go to the cinema?' 'About once a month.'
* 'How much are those potatoes?' 'Ll.20 a kilo.'
* She works eight hours a day, six days a week.
EXERCISES
71.1 Put in a/an or the.
1. This morning I bought _a_ newspaper and --- magazine ---newspaper is in my bag but I don't know 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.
71.2 Put in a/an or the.
1. a. This house is very nice. Has it got --- garden?
b. It's a beautiful day. Let's sit in --- garden.
c. 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 --- most expensive 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?
c. 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 plane was delayed. We had to wait at --- airport for three hours.
c. 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.
c. George has a part-time job. He works three mornings --- week.
71.3 Put in a/an or the in these sentences where necessary.
1. Would you like apple? _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've got 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 had to sit 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 near city centre. ---
12. There's small supermarket at end of street I live in ---
71.4 Answer these questions about yourself. Where possible, use the structure in Section D (once a week/three times a day etc.).
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 L30 a day._
3. How often do you go away on holiday? ---
4. What's the speed limit in towns in your country? ---
5. How much sleep do you need? ---
6. How often do you go out in the evening? ---
7. How much television do you watch (on average)? ---
71.1
1 ... and a magazine. The newspaper is in my bag but I don't know where I put the magazine.
2 I saw an accident this morning. A car crashed into a tree. The driver 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 a beautiful garden behind the house. I would like to have a garden like that.
71.2
1 a. a b. the c. the
2 a. a b. a c. the
3 a. a b. the c. the
4 a. an ... The b. the c. the
5 a. the b. a c. a
71.3
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 near the city centre
12 a small supermarket at the end of the street
71.4 Example answers:
3 Once or twice a year.
4 Thirty miles an hour.
5 About seven hours a night.
6 Two or three times a week.
7 About two hours a day.
