We use the ... when there is only one of something:
* What is the longest river in the world? (there is only one longest river)
* The earth goes round the sun and the moon goes round the earth.
* I'm going away at the end of this month.
Don't forget the:
* Paris is the capital of France. (not 'Paris is capital of...')
But we use a/an to say what kind of thing something is. Compare the and a:
* The sun is a star. (= one of many stars)
* The hotel we stayed at was a very nice hotel.
We say: the sky the sea the ground the country the environment:
* We looked up at all the stars in the sky. (not 'in sky')
* Would you rather live in a town or in the country?
* We must do more to protect the environment. (= the natural world around us)
Note that we say space (without 'the') when we mean 'space in the universe':
* There are millions of stars in space. (not 'in the space')
but * I tried to park my car but the space was too small.
We use the before same (the same):
* Your pullover is the same colour as mine. (not 'is same colour')
* These two photographs are the same. (not 'are same')
We say: (go to) the cinema, the theatre:
* I often go to the cinema but I haven't been to the theatre for ages.
When we say the cinema/the theatre, we do not necessarily mean one particular cinema or theatre. We usually say the radio, but television (without 'the'):
* I often listen to the radio.
* We heard the news on the radio.
* I often watch television.
* We watched the news on television.
but * Can you turn off the television, please? (= the television set)
Compare a:
* There isn't a theatre in this town.
* I'm going to buy a new radio/television (set).
Breakfast lunch dinner
We do not normally use the with the names of meals (breakfast, lunch etc.):
* What did you have for breakfast?
* We had lunch in a very nice restaurant.
* What time is dinner?
But we use a if there is an adjective before breakfast, lunch etc.:
We had a very nice lunch. (not 'we had very nice lunch')
We do not use 'the' before noun + number. For example, we say:
* Our train leaves from Platform 5. (not 'the Platform 5')
* (in a shop) Have you got these shoes in size 43? (not 'the size 43')
In the same way, we say: Room 126 (in a hotel) page 29 (of a book) Section A etc.
EXERCISES
72.1 Put in the or a/an where necessary. If no word is necessary, leave the space empty(-).
1. A: Where did you have - lunch?
B: We went to _a_ restaurant.
2. A: Did you have --- nice holiday?
B: Yes, 'it was --- best holiday I've ever had.
3. A: Where's nearest shop?
B: There's one at --- end of this street.
4. A: Do you often listen to radio?
B: No. In fact I haven't got radio.
5. A: Would you like to travel in --- space?
B: Yes, I'd love to go to -- moon.
6. A: Do you go to -- cinema very often?
B: No, not very often. But I watch a lot of films on --- television.
7. A: It was --- nice day yesterday, wasn't it?
B: Yes, it was beautiful. We went for a walk by --- sea.
8. A: What did you have --- breakfast this morning?
B: Nothing. I never eat --- breakfast.
9. A: Can you tell me where --- Room 25 is, please?
B: It's on --- second floor.
10. A: We spent all our money because we stayed at --- most expensive hotel in town.
B: Why didn't you stay at --- cheaper hotel?
72.2 Put in the where necessary. If you don't need the, leave the space empty(-).
1. I haven't been to _the_ cinema for ages.
2. I lay down on --- ground and looked up at --- sky.
3. Sheila spends most of her free time watching --- television.
4. --- television was on but nobody was watching it.
5. Have you had --- dinner yet?
6. Mary and I arrived at --- same time.
7. You'll find --- information you need at --- top of --- page 15.
8. Peru is a country in South America. --- capital is Lima.
72.3 Put in the or a/an where necessary. If the sentence is already correct, put 'RIGHT'. (If necessary, see previous units for a/an and the.)
1. I Sun is star. _The sun is a star._
2. Tim lives in small village in country. ---
3. Moon goes round earth every 27 days. ---
4. What is highest mountain in world? ---
5. I'm fed up with doing same thing every day. ---
6. It was very hot day. It was hottest day of year. ---
7. I don't usually have lunch but I always eat good breakfast. ---
8. If you live in foreign country, you should try and learn language. ---
9. We missed our train because we were waiting on wrong platform. We were on Platform 3 instead of Platform
8. ---
72.4 Complete the sentences using one of the following. Use the if necessary.
breakfast cinema dinner gate Gate 21 Question 8 sea
1. I didn't have time for --- this morning because I was in a hurry.
2. 'I'm going to --- this evening.' 'Are you? What film are you going to see?'
3. There was no wind, so --- was very calm.
4. 'Are you going out this evening?' 'Yes, after ---
5. The examination paper wasn't too difficult but I couldn't answer ---
6. Oh --- is open. I must have forgotten to shut it.
7. (airport announcement) 'Flight BA123 to Vienna is now boarding at ---
72.1
2 a nice holiday ... the best holiday
3 the nearest shop ... the end of this street
4 listen to the radio ... I haven't got a radio
5 to travel in space ... go to the moon
6 go to the cinema ... a lot of films on television
7 a nice day ... by the sea
8 for breakfast ... eat breakfast
9 where Room 25 is ... on the second floor
10 the most expensive hotel ... a cheaper hotel
72.2
2 the ... the
3 -
4 The
5 -
6 the
7 the information ... the top of page 15.
8 The
72.3
2 in a small village in the country
3 The moon ... the earth
4 the highest mountain in the world
5 the same thing
6 a very hot day ... the hottest day of the year
7 have lunch ... eat a good breakfast
8 live in a foreign country ... the language
9 on the wrong platform. We were on Platform 3 instead of Platform 8.
72.4
2 the cinema 3 the sea
4 dinner 5 Question 8
6 the gate 7 Gate 21
