UNIT 76. The 4 (the giraffe/ the telephone/ the piano etc.; the + adjective) ENGLISH GRAMMAR IN USE FOR INTERMEDIATE

ENGLISH GRAMMAR IN USE FOR INTERMEDIATE

UNIT 76. The 4 (the giraffe/ the telephone/ the piano etc.; the + adjective)

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 of the United Stat es. √ √ √ In these examples, the ... does not mean one specific thing. The giraffe= a specific type of animal, not a specific giraffe. We use the 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)
B	The+ adjective We use the+ adjective (without a noun) to talk about groups of people. For example: the young the rich the sick the injured the old the poor the disabled 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? We need to do more to help the homeless. √ The young /the rich /the injured etc. are plural in meaning. For example, you cannot say ·a young' or ‘the injured' for one person. You must say ·a young person', ‘the injured woman' etc. Note that we say ‘the poor' (not the poors), ‘the young' (not the youngs) etc.
C	The+ nationality You 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. We 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 Chinese, a Japanese etc.). Note 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

76.1	Answer the questions. Choose the right answer from the box. Don't forget the. Use a dictionary if necessary. 1 a. Which of the animals is tallest? b. Which animal can run fastest? c. Which of these animals is found in Australia? _____ the giraffe ____ __________________ 2 a. Which of these birds has a long neck? b. Which of these birds cannot fly? c. Which bird flies at night? _______________________ 3 a. Which of these inventions is oldest? b. Which one is most recent? c. Which one was especially important for astronomy? _______________________ 4 a. What is the currency of India? b. What is the currency of Canada? c. And the currency of your country? _______________________
76.2	Put in the or a. 1 When was ___the_____ telephone invented? Can you play_________ musical instrument? Jessica plays _________ violin in an orchestra. There was _________ piano in the corner of the room. 2 3 4 5 Can you play _________ piano? Our society is based on _________ family. Martin comes from _________ large family. _________ computer has changed the way we live. 6 7 8
76.3	Complete these sentences using the+ the following: injured poor rich sick unemployed young 1 ___ The young_____ have the future in their hands. Ambulances arrived at the scene of the accident and took _________ to hospital. Life is all right if you have a job, but things are not so easy for _________. Helen has been a nurse all her life. She has spent her life caring for _________. 2 3 4 5 In England there is an old story about a man called Robin Hood. It is said that he robbed _________  and gave the money to
76.4	What do you call the people of these countries? one person (a/an……) the people in general 1 Canada ___ a Canadian ______ ______ Canadians ________ 2 Germany ______________________ ______________________ 3 France ______________________ ______________________ 4 Russia ______________________ ______________________ 5 China ______________________ ______________________ 6 Brazil ______________________ ______________________ 7 England ______________________ ______________________ 8 and your country ______________________ ______________________

ANSWER KEY