Articles and uncountables (1) RECYCLING ADVANCED ENGLISH UNIT 1

RECYCLING ADVANCED ENGLISH

UNIT 1

Articles and uncountables (1)

No article is used when generalising (with plural, abstract and uncountable nouns) but the or a/an is used when talking about particular examples. The definite article the is used when it is clear which noun we mean, whereas the indefinite article a/an is used when a noun is referred to for the first time. Singular countable nouns must always have an article (or possessive), except in the following cases: prepositions with home, school, college, university, church, work, class, hospital, prison, bed, sea, breakfast, lunch, supper, dinner. Note also: • at night, on foot, by car/bus/tube etc. (means of transport), to/in/from town (when referring to the town we live in, a local large town or the capital), go to sleep and go home Notice the difference between She's in prison (she's a prisoner) and She's in the prison (she either works there or is visiting). The article is also omitted in certain double expressions: • from top to bottom, on land and sea, hand in hand, face to face The indefinite article a/an is normally used to indicate someone's profession: • He wants to train as a psychotherapist. EXERCISES A Complete the sentences by putting the, a/an or no article (-) into the spaces. 1 You remember my sister Jane? ________ one who has always been afraid of____ spiders? 2 She’s been studying ______ architecture at _______ university for___ last three years. 3 At____ moment she’s researching into ______ work of Le Corbusier, Don’t you know him? He’s ________ well-known French architect. 4 She’s pretty busy in _____ daytime, but she finds she’s at____ bit of loose end at night, so____ last year she joined____ film club. 5 _____ club members can watch_____ films at____ very low prices, in _____ disused warehouse on other side of_____  town. 6 So when she gets home from___ college, she usually goes straight over there by____ bike, and has____ drink and____ sandwich before ___ film starts. 7 One evening she was in such ___ hurry to get there that she had ______ accident. 8 She was knocked down by _____ car and had to spend two months in ______ hospital. 9 When I went to visit her, I was shocked to find her swathed in___ bandages from___ head to____ toe. 10 But luckily her injuries looked worse than they really were, and she managed to make____ very speedy recovery.

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