Unit

73 the 1
A We use the when there is only one of something:
Have you ever crossed the equator?
(there is only one equator)
Our apartment is on the tenth floor.
Buenos Aires is the capital of Argentina. THE EQUATOR
I’m going away at the end of this month.
We use the + superlative (best, oldest etc.):
What’s the longest river in Europe?
Compare the and a/an (see also Units 71–72):
The sun is a star. (= one of many stars)
The hotel where we stayed was a very old hotel.
We live in an apartment on the tenth floor.
What’s the best way to learn a language?

B We say ‘the same’:

Your sweater is the same colour as mine. (not is same colour)
‘Are these keys the same?’ ‘No, they’re different.’

C We say: the world the universe the sun the moon the earth
the sky the sea the ground the country (= not a town)
I love to look at the stars in the sky. (not in sky)
Do you live in a town or in the country?
The earth goes round the sun, and the moon goes round the earth.
We also use Earth (without the) when we think of it as a planet in space (like Mars, Jupiter etc.).
Which is the planet nearest Earth?
We say space (without the) when we mean ‘space in the universe’. Compare:
There are millions of stars in space. (not in the space)
I tried to park my car, but the space was too small.

D We say:
(go to) the cinema, the theatre
I go to the cinema a lot, but I haven’t been to the theatre for ages.
TV / television (without the), but the radio
I watch TV a lot, but I don’t listen to the radio much.
but Can you turn off the television, please? (the television = the TV set)
the internet
The internet has changed the way we live.

E We usually say breakfast/lunch/dinner (without the):

What did you have for breakfast?
We had lunch in a very nice restaurant.
But we say ‘a big lunch’, ‘a wonderful dinner’, ‘an early breakfast’ etc.
We had a very nice lunch. (not We had very nice lunch)

F We say: size 43, platform 5 etc. (without the)

Our train leaves from platform 5. (not the platform 5)
Do you have these shoes in size 43? (not the size 43)
In the same way, we say: room 126, page 29, vitamin A, section B etc.

a/an ➜ Unit 71 a/an and the ➜ Unit 72 the 2–4 ➜ Units 74–76
146 Names with and without the ➜ Units 77–78
 Unit
Exercises 73
73.1 Put in the or a where necessary. If no word is necessary, leave the space empty.
1 a: Our apartment is on the tenth floor.
b: Is it? I hope there’s lift.
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: It’s lovely day, isn’t it?
b: Yes, there isn’t cloud in sky.
5 a: We spent all our money because we stayed at most expensive hotel in town.
b: Why didn’t you stay at cheaper hotel?
6 a: Would you like to travel in space?
b: Yes, I’d love to go to moon.
7 a: What did you think of movie last night?
b: It was OK, but I thought ending was a bit strange.
8 a: What’s Jupiter? Is it star?
b: No, it’s planet. It’s largest planet in solar system.

73.2 Which is right? (For the, see also Unit 72.)

1 I haven’t been to cinema / the cinema for ages. (the cinema is correct)
2 Sarah spends most of her free time watching TV / the TV.
3 Do you ever listen to radio / the radio?
4 Television / The television was on, but nobody was watching it.
5 Have you had dinner / the dinner yet?
6 It’s confusing when two people have same name / the same name.
7 What do you want for breakfast / for the breakfast?
8 Fruit is an important source of vitamin C / the vitamin C.
9 This computer is not connected to internet / the internet.
10 I lay down on ground / the ground and looked up at sky / the sky.
11 Next train / The next train to London leaves from platform 3 / the platform 3.

73.3 Put in the or a where necessary. (For a and the see also Units 71–72.)
1 Sun is star. The sun is a star.
2 I’m fed up with doing same thing every day.
3 Room 25 is on second floor.
4 It was very hot day. It was hottest day of year.
5 We had lunch in nice restaurant by sea.
6 What’s on at cinema this week?
7 I had big breakfast this morning.
8 You’ll find information you need at top of page 15.

73.4 Complete the sentences. Choose from the box and use the where necessary.
breakfast cinema gate Gate 24 lunch question question 3 sea
1 I’m hungry. It’s time for lunch .
2 There was no wind, so was very calm.
3 Most of the questions in the test were OK, but I couldn’t answer .
4 ‘I’m going to tonight.’ ‘Are you? What are you going to see?’
5 I’m sorry, but could you repeat , please?
6 I didn’t have this morning because I was in a hurry.
7 (airport announcement) Flight AB123 to Rome is now boarding at .
8 I forgot to shut . Can you shut it for me?

➜ Additional exercise 29 (page 319) 147

Unit
74 the 2 (school / the school etc.)
A Compare school and the school:

ELLIE

Ellie is ten years old. Every day she goes to Today Ellie’s mother wants to speak to her
school. She’s at school now. School starts daughter’s teacher. So she has gone to the
at 9 and finishes at 3. school to see her. She’s at the school now.
We say a child goes to school or is at school Ellie’s mother is not a student. She is not ‘at
(as a student). We are not thinking of a specific school’, she doesn’t ‘go to school’. If she
school. We are thinking of school as a general wants to see Ellie’s teacher, she goes to the
idea – children learning in a classroom. school (= Ellie’s school, a specific building).

B We use prison (or jail), hospital, university, college and church in a similar way. We do not use the
when we are thinking of the general idea of these places and what they are used for.
Compare:
When I leave school, I plan to go I went to the university to meet
to university / go to college. Professor Thomas.
(as a student) (as a visitor, not as a student)
Joe had an accident last week. He was Jane has gone to the hospital to visit
taken to hospital. He’s still in hospital Joe. She’s at the hospital now.
now. (as a patient) (as a visitor, not as a patient)
Ken’s brother is in prison for robbery. Ken went to the prison to visit his
(He is a prisoner. We are not thinking brother. (He went as a visitor, not as a
of a specific prison.) prisoner.)
Sarah’s father goes to church every Some workmen went to the church to
Sunday. (for a religious service) repair the roof. (a specific building)

With most other places, you need the. For example, the station, the cinema (see Units 72C and 73D).

C We say go to bed / be in bed etc. (not the bed):

I’m going to bed now. Goodnight.
Do you ever have breakfast in bed?
but
I sat down on the bed. (a specific piece of furniture)
go to work / be at work / start work / finish work etc. (not the work):
Chris didn’t go to work yesterday.
What time do you usually finish work?
go home / come home / arrive home / get home / be (at) home / do something at home etc. :
It’s late. Let’s go home.
I don’t go out to work. I work at home.

the ➜ Units 72–73, 75–78 Prepositions (at school / in hospital etc.) ➜ Units 123–125
148 home ➜ Unit 126C American English ➜ Appendix 7
 Unit
Exercises 74
74.1 Complete the sentences with school or the school.
1 Why aren’t your children at school today? Are they ill?
2 When he was younger, Ben hated , but he enjoys it now.
3 There were some parents waiting outside to meet their children.
4 What time does start in the morning?
5 How do your children get to and from ? Do you take them?
6 What was the name of you attended?
7 What does Emily want to do when she leaves ?
8 My children walk to . isn’t very far.

74.2 Which is right?

1 a Where is university / the university? Is it near here? (the university is correct)
b Neil left school and got a job. He didn’t want to go to university / the university.
c In your country, what proportion of the population study at university / the university?
d This is a small town, but university / the university is the biggest in the country.
2 a My brother has always been healthy. He’s never been in hospital / the hospital.
b When my friend was ill, I went to hospital / the hospital to see her.
c When I was visiting my friend, I met Lisa, who is a nurse at hospital / the hospital.
d I saw an accident. A woman was injured and was taken to hospital / the hospital.
3 a Why is she in prison / the prison? What crime did she commit?
b There was a fire at prison / the prison. Firefighters were called to put it out.
c Do you think too many people are sent to prison / the prison?
4 a John’s mother is a regular churchgoer. She goes to church / the church every Sunday.
b John himself doesn’t go to church / the church.
c The village is very nice. You should visit church / the church. It’s interesting.

74.3 Complete the sentences. Choose from the box.

1 How did you get home after the party? bed
2 How do you usually go in the morning? By bus? the bed
3 Sam likes to go to early and get up early. in bed
4 I don’t have my phone. I left it . home
5 ‘Have you seen my keys?’ ‘Yes, they’re on .’ home
6 Shall we meet tomorrow evening? at home
7 I like to read before going to sleep. like home
8 It was a long tiring journey. We arrived very late. work
9 Tom usually finishes at five o’clock. to work
10 It’s nice to travel around, but there’s no place . after work

74.4 Complete the sentences. Choose at/in/to + hospital, school etc.

bed home hospital hospital prison school university work
1 Kate’s mother has to have an operation. She’ll be in hospital for a few days.
2 In your country, from what age do children have to go ?
3 Mark didn’t go out last night. He stayed .
4 There is a lot of traffic in the morning when people are going .
5 When Sophie leaves school, she wants to study psychology .
6 Ben never gets up before 9 o’clock. It’s 8.30 now, so he is still .
7 The accident wasn’t serious. Nobody had to go .
8 If people commit crimes, they may end up .

➜ Additional exercise 29 (page 319) 149

Unit
77 Names with and without the 1
A We do not use the with names of people (‘Helen’, ‘Helen Taylor’ etc.). In the same way, we do
not use the with most names of places. For example:
continents Africa (not the Africa), South America
countries, states etc. France (not the France), Japan, Texas
islands Sicily, Tasmania
cities, towns etc. Cairo, Bangkok
mountains Everest, Kilimanjaro
But we normally use the in names with Republic, Kingdom, States etc. :
the Czech Republic the United Kingdom (the UK)
the Dominican Republic the United States of America (the USA)
Compare:
Have you been to Canada or the United States?

B When we use Mr/Ms/Captain/Doctor etc. + a name, we do not use the. So we say:

Mr Johnson / Doctor Johnson / Captain Johnson / President Johnson etc. (not the …)
Uncle Robert / Saint Catherine / Queen Catherine etc. (not the …)
Compare:
We called the doctor.
We called Doctor Johnson. (not the Doctor Johnson)
We use Mount (= mountain) and Lake before a name in the same way (without the):
Mount Everest (not the …) Mount Etna Lake Superior Lake Victoria
They live near the lake.
They live near Lake Superior. (not the Lake Superior)

C We use the with the names of oceans, seas, rivers and canals:
the Atlantic (Ocean) the Red Sea the Amazon
the Indian Ocean the Channel (between the Nile
the Mediterranean (Sea) France and Britain) the Suez Canal
We use the with the names of deserts:
the Sahara (Desert) the Gobi Desert

D We use the with plural names of people and places:

people the Taylors (= the Taylor family), the Johnsons
countries the Netherlands, the Philippines, the United States
groups of islands the Canaries (or the Canary Islands), the Bahamas
mountain ranges the Andes, the Alps, the Urals
The highest mountain in the Andes is (Mount) Aconcagua.

E We say:
the north (of Brazil) but northern Brazil (without the)
the southeast (of Spain) but southeastern Spain
Compare:
Sweden is in northern Europe; Spain is in the south.
We also use north/south etc. (without the) in the names of some regions and countries:
North America South Africa southeast Asia
Note that on maps, the is not usually included in the name.

154 Names with and without the 2 ➜ Unit 78

 Unit
Exercises 77
77.1 Which is right?
1 Who is Doctor Johnson / the Doctor Johnson? (Doctor Johnson is correct)
2 I was ill. Doctor / The doctor told me to rest for a few days.
3 Doctor Thomas / The Doctor Thomas is an expert on heart disease.
4 I’m looking for Professor Brown / the Professor Brown. Do you know where she is?
5 In the United States, President / the President is elected for four years.
6 President Kennedy / The President Kennedy was assassinated in 1963.
7 The officer I spoke to at the police station was Inspector Roberts / the Inspector Roberts.
8 Do you know Wilsons / the Wilsons? They’re a very nice couple.
9 Julia spent three years as a student in United States / the United States.
10 France / The France has a population of about 66 million.

77.2 Some of these sentences are OK, but some need the (sometimes more than once).
Correct the sentences where necessary.
1 Everest was first climbed in 1953. OK
2 Milan and Turin are cities in north of Italy. in the north of Italy
3 Africa is much larger than Europe.
4 Last year I visited Mexico and United States.
5 Southern England is warmer than north.
6 Thailand and Cambodia are in southeast Asia.
7 Chicago is on Lake Michigan.
8 Next year we’re going skiing in Swiss Alps.
9 UK consists of Great Britain and Northern Ireland.
10 Seychelles are a group of islands in Indian Ocean.
11 I’ve never been to South Africa.
12 River Volga flows into Caspian Sea.

77.3 Here are some geography questions. Choose the right answer from one of the boxes and use the if
necessary. You do not need all the names in the boxes.
continents countries oceans and seas mountains rivers and canals
Africa Canada Atlantic Alps Amazon Rhine
Asia Denmark Indian Ocean Andes Danube Thames
Australia Indonesia Pacific Himalayas Nile Volga
Europe Sweden Black Sea Rockies Suez Canal
North America Thailand Mediterranean Urals Panama Canal
South America United States Red Sea

1 What do you have to cross to travel from Europe to America? the Atlantic
2 Where is Argentina?
3 Which is the longest river in Africa?
4 Of which country is Stockholm the capital?
5 Of which country is Washington the capital?
6 What is the name of the mountain range in the west of North America?
7 What is the name of the sea between Africa and Europe?
8 Which is the smallest continent in the world?
9 What is the name of the ocean between North America and Asia?
10 What is the name of the ocean between Africa and Australia?
11 Which river flows through London?
12 Which river flows through Vienna, Budapest and Belgrade?
13 Of which country is Bangkok the capital?
14 What joins the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans?
15 Which is the longest river in South America?

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