Use the article "the" and demonstratives
I can name a thing for the first time and then talk about it again without confusing the listener.
Declared core time. Two of the core blocks carry no figure at all, so the real lesson is longer than this sum.
Grammar
4 minThe article answers one question: does the listener know exactly which thing we mean?
| a shop | some shop; the listener doesn't know about it yet |
| the shop | that same shop we have already talked about |
There is a shop near my house. The shop is small, but the shop is good.
The first time you mention a thing — a; every time after that — the. This is the main rule, and it covers most cases.
We also use the when there is only one such thing in the situation: the kitchen in a flat, the door in a room, the sun in the world.
This is why we say the USA and the UK from lesson 2. A country name takes no article: Brazil, Japan. But the full names of these two countries contain an ordinary noun — the United States, the United Kingdom — and before it there is the, as before any thing that is the only one. The short form keeps the article of the full name.
Demonstratives (words that point at things) — when you can point at the thing:
| one | many | |
|---|---|---|
| near | this book | these books |
| further away | that book | those books |
Common learner errors
written for your languageNo article at all
✗ I have car
✓ I have a car
Chinese, Japanese, Korean, Hindi, Thai, Polish and many other languages have no articles, so the article seems an extra word you can leave out. It is not extra: a shop and the shop are different messages. For these learners it is one of the most common errors, and it often lasts up to C1.
the with names and countries
✗ the Brazil
✗ the Rio de Janeiro
✗ the Anna
✓ Brazil
Rio de Janeiro, Anna. In Portuguese, Spanish, French, Italian and German many country names have an article (o Brasil, la France), and in Portuguese and Greek people's names often have one too (a Ana, o Giorgos). In English a name already points to one thing, so it needs no article.
this in the plural
✗ this books → ✓ these books. In Japanese, Korean, Turkish and Indonesian the word for "this" does not change for many things. In English it does: this → these, that → those.
Pronunciation
3 minthe has two pronunciations, and the NEXT sound decides which one:
| before | example | |
|---|---|---|
| /ðə/ | a consonant sound | the table, the shop |
| /ði/ | a vowel sound | the apple, the office, the hour |
It is the same rule as for a and an in lesson 12: what matters is how the word sounds, not how it is spelt.
In connected speech a is always the weak /ə/, never /eɪ/ (like the letter A).
Text
3 minThere is a shop near my house. The shop is small. There is a café next to the shop. The café is new. I know the man in the café. He is a friend of my brother. This café is my favourite. Those shops on my street are expensive.
Exercises
8–10 min1. Gap fill.
- There is café near my house. café is small
- I know man in office
- There is apple on my table
Show the answers
2. Gap fill.
- book in my hand is good
- books on my table are new
- shop over there is expensive
Show the answers
3. Error correction.
- I have car.
- the Rio de Janeiro is a big city.
- This books are new.
Show the answers
4. Matching.
- a shop
- the shop
Show the answers
Summary
Covered: a when you mention a thing for the first time and the when you mention it again, the for the only one in the situation, four demonstratives. Next — lesson 15: food and things you can't count.
End of the core
The lesson counts as done once the exercises are done. Everything after this is optional.
optional
Vocabulary for your deck
12 words- place /pleɪs/ a part of a town, a building or a room where something is
- café /ˈkæfeɪ/ a small place where you buy coffee and food
- street /striːt/ a road in a town with houses along it
- building /ˈbɪldɪŋ/ a house, an office or a shop with walls and a roof
- man /mæn/ an adult male person
- woman /ˈwʊmən/ an adult female person
- neighbour /ˈneɪbə/ a person who lives next to you or near you
- near /nɪə/ not far from
- new /njuː/ made or bought not long ago
- old /əʊld/ made or bought a long time ago; not young
- favourite /ˈfeɪvərɪt/ the one you like most
- expensive /ɪkˈspensɪv/ it costs a lot of money
Writing
Four sentences about what there is near your house. Use a or the in each one.
Example
There is a shop near my house. The shop is small. There is a café next to the shop. The café is new.
Checklist
Practise this lesson in the other sections
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