General English Level 3 V 3

UNIT 01 My education TOPIC 02 Schooldays

	LANGUAGE FOCUS 04 Articles
	This activity shows you when to use "a" or "an", and when to use "the".

Wendy writes:
	When I was young I went to a school in the City. The school was a long way from my house.

The first time we talk about something, we use a/an before the noun. We call a/an the indefinite article .

Examples

I went to a private school.
I had a maths teacher who was strict.

The second time we talk about the same thing we use the before the noun. We call the the definite article .

Examples

I went to a private school. The school was expensive.
I had a maths teacher who was strict. The teacher gave us a test every week.

The reader or listener understands that we are talking about the same thing: the school, the teacher.

Examples

I went to a small school. There were only 200 students in the school.
I wore a brown school uniform. The uniform was ugly.
We had a school sports day each year. The sports day was my favourite day.

We also use the when everyone knows what we are talking about, because they know there is only one from their knowledge of the world.

The headmistress at my school was really kind. (There was only one headmistress in each school.)
The sun rises in the east. (Everyone knows there is only one sun.)

Examples

I always sat by the window in my classroom. (There was only one window.)
We had PE classes in the gym. (There was only one gym in the school.)
The park in our town is really beautiful. (There is only one park in the town.)
The moon rose over the sea. (Everyone knows there is only one moon and only one sea.)

Now go to 05 LANGUAGE FOCUS Articles - task.