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AI An - One/Ones

a + consonant sound (fbi, Idl , Igl, I f I, I ll, I pl, etc)

an + vowel sound (frel, lel, ill , I D/, lal , etc)

We use a/an:

• with singular countable nouns when we talk about them for the first time, or after the verb

to be to say what someone l something is. He's a pilot.

It's an apple.

• with the verb have (got). Nancy has (got) a bicycle.

• in certain expressions when we want to show

how often we do something.

We play football twice a week.

One/Ones

Mrs Smith is a teacher.

Look at her. She is holding an apple.

We don't use a/an:

• with uncountable nouns or plural countable nouns. We use some instead of alan.

We need to buy some sugar. (NOT: ~)

They ate some oranges.

• before an adjective if it is not followed by a noun . However, if the adjective is followed by a

noun, we use a/an.

It's a car. It's fast. It's a fast car.

This is Tina's house. It's new. It's a new house.

We use one in the singular and ones in the plural to avoid repeating the noun when it is clear what we mean .

My new flat is much bigger than myoid one. (= myoid flat)

I don't usually wear gold earrings. I wear silver ones. (= silver earrings)

A(n)/One

• We use alan to refer to an unspecified thing with the meaning 'any' .

He bought a motorbike. (We are not talking about

a specific motorbike. We mean any motorbike.)

We use one when we are counting, to put emphasis

on number. He bought one motorbike. (He didn't buy two

motorbikes, he bought one.)

• We use alan + adjective + one. I'm looking for a car. I want a sports one.

• We use one with the words night, morning, day, time, etc usually in narration.

One day I will be famous.

• We use alan or one with no difference in meaning when counting or measuring money,

distance, weight, time, etc.

She paid alone hundred pounds for her new dress.

We need alone kilo of bananas.

Mark will be abroad for alone year.

1 Fill in: a, an or some.

1 ~ an alarm clock 2 . .......... banana

3 ......... .. paintbrush 4 ........... diary

5 ........... umbrella 6 .... ..... .. popcorn

".. ,., /" :J 8 ......... . . aeroplane 7 ......... strawberries

9 ... ........ elephant 10 .......... . cheese

;

11 .... .. .. camel 12 .. ... ... onion

2 Fill in : a, an or some.

A: Would you like ~ some tea?

B: Yes, ~ a cup of tea sounds good.

2 A: I' m going to the supermarket.

Do you need anything?

B: Could you get me .......... tomatoes and

.......... jar of strawberry jam, please?

3 A: What 's thi s?

B: It's ......... . antique wooden radio.

AI An - One/Ones

4 A: I've lost my key. Have you seen it?

B: Actually, I found .. .... ... key on the kitchen

table this morning. It must be yours .

5 A: I need ............. information for my project.

B: Why don't you search on the Internet?

6 A: What 's Philip's job?

B: He works as .. .. ..... . office assistant for a big

company.

3 Complete the sentences wi th a, an, one or

ones.

1 I go to Paris twice .......... year.

2 Susan only drank ....... . .. glass of Coke, not two.

3 Kate is t raining to be ... . ..... . astronaut.

4 That house cost .. ... ... .. million pounds!

5 I don't like these silver shoes - I prefer the red

6 I bought .......... orange jacket yesterday.

7 Did you know that .......... of Hilary's cousins is a

famous actor?

8 We spent ......... . day in Athens before going to

Spetses.

9 There was only .. ........ painting I liked in all of

t he exhibition !

10 I want to buy ... ....... new camera . I' d like

.. ........ digit al . ......... .

4 Fill In: a, an or one.

A 1) . ...... day, I will buy 2) ..... . . house in Oxford .

It will have 3) . ...... garden, so I will be able to

keep 4) ....... pet .

B Diana heard 1) ....... knock on the door. 2) ...... . old lady stood outside. She was wearing 3) ...... .

black dress and was carrying 4) .. .. . .. black bag

in 5) ....... hand and 6) ....... big suitcase in the

other.

C There were 1).... ... dozen students in the

library and not 2) . ...... of them knew how to use

3) . ... ... computer.

D I am looking for 1) ... ... . backpack. I need a large

2) ... .... as I will be going travelling for 3) . ..... .

year. My sister told me there is 4) ....... shop

that sells them at a discount, but it is 5) ...... .

kilometre away.

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The Definite Article 'The'

We use the : • with countable and uncountable nouns when

we are talking about something specific, that

is, when the noun is mentioned for a second time

or is already known.

Jason has got a sports car and a bike. The car is

very expensive.

• with nouns that are unique (the sun, the moon,

the Earth ).

• with names of rivers (the Amazon), seas (the Black

Sea ), oceans (the Indian Ocean), mountain ranges

(the Alps), deserts (the Sahara ), groups of

islands (the Sandwich Islands) and countries when

they include words such as 'state' , 'kingdom' , 'republic ', etc (the United Kingdom).

• with names of musical inst ruments (the piano,

the violin ) and dances (the tango).

• with names of hotels (the Intercontinental Hotel) ,

theatres/cinemas (the Royal National Theatre ),

ships (the Titanic ), organisations (the Red Cross ),

newspapers (The Independent) and museums (the

Archaeological Museum).

• with nationalities (the Italians) and names of families (the Smiths).

• with titles when the person 's name is not mentioned (the King, the Queen of England

BUT Queen Elizabeth 11 ).

• with the words morning, afternoon and evening.

They play football in the morning.

• with adjectives/adverbs in the superlative form. He is the cutest baby I 've ever seen.

1 Fill in the where necessary.

We do not use the:

• with uncountable and countable plural nouns when talking about something in general, that is ,

when we cannot answer the question 'Who?' or

'What?' .

Lions live in the jungle.

(What lions? Lions in generaL)

• with proper names. This is Rosa. She comes from Mexico.

• with names of countries (France), tities (Rome),

streets (St Peter's Street ), parks (Hyde Park ),

mountains (Mount Everest ), railway stations

(Victoria Station ), bridges, (Tower Bridge),

individual islands (Malta), lakes (Lake Erie) and continents (Asia).

• with names of sports (tennis), games (table tennis),

activities (painting), school subjects (Maths), days (Monday), months (May), celebrations (New Year 's

Eve), colours (red), drinks/liquids (water), meals

(dinner) and languages when they are not followed

by the word ' language'.

I speak French. BUT The French language is

difficult to learn.

• with the words home, Father/ Mother when we talk about our own home/ parents. Father is at work.

• with means of transport: by bus / car / train /

plane etc I go to work by car.

• with names of illnesses. He's got arthritis.

BUT (the) flu , (the) measles, (the) mumps

1) ~ - Malta is a small island in 2) ....... Mediterranean Sea. It is located

south of 3) . . . .... . Sicily and east of 4) .. . ... . . Tunisia. 5) ..... . .. people who

live there speak both 6) .. . .. .. . Maltese and 7) .. . .... . English. Malta is 8) .. . . .... smallest member of 9) .. .. . ... European Union and there are fewer

than half a million people living there.

The Definite Article 'The'

2 Fill in a, an or the where necessary.

A: Can you tell me the way to ~ the nearest

supermarket , please? B: Of course . Turn right here and you'll find it on

.. .... . King Street.

2 A: Have you ever travelled to ... .. .. Africa?

B: No, but I've been on ..... .. trip to ... .. .. Asia.

3 A: Do you know where .. . . ... Amazon River is?

B: Yes, it is in .... ... South America .

4 A: Is this ... .. .. Nancy's car? B: No, ..... . . red car over there is hers.

5 A: I saw .. ..... amazing documentary yesterday.

B: Really? What was it about?

6 A: .. .. . . . Tom is going to .. ... . . Spain on business.

B: Is he going to stay at .... ... Ambassador

Hotel again?

7 A: Where are . .. .. .. Browns going for their summer holiday?

B: They' re going to .... .. . Canary Islands.

3 Read the following text and put a tick (,f) for

every correct use of the and a cross (X) for

every incorrect use of it. Correct the mistakes.

The last month of my holiday was very exciting. ~ ,I'

2 We went to the Rome for two weeks.

3 We stayed at the Dolores Hotel, which is

4 near the banks of the Tiber River.

5 We visited the Trevi fountain and the

Colosseum. 6 We also took a trip to the Pompeii ,

7 one of the most popular tourist attractions

8 in the Italy. We also tasted some delicious 9 the Italian food and went dancing

10 at one of the Rome 's famous nightclubs.

4 Fill in a, an or the where necessary.

Last month, my family and I went

on holiday to 1) ~ - New York. ~

is 2) ........ amazing and vibrant city.

~ took us seven hours to get there

by 3) ........ plane. We stayed at 4) .. ...... Dylan Hotel,

which is in 5) ........ city centre and it is only 6) ... ..... short

walk from 7). ....... Broadway theatre area. We saw

8) ........ Broadway play, which was 9) ........ special treat

for me. We also visited 10) ........ Empire State Building,

which is one of 11) ........ tallest buildings in 12) ....... .

United States. We went all the way up to 13) ........ 86th

floor observation platform. There was 14) ........ great

view of 15) ........ city from 16) ........ top. On the last day

of our trip, we went to 17) .. .... .. Uberty Island and saw

18) ... .... . StaJue of Uberty.

We had 19) .. .. ... . amazing time and it will remain

20) ........ unforgettable trip for all of us.

Speaking When was the last time you went on a trip to

an interesting place? Tell the class. Talk about:

• place • time • who with • transport

• activities • feelings / comments

~ Last month, my parents and I went on holiday to Paris. It's a beautiful and exciting city.

Writing Write about an interesting trip you went on.

Use your answers from the Speaking activity to

help you. Use Ex. 4 as a model.

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