Put in the definite article where necessary.

1) The youngest boy has just started going to ….. school; …..eldest boy is at ….. college.

2) She lives on ….. top floor of an old house. When ….. wind blows, all ….. windows rattle.

3) ….. darkness doesn't worry ….. cats; ….. cats can see in ….. dark.

4) My little boys say that they want to be ….. spacemen, but most of them will probably end up in ….. less dramatic jobs.

5) Do you know ….. time? – Yes, ….. clock in ….. hall has just struck nine. – Then it isn't time to go yet.

6) He was sent to ….. prison for ….. six months for ….. shoplifting. When ….. six months are over he'll be released.; ….. difficulty then will be to find ….. work. – Do you go to ….. prison to visit him?

7) I went to ….. school to talk to ….. headmistress. I persuaded her to let Ann give up ….. gymnastics and take ….. ballet lessons instead.

8) ….. ballet isn't much use for ….. girls; it is much better to be able to play ….. piano.

9) I'm on ….. night duty. When you go to ….. bed, I go to ….. work.

10) Peter's at ….. office but you could get him on ….. phone. There is a telephone box just round ….. corner.

3.8. Complete these sentences. Put in the where necessary.

1) Two people were injured in the accident and were taken to hospital.

2) I was very tired and it was very late, so I went …...

3) Fred robbed a bank but was caught by the police. He was sent …...

4) Tom doesn't often go out in the evenings. He usually stays …...

5) Jill isn't a religious person. She never goes …...

6) In Britain, children from the age of five have to go …...

7) Children sometimes get into trouble if they are late for …...

8) There is a lot of traffic in the morning when everybody is going …...

9) Mrs Grimes has just had an operation. She is still …...

10) When David leaves school, he wants to study economics at......

11) Bill never gets up before 9 o'clock. It's 8.30 now, so he is still …...

 

3.9. Insert the if necessary.

1) He got ….. bronchitis and was taken to ….. hospital. I expect they'll send him home at ….. end of ….. week. – Have you rung ….. hospital to ask how he is?

2) Ann's habit of riding a motorcycle up and down ….. road early in ….. morning annoyed ….. neighbours and in ….. end they took her to ….. court.

3) He first went to ….. sea on a Swedish ship, so as well as learning ….. navigation he had to learn ….. Swedish.

4) ….. family hotels are ….. hotels which welcome ….. parents and ….. children.

5) On ….. Sundays my father stays in ….. bed till ten o'clock reading ….. Sunday papers. Then he gets up, puts on ….. old clothes, has ….. breakfast and starts ….. work in ….. garden.

 

3.10. Complete these sentences using "the + noun" .

1) It was getting dark in the room, so I turned on the light.

2) There were no chairs so we all had to sit on …...

3) As soon as I saw the fire, I called …...

4) We didn't have any stamps, so we had to go to …...

5) I had a toothache, so I made an appointment with …...

6) Ann had to catch a train, so I took her to …...

7) When we found that someone had broken into our house, we called …...

8) Bill wasn't feeling well, so he went to …...

9) We didn't have any money, so we had to go to …...

10)The plane was delayed, so we had to wait at ….. for three hours.

 

3.11. Complete these sentences. Put in the where necessary.

1) What …..wonderful weather we are having today!

2) What ….. charming people your parents are!

3) ….. wood is much dearer than it used to be. In fact, ….. wood I used to make ….. shelves in ….. living room cost me a pretty penny.

4) ….. pollution is one of ….. greatest problem facing ….. mankind.

5) ….. moon and ….. earth both go round ….. sun.

6) How delicious ….. cake is!

7) They have two holiday homes, one in ….. mountains and ….. other at ….. seaside.

8) She is wearing …..jeans. In fact they are ….. jeans she wore last year.

9) ….. room was really tiny. We had to stand on ….. bed to close ….. door.

10) Don't eat in this restaurant. ….. food is awful.

11) When I was at ….. school I was really bad at ….. History.

12) ….. flood did a lot of ….. damage to ….. monuments of ….. city.

 

3.12. Where you find a noun phrase without a determiner, put in a/an or the if necessary. Retell the story.

Which Was the Fastest?

This is a story about Frenchman, Englishman and American who were once travelling by train in Europe. Conversation was about how fast trains were in their countries. Frenchman said, "In my country trains go so fast that telegraph posts by railway line look like garden fence". Englishman said, " At home trains run so fast that we have to pour water on wheels to stop them from getting hot." American said, "That's nothing! I was once taking trip and my daughter came on to platform to see me off. While I was getting into compartment train started. I leaned out of window to give her kiss and kissed instead cow in fields six miles down railway line."