GRAMMAR:

OTHER
Week 1 – a, an, the
Introductory exercise
Fill in a/an/the(if necessary)
1. On Sunday a lot of people go to ___ church.
2. She is ___ teacher at ___ Dallas High
School.
3. ___ most English papers are tabloids.
4. ___ unemployment rose last year.
5. He was ___ Catholic, but now he is ___
Muslim.
6. As ___ soldier, you have to wear ___
uniform.
7. I really want to climb ___ Mount Everest.
Introductory exercise
Fill in a/an/the(if necessary)
1. On Sunday a lot of people go to church.
2. She is a teacher at Dallas High School.
3. Most English papers are tabloids.
4. Unemployment rose last year.
5. He was a Catholic, but now he is a Muslim.
6. As a soldier, you have to wear a uniform.
7. I really want to climb Mount Everest.
a/an
 A/an is used when you don’t know exactly what
you are talking about (compare Dutch ‘een’).
 I saw a cat this morning.
 I bought a CD last week.
When do you use a or an?
 a is used in front of consonant sounds (b, c, d etc.)
 an is used in front of vowel sounds (a, e, i etc.)
 a car, a bike
 But also: a uniform (j-sound), a one-man-show (w-
sound)
 an apple, an eye
 But also: an hour, (a-sound) an MP (e-sound)
Other uses of a/an
 For occupation:
 I am a teacher; he is a soldier.
 For religions:
 she is a Christian; he is a Muslim.
 Before hundred and thousand:
 a hundred people were present; he won a thousand
pounds.
The
 The is used when you know exactly what you are
talking about (compare Dutch ‘de/het’).
 The cat I saw this morning was black.
 I met a man today. The man was very friendly.
Other uses of the
 Before things of which there is only one:
 the moon, the earth
 Before plural country names:
 the Netherlands, the United States
 Before the names of rivers, seas and oceans:
 the Thames, the Atlantic Ocean
Other uses of the
 In phrases with of:
 the University of London, the singer of Queen
 In superlatives:
 the best, the biggest
 For general groups of people:
 the poor, the rich
You don’t use the
 Before a noun with a general meaning:
 life is short, love is like a rose.
 Before seasons, meals and means of transport:
 I’ll see you in summer, I had eggs at breakfast, I go to
school by train
 Before the names of streets, mountains, parks:
 I live in Oxford street, Mont Blanc is a high mountain,
I live near Hyde Park.
You don’t use the
 In the following common phrases
 De meeste (mensen) = Most (people)
 De helft (van mijn vrienden) = Half (of my friends)
 De beide (studenten) = Both (students)
 De volgende (keer) = Next (time)
Special case: buildings
 You don’t use the when you are talking about the
function of a building:
 I go to church every Sunday.
 My brother is in hospital.
 You do use the when you are talking about the
building itself:
 I like the church of my town.
 I am going to the hospital to visit my brother.
Final note
 When you talk about specific seasons, meals or
means of transport you do use the:
 The summer of 69.
 The breakfast I had this morning was delicious.
 I always travel by bus, but the bus broke down
yesterday.