Referring to nouns

      1 Articles

a/an

We use a/an

• to refer to something for the first time:I’d like to talk to you today about an exciting development.
• to refer to any one from a group of several: Climate protection is a challenge for our entire society. (one of many challenges)
• to classify people or things as belonging to a group: Envisat is a fully-equipped observation satellite. (there are different kinds of satellite)
• to say what job somebody does: My brother is an engineer.

!! We can only use a/and with singular countable nouns.

the

We use the¡

• when the listener/reader knows which thing we mean (it may have been mentioned before): Envisat is a fully-equipped observation satellite… The satellite was launched in 2002.
• or it is understood which thing we mean: As part of the conference on environmental awareness… (we are at the conference now so it is clear which one I mean)
  Compare: I went to a conference on environmental awareness last week. (the person I am talking to do not know which conference I am talking about)

• when there is only one of this thing: the earth, the sun, the twentieth century, the sixties, the Government, the Prime Minister (there is only one government and one prime minister in each country)

• for superlatives: It is equipped with the best eyes possible.
• to talk about playing a musical instrument: He plays the piano and she plays the guitar.
• with certain proper nouns:
• nationalities (the British, the Chinese, the Egyptians)
• rivers (The Thames, the Yangtze, the Nile)
• island groups (the Maldives, the Philippines, the Seychelles)
• mountain ranges (the Alps, the Himalayas)
• seas and oceans (the Black Sea, the Mediterranean, the Pacific)
• country names that represent a group (the United Kingdom, the United States)
• many famous/historical buildings (the White House)
• noun phrases with of (the Great Wall of China, the Temple of Heaven)

!! With university names we can say the University of Bath or Bath University.

No article

We use no article

• with plural or uncountable nouns to talk generally about things:It will deliver information about our changing environment. 
  It offers everything that scientists could wish for. (scientists in general not a specific group of scientists)
• with certain proper nouns:
• continents (Europe, Asia)
• countries (Australia, China)
• states or counties (Michigan, Cambridgeshire)
• town and cities (Tokyo, Jeddah)
• mountains (Everest, Kilimanjaro)
• lakes (Lake Superior)
• companies  (Microsoft, Sony)
• buildings and places with the name of a town (Heathrow Airport)

• with mealtimes: I have lunch at 2:30.

• In common expressions after prepositions: to/at school/university; to/in class; in prison/hospital/bed

!! We can use the/a if we want to be specific. Compare:

When I was a child I used to walk to school.

When I was a child I went to the school on the other side of town.

However, we cannot use an article with the following expressions: at home; at/to work; at night; by bus/bicycle/car/train/plane; on foot

2 Demonstratives: this, that, these, those

We use these words to show whether something is near or remote, in terms of time or place:

	near	remote
time	I’d like to talk to you this morning about an exciting development. (today)	My mother called me later that day. (I am telling you this on a different day)
place	I like these pictures. (here)	Oh, I prefer those pictures. (over there)

My father likes the classical music and listens to it all the time. the classical music I saw a man sitting in a restaurant. A woman came and joined him, but the man got up and left without speaking to her!    ✓      Sun was shining and it was a lovely day. The sun I can play piano. the piano I come from United Arab Emirates. from the United Arab Emirates I’ve applied to study at the University of Edinburgh.   ✓       I usually go to work by the bus. by bus My wife is doctor. a doctor Sorry I’m late –car wouldn’t start this morning. the (my) car I’m going to take a cruise down river Nile. the River Nile I once saw a cat wearing a pink coat and boots!   ✓      My husband collects the antiques. He’s always going to auctions. collects the antiques

1 x Local legends say that 2 x Borneo’s few thousand wild elephants are descendants from those brought to 3 the island from India or Malaysia as 4 a gift to 5 the sultan in 6 the eighteenth century. Biologists from 7 x Columbia University’s Centre for Environmental Research and Conservation compared DNA samples from Borneo elephants with Asian elephants in Sumatra, India and elsewhere. 8 The findings confirmed their suspicions: Borneo’s elephants are genetically different. In fact 9 _______ DNA differences are so great between them and their closest relatives (elephants in Peninsular Malaysia) that 10 _______ populations may have separated up to 300,000 years ago, say 11 _______ scientists. The animals became isolated when 12 _______ island became totally cut off from the mainland due to 13 _______ rise in sea level. Borneo’s elephants are, therefore 14 _______ important, separate population. 1  No articles with generalizations 2  No articles with countries 3  the (referring back to Borneo which has just been mentioned) 4  a = one 5  the (there is only one sultan of Borneo) 6  the (there is only one eighteenth century) 7  No article necessary when the name of the university comes first 8  The (the findings of this study) 9  the (the specific differences between this DNA) 10 the (the elephant populations already mentioned) 11 the (the scientists mentioned earlier = biologists) 12 the (the island of Borneo) 13 a (not mentioned before and only one of many which have occurred) 14 an (used to classify this group of elephants)

1 This (the one we are writing) 2  people’s (people in general) 3  interviews (not referred to before and plural) 4  questionnaires (not referred to before and plural) 5  our (data for our survey) 6  Both (only two methods) 7  these (referring to something just mentioned) 8  neither (only two mentioned) 9  Our findings (not findings in general but the ones we got from our survey) 10 This (the idea just referred to: people like to take holidays in the summer) 11 the people 12 the survey (the one previously mentioned) 13 Beach holidays (in general not specific ones) 14 Spain (no article with countries) 15 France 16 Most (more than two were surveyed) 17 Each (person is singular; it would need to say all of the people) 18 every (all here means ‘the whole year’) 19 The price of the holiday (holiday = thing, not person or animal)

both that

each their

every those

my neither

none this that

1  Each 2  both 3  neither 4  Every (each) 5  this (that) 6  that (this) 7  my 8  their 9  That 10 none 11 those/these

We can use this/that/these/those to refer back to something previously mentioned in the text:

The total cost of the Envisat programme is 2.3 billion euros over 15 years. Included in this sum …  (= this sum = 2.3 billion euros)

We can refer back to whole sentences or ideas with this and that:

Seeing the earth from outer space highlights how tiny and fragile our planet is. Envisat helps people to understand that. (= understand how tiny and fragile our planet is)

There is often very little difference between this and that when used in this way, so we could say:

Envisat helps people to understand this. 

3 Possessives

We use possessive determiners (my/your/his/her/its/our/their) to tell us what or who something belongs to:

Our blue planet; their children

!! We cannot use possessive determiners after other determiners (e.g. a, the). We use determiner + noun + of + possessive pronoun:

this planet of ours (not this our planet)

We use ‘s with singular nouns and irregular plural nouns. We use s’ after regular plural nouns:

Europe’s technological showpiece; the children’s toys; my parents’ house

We usually use noun + of instead of ‘s when the thing we are referring to is not a person or animal:

the price of the hotel (not the hotel’s price)

4 Inclusives

each, every

• Each and ever are used with a singular noun and verb.
• Each is used for things or people in a group of two or more, with a focus on the individuals in the group: Each European citizen has therefore invested seven euros in the environment.
• Every is used for three or more things, with a focus on the group. Often the difference in focus between each and every is very small: Every citizen will have access to precise information about changes in the environment (= Each citizen…)

We can use each (but not every) + of + noun/pronoun: Each of the students gave the teacher a present. (not every of the students)

all, most, some

• We use all/most/some + plural noun and verb to talk about things in general: Most children like sweets.Some people believe space exploration is a waste of money.
• We use all/most/some +of + pronoun or determiner + noun to refer to a specific group: Most of the children at my school play football.

!! We do not need to use all + of before a noun, but we need of  before a pronoun:

All the children at my school play a musical instrument.

All of them like music. (not all them)

!! When all is followed by a singular noun referring to time the meaning is different. Compare:

I worked hard all day. (= I worked hard for one whole day)

I worked hard every day. (= I regularly worked hard)

both, neither, either, none

Both, neither and either refer to two people or things. We use both + plural noun and either/neither + singular noun:

Both satellites were launched in the 1990s.

Neither person knew very much about Envisat before the conference. (not one or the other)

I don’t mind where we go. Either restaurant is fine. (one or the other is fine)

!! We use both + of + determiner + plural noun (or pronoun) with a plural verb. We can use either/neither + of  + determiner + plural noun (or pronoun) with a singular or a plural verb:

Neither of my sisters lives/live in the same town as me.

Both of them are married. (not Both of them is married.)

None means ‘not one’ (of a group). It can be followed by a singular or plural verb:

None of our countries is/are able to ignore the implications of global warming.

Grammar Exercises

1. In some of these sentences there is a mistake with articles. Underline each mistake and write the correction.

My father likes the classical music and listens to it all the time. the classical music

I saw a man sitting in a restaurant. A woman came and joined him, but the man got up and left without speaking to her!    ✓     

Sun was shining and it was a lovely day._________________

I can play piano. _________________

I come from United Arab Emirates. _________________

I’ve applied to study at the University of Edinburgh. _________________

I usually go to work by the bus. _________________

My wife is doctor. _________________

Sorry I’m late –car wouldn’t start this morning. _________________

I’m going to take a cruise down river Nile. _________________

I once saw a cat wearing a pink coat and boots! _________________

My husband collects the antiques. He’s always going to auctions. ________________

Answer

2. Fill in the gaps with a/an or the or put a cross (x) if no article is needed.

1  x  Local legends say that 2 ___ Borneo’s few thousand wild elephants are descendants from those brought to 3 ___ island from India or Malaysia as 4 ___ gift to 5 __ sultan in 6 ___ eighteenth century. Biologists from 7 __ Columbia University’s Centre for Environmental Research and Conservation compared DNA samples from Borneo elephants with Asian elephants in Sumatra, India and elsewhere. 8 ___ findings confirmed their suspicions: Borneo’s elephants are genetically different. In fact 9 ___ DNA differences are so great between them and their closest relatives (elephants in Peninsular Malaysia) that 10 ___ populations may have separated up to 300,000 years ago, say 11 ___ scientists. The animals became isolated when 12 ___ island became totally cut off from the mainland due to 13 ___ rise in sea level. Borneo’s elephants are, therefore 14 ___ important, separate population.

Answer

3. Choose the best alternative.

Report on holiday survey

1 This / That survey aimed to find out about 2 people’s / the people’s ideal holidays. We used 3 the interviews / interviews and 4 the questionnaires / questionnaires to collect 5 our / their data. 6 Both / All of 7 those / these methods of data collection were quick and simple to carry out and 8 neither / none of them were too demanding of the public. 9 Our findings / Findings show that many people like to take their holidays in summer. 10 This / The view was reinforced by the destinations suggested by 11 the people / people involved in 12 a survey / the survey. 13 The beach holidays / Beach holidays were the most popular, particularly in 14 the Spain / Spain or 15 the France / France. 16 Most / Both people in the survey said they looked forward to their holiday. 17 Each / All person we interviewed agreed that it was important to have at least one holiday 18 every / all year. 19 The price of the holiday / the holiday’s price was important to most people, with general agreement that value for money was a primary consideration.

Answer

4. Fill in the gaps with words from the box.

My home town is smaller than London, but there are some similarities. 1 …………… of the two cities is famous for its architecture. For example, 2 …………… Kuala Lumpur and London have tall, modern buildings, set amongst older historical buildings. Although both cities have rivers running through them, 3 ………… city is by the sea, which is a shame, as I think some of the most beautiful cities in the world are by the sea.

4 …………… major city in the world has one thing in common –being large and busy- and 5 …………… is true of both London and Kuala Lumpur. In fact, some people don’t like my city because it is so noisy and busy, but 6 …………… is one reason why I love it.

A lot of city markets take place in the day-time, but in 7 ……………. Home city they don’t open until it’s dark! Malaysians tend to buy all their groceries at the night markets. In London people tend to use supermarkets for 8 …………… food shopping.

It is always hot in Kuala Lumpur, but London can get very cold. 9 …………’s probably why there are almost 10 …………… in the winter. In some restaurants in Kuala Lumpur, you can go to the kitchen and point at the food and say, ‘I’ll have one of 11 …………… , please!’ You can’t do that in London!

Answer