THE VS. ZERO ARTICLE -
We sometimes use the with a singular countable noun to talk about something in general. This happens, for instance, with the names of ANIMALS, FLOWERS, PLANTS,... e.g. The dolphin is an intelligent animal When we are talking about things or people ( plural ) in general, we use zero article and when we are talking about either one particular thing or person people or things ( plural ) we use the: e.g. Tom sat down on the chair nearest the door ( particular thing in singular ) We took the children to the zoo ( particular people ) Children learn a lot from playing ( people in general )
( singular ) or particular
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Some common expressions with the have a general meaning : ( * ) THE TOWN, THE SKY, THE SEA ( SIDE ), THE GROUND, THE COUNTRY( SIDE ), THE MOUNTAINS, THE RAIN, THE WIND, THE SNOW, THE ENVIRONMENT, THE SUN ( SHINE ), THE MOON,... e.g. I enjoy going for long walks in the country. ( * ) But with SPACE, we say space ( zero article ) when we mean space in the universe and the space when we mean room e.g. There are millions of stars in space I tried to park my car but the space was too small
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We use the with MUSICAL INSTRUMENTS: e.g. Peter plays the flute
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We use the with RADIO, CINEMA and THEATRE but zero article with TELEVISION ( as a scientific invention ) e.g. I am listening to the radio Which do you prefer, the cinema or the theatre? I am watching television ( but the television set is broken as a machine )
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We use zero article with MEANS OF TRANSPORT: e.g. I usually go to school by bus
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We use zero article with SPORTS: e.g. I love playing football
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We normally use zero article with the NAMES OF MEALS: e.g. When would you like to have dinner ? ( But we use the when we specify e.g. I enjoyed the dinner we had last night )
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We often use zero article with the following nouns: SCHOOL, UNIVERSITY, COLLEGE, HOSPITAL, PRISON, CHURCH, BED, WORK, HOME,... e.g. I studied History at university. Mr. Woods has gone into hospital ( for medical treatment ) What time do you usually go to work ?
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Anyway, we use the when we do not think about the main purpose of the place: e.g. I sat down on the bed ( particular piece of furniture ) The school was painted last month ( the building )
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We use the + adjective ( without a noun ) to talk about groups of people: e.g. The young, the rich, the sick, the old, the poor, the elderly, the homeless, the dead, the injured, the unemployed, the English, the French, the Japanese, the Swiss,...