articles: talking in general
articles: talking in general
We do not use the with uncountable or plural nouns to talk
about things in general — to talk about all books, all people or all life, for example. The never means 'all'. Compare: Did you remember to buy the books7 (= particular books which I asked you to buy)
Books are expensive. (NOT The books are expensive. We are talking about books in general — all books.)
I'm studying the life of Beethoven. (= one particular life)
Life is hard. (NOT The life .... This means 'all life'.)
'Where's the cheese?' I ate it:'
Cheese is made from milk.
Could you put the light on?
Light tra vets at 300,000 km a second.
Sometimes we talk about things in general by using a singular noun as an example. We use a/an with the noun (meaning 'any'). A baby deer can stand as soon as it is born.
A child needs plenty of love.
We can also use the with a singular countable noun in generalizations (but not with plural or uncountable nouns — see 1 above). This is common with the names of scientific instruments and inventions, and musical instruments. Life would be quieter without the telephone
The violin is more difficult than the piano.
These common expressions have a general meaning: the town, the country, the sea, the seaside, the mountains, the rain, the wind, the sun(shine). I prefer the mountains to the sea I hate the rain
Would you rather live in the town or the country?
We usually go to the seaside for our holidays.
I like lying in the sun(shine). I like the noise of the wind.
10 Excuses for Being Late
10 Expressions about Age
10 Expressions for Bad People
10 Informal Ways to Say Yes and No
10 Phrases for Agreeing
10 Phrases for Asking for Information
10 Phrases for Asking for Someone's Opinion & Giving Your Opinion
10 Phrases for Asking/Talking about Jobs
10 Phrases for Bad Travel Experiences
10 Phrases for Cheering Someone Up
10 Phrases for Compliments
10 Phrases for Decisions
10 Phrases for Describing Relationships
10 Phrases for Disagreeing
10 Phrases for Drinking (Alcohol)
10 Phrases for Estimating & Guessing
10 Phrases for Facial Expressions
10 Phrases for Good Luck & Bad Luck
10 Phrases for Introductions
10 Phrases for Invitations
10 Phrases for Remembering, Reminding, & Forgetting
10 Phrases for Saying Something is Easy & Difficult
10 Phrases for Shopping
10 Phrases for Talking about Food
10 Phrases for Talking about Statistics
10 Phrases for Talking about the Future
10 Phrases for Talking About TV
10 Phrases for Telephone Calls
10 Phrases for Telling Someone to Wait
10 Phrases for Worries & Relief
10 Phrases to Describe Offending or Upsetting People
10 Phrases You'll Hear in the Airport
10 Ways to Ask How Someone Is
10 Ways to Avoid Answering a Question
10 Ways to Encourage Someone
10 Ways to Respond to "Thank You"
10 Ways to Say Hello & Goodbye
10 Ways to Say How You Are
10 Ways to Say Someone's Talented
10 Ways to Say Something is Interesting/Boring
10 Ways to Say Thank You
10 Ways to Say You Don't Believe Someone
10 Ways to Say You're Tired
10 Ways to Talk about Likes & Dislikes
10 Ways to Talk About Price
10 Words for Describing Speaking
15 Comparative Idioms
15 Phrases for Being Rich & Poor
15 Phrases for Certainty & Probability
5 Phrases for Apologizing
5 Phrases for Cold Weather
5 Phrases for Complaining
5 Phrases for Hot Weather
5 Phrases for Not Having an Opinion
5 Phrases for Promises & Resolutions
5 Phrases for Responding to Bad News
5 Phrases for Responding to Good News
5 Phrases for Talking about Rain
5 Ways to Ask for Clarification
5 Ways to Ask for Help
5 Ways to Ask Someone Else to Do Something
5 Ways to Check if the Other Person Understands You
5 Ways to End a Conversation Politely
5 Ways to Interrupt Someone
5 Ways to Make & Respond to an Offer
5 Ways to Make a Suggestion
5 Ways to Respond to an Apology
5 Ways to Say "I don't know"
5 Ways to Say Someone is Correct
5 Ways to Say Someone is Smart
5 Ways to Say Someone is Stupid
5 Ways to Say Someone is Wrong
6 Phrases for Talking About Future Plans
6 Ways to Show Interest
7 Phrases for Disappointment
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The sloth (a mammal) moves so slowly that green algae can grow undisturbed on its fur.
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