General English B1 · Lesson 3B

Grammar Bank

The rules behind this lesson — form, use, model sentences and the mistakes to avoid.

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Grammar focus of this lesson

Articles a / an / the / ∅

1 structure

Articles: a / an / the / zero
Choosing between introducing, identifying and generalising.
I've got this
Rules & form
- ›a / an: first mention, jobs (She's an engineer), quantities (twice a week).
- ›the: known, unique, superlatives, ordinals, some place names (the UK, the Alps).
- ›Zero: plural/uncountable generalisations, most countries, meals, sports, by + transport.
- ›the + adjective for groups: the unemployed.
Examples
- “I read a book about the brain last month.”
- “The office we're moving to is the biggest in the city.”
- “Life in big cities is expensive.”
Watch out · Watch fixed pairs: go to school (zero) vs go to the school (that building).
Your own example