From the widest to the narrowest
Six sentences about music, out of order. Put them in order from the most general claim to the most particular one.
Three ways to generalise
Written about a coastline
Cliffs are unstable everywhere, but on this coast they are unstable in a particular way: the rock is soft, and the sea takes it from underneath rather than from the front.
A cliff of this kind does not wear away evenly. It stands, and stands, and then a section of it arrives on the beach one morning in a single piece the size of a house.
The herring gull, which nests on these faces in large numbers, is more affected by this than anything else on the coast — though the gulls at the northern end have adapted by moving inland, which nobody predicted.
Erosion is not the problem here. Time is. The rate is manageable and the villages are not, because a village built where a cliff was fifty metres further out is a village with a mathematical future.
Four questions about the article choices in that text.
1. Cliffs are unstable everywhere. What kind of claim is this?
2. A cliff of this kind does not wear away evenly. What does a mean here?
3. The herring gull… is more affected. Which gull?
4. The gulls at the northern end have adapted. Is this generic?
The system, in four tables
Three ways to say "in general" — and one that is not
| Form | Meaning | Register |
|---|---|---|
| Dogs are loyal. | Dogs in general | The normal one. Use this unless you have a reason |
| A dog is a loyal animal. | Any one dog, taken as typical | Slightly formal; common in definitions |
| The dog is a loyal animal. | The species | Formal, scientific, or a little grand |
| Not general at all — these particular dogs | Correct English, wrong meaning. This is the Portuguese transfer |
Why this one error is everywhere. Portuguese generalises with the definite article: Os cães são leais, Os brasileiros gostam de futebol, As mulheres vivem mais. Translated word for word, each becomes a sentence about some specific dogs, some specific Brazilians, some specific women.
Nobody misunderstands, which is the problem. The Brazilians are very direct is heard as slightly odd — as though the speaker has particular Brazilians in mind — and no listener ever says so.
Abstract and uncountable nouns
| No article — meant generally | The — narrowed by what follows |
|---|---|
| Life is difficult. | The life of a nurse is difficult. |
| Time passes. | The time we spent there was short. |
| She studies history. | She studies the history of the port. |
| Money changes people. | The money changed everything. (money already mentioned) |
| Nature is indifferent. | The nature of the problem is financial. (a different word entirely) |
Fixed phrases worth having whole
| No article | With the |
|---|---|
| at home, in bed, at work, at school, in hospital, at university | at the office, at the cinema, at the station |
| by car, by train, on foot, by post | on the bus, in the car, on the train (inside a particular one) |
| at night, at noon, at midnight | in the morning, in the afternoon, in the evening |
| go to sea (as a sailor) | go to the sea (for the day) |
Eight sentences. Match each to what it actually says. Two pairs differ by one word.
Five questions.
1. You want to say that people in your country value family. Which?
2. Which of these is a generalisation about the species?
3. Your brother is ill and in a ward. Which?
4. Which is correct?
5. ___ history of that street is longer than the town’s.
Ten choices and eight repairs
Ten sentences. Choose the article.
1. ___ dogs bark when they are frightened. (dogs in general)
2. ___ dogs next door bark at everything.
3. My mother worked in ___ education for thirty years.
4. ___ education she got was better than mine.
5. We travelled ___ by train, which took eleven hours.
6. I left my bag on ___ train.
7. ___ happiness is not a place you arrive at.
8. ___ happiness of that summer is hard to describe now.
9. She is ___ teacher at a school near the river.
10. ___ teacher who taught me Portuguese is still there.
Eight sentences. Seven contain an article error; one is correct.
1. The Portuguese people drink a lot of coffee. — people in general
2. The life in a small town is quieter.
3. The wolf is returning to western Europe. — correct as written
4. He goes to the work by the bus.
5. The children need the routine. — children in general
6. I studied the economics at university.
7. Music of that period is unlistenable now.
8. She is in the bed with flu.
The generalisation game
Task card · Speaking · Pairs · 8 minutes, fast
Make claims about people, places and things in general. Your partner challenges any that accidentally became particular.
Twenty claims in eight minutes. Swap roles every five.
- Speaker: one sentence, general, about anything — teachers, small towns, money, Sundays, rain.
- Listener: if the sentence started with the, ask "which ones?"
- If the speaker cannot answer, the claim was meant generally and the article has to go.
- One point for a challenge that lands. One point to the speaker for a the they can defend.
Why this game and not a gap-fill. A gap-fill gives you time to remember the rule, and you already know the rule. Speed removes the time, and what comes out is the pattern your Portuguese installed — which is the thing that has to change.
What the challenges caught
Two questions.
1. Which kind of noun drew the most challenges?
2. What does that group have in common?
Three generics, one trap
Two questions. Twenty seconds.
1. Which is the everyday way to generalise in English?
2. What does the + plural always mean?
Next. Your own writing, from Lesson 1 — every article tested against the four routes, by somebody who cannot read your mind.