Let’s start by examining a phrase. \u2018The children are smaller than the adult\u2019. Do you think this is a grammatically correct sentence?<\/p>\n
Because of the inclusion of the word ‘the’, it is not. Mistakes such as these may seem small, but they are common amongst many international English learners. The good news is they can easily be avoided by following a few simple rules and today we will look at why and when you use ‘the’ or ‘a’ in a sentence.<\/p>\n
If you need to improve your English ahead of studying in the UK,\u00a0IELTS lessons in London<\/a>\u00a0and\u00a0Manchester<\/a>\u00a0can help you\u00a0raise your score quickly, with no registration fees and all your materials provided! Get in touch with our\u00a0Language Centre<\/a>\u00a0today to learn more.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n \u2018The\u2019 is generally used for specific things.<\/p>\n Example:<\/strong> If you are looking for the university your friend is attending, check the location.<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n If you say, \u2018I am looking for a university\u2019, the university could be any<\/i> university. However, if you say, \u2018I am looking for the university\u2019, you are making it clear you are searching for a specific location.<\/p>\n Next, lets pretend your mobile phone has been stolen and you have reported it to the police.<\/p>\n There are a few very specific things to analyse here. John uses \u2018a\u2019 in his first sentence because he has not yet specified anybody. However, the policeman uses \u2018the\u2019, since they can specifically refer to the man John mentioned earlier. Finally,\u00a0John use \u2018the\u2019 because he can specifically single out the man who stole his phone.<\/p>\n When using general terms, you do not always need to use either \u2018the\u2019 or \u2018a\u2019.<\/p>\n Example: <\/strong>I like oranges.<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n This refer to orange as generic term, but neither the specific orange (\u2018the\u2019) nor an orange. Think of ‘the’ as a highlighter which shines a light on specific terms.<\/p>\n If you want to improve your reading, writing, speaking and listening ability ahead of applying to study in the UK, visit us for a\u00a0free consultation<\/a>. An\u00a0IELTS practice test<\/a>\u00a0will allow us to see where you need to improve before tailoring specific lessons to your requirements.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":9,"template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"inline_featured_image":false},"study-guide-destinations":[127],"study-guide-canada-categories":[],"study-guide-australia-categories":[],"study-guide-usa-categories":[],"study-guide-uk-categories":[],"study-guide-nz-categories":[],"study-guide-ireland-categories":[],"class_list":["post-233744","gsi_study_guides","type-gsi_study_guides","status-publish","hentry","study-guide-destinations-study-in-uk"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/gostudyin-dev.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/gsi_study_guides\/233744","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/gostudyin-dev.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/gsi_study_guides"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/gostudyin-dev.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/gsi_study_guides"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gostudyin-dev.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/9"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/gostudyin-dev.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=233744"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"study-guide-destinations","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gostudyin-dev.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/study-guide-destinations?post=233744"},{"taxonomy":"study-guide-canada-categories","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gostudyin-dev.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/study-guide-canada-categories?post=233744"},{"taxonomy":"study-guide-australia-categories","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gostudyin-dev.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/study-guide-australia-categories?post=233744"},{"taxonomy":"study-guide-usa-categories","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gostudyin-dev.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/study-guide-usa-categories?post=233744"},{"taxonomy":"study-guide-uk-categories","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gostudyin-dev.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/study-guide-uk-categories?post=233744"},{"taxonomy":"study-guide-nz-categories","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gostudyin-dev.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/study-guide-nz-categories?post=233744"},{"taxonomy":"study-guide-ireland-categories","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gostudyin-dev.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/study-guide-ireland-categories?post=233744"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}IELTS Writing Tips<\/h2>\n
1. What are the differences between \u2018The\u2019 and \u2018A\u2019?<\/h3>\n
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2. ‘The\u2019 as a referral<\/h3>\n
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3. You do not need to be specific<\/h3>\n
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Study IELTS in London and Manchester<\/h2>\n