Page 131 - Advanced English Grammar in Use

P e o p l e a n d p l a c e s

We usually use zero article before the names of particular people:
• President Clinton is to make a statement later today.
• The name of Nelson Mandela is known all over the world.
However, we use the:
• when there are two people with the same name and we want to specify which one we are
talking about:
• That's not the Stephen Fraser I went to school with.
• when we want to emphasise that a person is the one that everyone probably knows:
• Do they mean the Ronald Reagan, or someone else?
When it is used this way, the is stressed and pronounced l&i'.l.
• with an adjective to describe a person or their job:
• the late (= dead) Buddy Holly the artist William Turner
the Aboriginal writer Sally Morgan the wonderful actor Harrison Ford
• when we talk about a family as a whole:
• The Robinsons are away this weekend. (= the Robinson family)
Notice that a/an, or sometimes zero article, is used with a name to mean that someone else has
or does not have the particular excellent qualities of the person named:
• Jane plays tennis well, but she'll never be (a) Steffi Graf.
We can also refer to a painting by a famous artist as, for example, 'a Van Gogh'.
You can use a/an before a person's name if you don't know the person yourself. Compare:
• There's a Dr Kenneth Perch on the phone. (= I haven't heard of him before) Do you want to
talk to him?
• Dr Perch is here for you. (= I know Dr Perch)

D Study these examples:
• They say he'll have to stay in hospital for • Tom's mother goes to the hospital to
six weeks. see him every day.
• Sue's at university studying French. • Frank works as a security guard at a
university.
• School should be a place where children • They're building a school at the end of
are taught to enjoy learning. our street.

^ We use zero article when we talk about institutions such as hospital, university, prison, school,
* college, or church being used for their intended purpose: medical treatment in hospital, studying
in university, and so on. We use articles when we talk about them as particular places or
buildings. Notice that we talk about bed in the same way. Compare:
• She usually stays in bed till late at the weekend, and
• 'Have you seen my socks?' 'You left them on the bed.'
When we talk about cinema, opera or theatre in general, or when we refer to a building where
this type of entertainment takes place, we use the:
• I try to go to the cinema at least once a week. (= cinema in general)
• We usually go to the cinema in New Street. (= a specific cinema)
However, if we are talking about a form of art, we generally prefer zero article:
• Not many children enjoy opera, (rather than ...enjoy the opera.)
The and a/an = Zero article;