Page 41 - Basic English Usage

at 43

I’m studying the life of Beethoven. (= one particular fife)
Life is hard. (NOT Thetife .... This means ‘all life’.)
‘Where's the cheese?’ |] ate it.’
Cheese is made from milk.
Could you put the light on?
Light travels at 300,000 km a second.

Sometimes we talk about things in general by using a singular noun as
an example. We use 2/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).
/ prefer the mountains to the sea._/ hate the rain.
Wouid you rather live in the town or the country?
We usuaily go to the seaside for our holidays.
| like lying in the sun(shine). _| like the noise of the wind.

43 articles: countable and uncountable nouns

A singular countable noun (see 92) normally has an article or other
determiner with it. We can say a caf, the cat, my cat, this cat, any cat,
either cat or every cat, but not just caf. (There are one or two exceptions
— see 45.) Plural and uncountable nouns can be used without an article
or determiner, or with the. They cannot be used with a (because it
means ‘one’.)
a/an the no article

singular countable | a cat
the cat
mur countable the cats cats
cats
uncountable _—C water
water

water
[> See diagram overleaf