when we describe a job or the character of a person.
when a / an mean one. with plurals and uncountable nouns when we are talking generally.
with most countries, states and cities.
with geographical areas, lakes, mountains and islands.
common expressions relating to particular places. to, in out of: bed, church, hospital, prison to, at, from: college, school, university, work
names of buildings with a place name before.
names or before Mr, Mrs, Ms, Miss, Dr, Professor, etc and the persons name.
general historic references.
with methods of transport. We use by instead.
with certain buildings, where the purpose of the building is more important than the place itself.
before school subjects / languages
before meals, days, months, holidays and festivals and special days The kids love Christmas. when it is clear which thing or person we are talking about.
when we refer to something that we mentioned before, using a / an.
with phrases including of
when there is only one of something. I love watching the sun go down
for nationalities and other groups: the disabled, the poor, the blind
with musical instruments
time
superlatives fixed phrases names of ships oceans, rivers, seas, groups of mountains hotels, cinemas, theatres, museums with the points of the compass when you are talking about a system or service: on the radio, on the telephone I need to buy ________new shirt. We ate two sandwiches and _____ large cake. ______ cake was filled with cream. Theres some hot water in _____ kettle. Can you make _____ cup of tea? Look! Theres _____ big kite in _____ sky. Paul McCartney plays _____ guitar. ______ Tajo is the longest river in Spain. There was _____ garden for ______ blind. It was _____ best book I had ever read. Its much colder in ____ north of Spain than in _____ south. ______ Trafalgar Square is _____ most famous square in _____ London.
We didnt have _______ breakfast at the hotel. _____ Mount Everest is ______ mountain in _____ world. _____ Women live longer than _____ men. She writes about ______ love and ______ death. He is _______ Italian businessman. I love both _____ sea and _____ mountains. What time is _____ lunch? I must go to _____ post office. She made _____ angry speech against _____ government. Susan drove from _____ Heathrow Airport to _____ Stansted Airport.