Unit 2 (Nelson Mandela)
Words of freedom; using articles
Use articles correctly and words from the speech.
Words from the speech.
- precincts: the grounds and walls of a place (the university's precincts);
- unassailable: cannot be attacked or beaten;
- comity of nations: the friendly family of the world's nations;
- mutual cooperation: working together, each helping the other. It starts with listening.
'A' and 'an': any one. Use them for one of many, not a particular one: 'Would you like an apple?' Use an before a vowel sound: an apple, an hour (the 'h' is silent), but a university (it starts with a 'yoo' sound).
'The': that particular one. Use it when both of you know which one: the World War in the speech, the light in this room, the station in your town, the freedom we have won.
First mention 'a', second mention 'the'. 'There was a boy and a girl. The boy was tall and the girl was short.' The second time, we already know which boy and which girl. Same with 'I bought a newspaper and a magazine. The newspaper...'
'A' meaning 'each'. In 'once a month', 'twice a day', a means every.
In Patel's paragraph, the comes most often, because each noun there is a particular one; you could not swap in a.
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