Again Information That Would Have Been Useful Yesterday

Below are the questions and answers to the lesson I posted yesterday which focused on Articles (a /the) in English grammar.

Did you feel it was a difficult lesson? This might be because you need to learn more rules about using a and the. You also need to learn about using no article.

The other problem is that there are irregular nouns that never use articles when used in a particular way, such as prison, hospital etc. I've explained below. However, you should consider getting my New Grammar E-book which lists the rules very clearly. The e-book is written for you to learn on your own at home.

Model Essay: Click here to see a full model essay for this topic: Crime & Punishment Model Essay

Questions & Answers

• The reason for most first-time offenders committing crimes again, once they have been released from prison / the prison, is due to lack of / the lack of rehabilitation.
  • Answers: prison the lack of
  • Correct Sentence: The reason for most first-time offenders committing crimes again, once they have been released from prison, is due to the lack of rehabilitation.
  • Tips:
  • a) usually a singular countable noun would require an article (a / the). However, there are exceptions to this rule. Words such as "prison, hospital, school etc" are referring to a function. Such nouns never use an article (no "a / the") when used in this way.
  • Example: He went to hospital.
  • In the above sentence, we are not referring to one particular hospital (a hospital or the hospital), we are referring to hospital as a function.
  • Here is a typical dialogue:
  • i) "My wife went into hospital last night."
  • ii) "Really? Was she very seriously ill?"
  • i) "No, not very. But we didn't want to take a chance."
  • ii) "Which hospital did she go to?"
  • i) "Oh, you know, the hospital on the corner of Dower Street."
  • In the dialogue above, you can see the first use of hospital is general and not specific. The second use of hospital is specific.
  • As I said, these words "hospital, prison etc" are irregular.
  • My new Grammar E-book gives you lists of irregular words and use of articles like this.
  • b) "lack" in this sentence is a noun. As explained above, nearly all singular countable nouns will require an article. We use "the lack of " because we are referring to a specific lack. When we refer to something specific we use "the". This is a common error with this noun.
  • "lack" is also a verb: "The NHS are currently lacking sufficient PPE in the UK."

• Repeat offending is also owing to the difficulty that people / the people with a criminal record have of finding employment / the employment.
  • Answers: people / employment
  • Correct Sentence: Repeat offending is also owing to the difficulty that people with a criminal record have of finding employment.
  • Tips:
  • a) we only use "the" (as explained above) when we refer to something or someone specific. In this case, it is not a specific group of people. It is people in general.
  • When we have a plural noun that is speaking in general, we do not use an article at all.
  • Example: Cars are the most common form of transport.
  • In the above sentence, the word "cars" is plural and also non-specific (general). We are not talking about a particular group of cars, we are talking about cars in general. When we speak in general with a plural noun, we do not use an article.
  • b) employment is an uncountable noun and in this sentence, we are referring to employment in general (it is not specific). This means it does not require an article at all.

• Ensuring that people serving prison sentence / a prison sentence learn useful skills will help them find jobs / the jobs when they are released.
  • Answers: a prison sentence     jobs
  • Correct Sentence: Ensuring that people serving a prison sentence learn useful skills will help them find jobs when they are released.
  • Tips:
  • a) In this sentence, although we are referring to people, each person only serves one prison sentence at one time. This means we talking about people serving "a sentence". It means one sentence that is not specific and this means we use "a".
  • b) jobs is a plural noun referring to all jobs in general. This means we do not use an article at all. In this sentence, it would also be possible to have "a job". This means a non-specific job – any job.

• When offenders are released from prison / the prison and can find employment / the employment, it helps them reintegrate back into society / the society.
  • Answer:  prison     employment    society
  • Correct Sentence: When offenders are released from prison and can find employment, it helps them reintegrate back into society.
  • Tips:
  • a & b) see above.
  • c) the word "society" is another irregular noun. When we write about society in general rather than one specific society, particular society, we never use an article. "Society should take care of the vulnerable." In this case, we are referring to society as a whole – in general. Or you could also say "A society that does not take care of its vulnerable people is a bad society." – we are referring to one society which is non-specific.

• Harsh prison sentences deter people / the people from considering crime / the crime.
  • Answers:    people     crime
  • Correct Sentence: Harsh prison sentences deter people from considering crime.
  • Tips
  • a) explained above.
  • b) the word "crime" is another irregular noun. Normally a singular countable noun would require an article. However, "crime" is irregular and does not require one when we are referring to crime in general rather than a specific crime.

I know this was difficult, but I hope you also found it a useful lesson. If you have problems in this area, now is the time to fixed those problems.

All the best

Liz

…………………………

joneswilicul1963.blogspot.com

Source: https://ieltsliz.com/grammar-answers-to-yesterdays-lesson/

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