JULY CLASSES

1 - Aprendendo a usar comparativos em English.

• How comparatives adjectives works:

First of all, lets reme

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Como usar o "The"

When we are talking about things or people in general, we do not use "The":

• I'm afraid of dogs (not "The dogs")

• (Dogs = dogs in general, not a particular group of dogs)

• Doctors are paid more than teachers.

• Do you collect stamps?

• Crime is a problem in most big cities, (not "the crime")

• Life has changed a lot in the last 30 years, (not "the life")

• Do you often listen to classical music? (not "the classical music")

• Do you like Chinese food / French cheese / Swiss chocolate?

• My favourite sport is football/skiing/athletics. (not "the football/skiing" etc.)

• My favourite subject at school was history/physics/English.

We say "most people / most books / most cars" etc.

• Most people like George. (not "the most people")

We use the when we mean particular things or people, Compare:

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In general (without "the")

• Children learn a lot from playing (= children in general)

but

Particular people of things (with the)

• We took the children to the zoo (= particular group, perhaps the speaker's own children)

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In general (without "the")

• I often listen to music

but

Particular people of things (with the)

• The film wasn't very very good but I liked the music. (= the music in the film)

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In general (without "the")

• All cars have wheels

but

Particular people of things (with the)

• All the cars in this car park belongs to people who work here.

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In general (without "the")

• Sugar isn't very good for you

but

Particular people of things (with the)

• Can you pass the sugar, please? (= the sugar on the table)

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In general (without "the")

• Do English people work hard? (= English people in general)

but

Particular people of things (with the)

• Do the English People you know work hard? (=only the English people you know, not English people in general)

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The difference between "something in general" and "something in particular" is not always very clear. Compare this sentences:

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In general (without "the")

• I like working with people. (= people in general)

• I like working with people who are lively. (= not all people, but "people who lively" is still a general idea)

• Do you like coffee? (= coffee in general)

• Do you like strong black coffee? (= not all coffee, but "strong black coffee? is still a general idea)

Particular people of things (with the)

• I like the people I work with. (= particular group of people)

• Did you like the coffee we had ofter our meal last night? (= particular coffee)

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