Day 8 Compound adjectives and Articles

1.Compound adjectives

Compound adjectives with numbers:

a 22-hour journey

a seventy-second lap

a four-kilometre course

a six-foot man

a nine-hour trip

a six-mile run

Compound adjectives with high and low:

a low-cost airline

low-fat yoghurt

a high-quality vehicle

a high-speed motorbike

high-quality carbohydrates

2. Grammar Reference

Articles
A and an
A or an means one person or thing. We use a or an:

1. before singular nouns: I’ve been to a concert. We had a great day and we saw an elephant.

2. before the name of a job:

My sister wants to be an engineer.

A or an?
Use a before consonant sounds: a chair, a horse, a laptop

This includes letters u or eu when they are pronounced y (/j/): a university, a euro

Use an before vowel sounds. These words usually start with a, e, i, o, u: an architect, an idea, an umbrella

Also use an with words that start with the letter h when the h is not pronounced: an hour, an honour

The
We use the:

1) before singular nouns that we have already mentioned with a/an:

We saw an elephant. The elephant was standing under some trees.

2) before singular, plural or uncountable nouns when we say exactly which person or thing we mean:

The people who live next door are really nice.

Where’s the brown sugar?

Note that we don’t use the before plural and uncountable nouns when we are talking about things in general:

Children need plenty of exercise and fresh air. (children in general)

Sugar isn’t good for you. (sugar in general)

3) We also use the before singular, plural or uncountable nouns when it is clear which person or thing we mean:

I’m going to the supermarket. (the one we always go to)

The children are upstairs. (our children)

Could you shut the door? (the door of this room)

4) We use the before nouns when there is only one:

The sun is shining and there aren’t any clouds in the sky.

5) We use the with superlatives:

You’re the best dad ever!

6) We use the in many expressions with 'of’

In the middle of the night

The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia

At the end of my holiday

The or zero article?
Here are some rules:

Use the with

Countries with plural names or with Republic or Kingdom in the name: The United Arab Emirates, The Netherlands, The United Kingdom

Geographical areas in noun phrases: I live in the north-west of Egypt, in the east

The names of rivers, seas, oceans and mountain ranges: The Mississippi, The Black Sea, The Atlantic, The Urals

Parts of the day: in the morning/afternoon/evening

Most prepositional phrases of position and place: at the top, on the left, at the office/bank/cinema

Use zero article (-) with

The names of most countries, cities and continents: Saudi Arabia, Argentina, Warsaw, Beijing, Europe, Asia

Geographical areas in adjective phrases: I live in (-) north-west Egypt, (-) eastern France

The names of single mountains and lakes: Mount Kilimanjaro, Lake Titicaca

Exact days, months and times: on (-) Friday, in (-) March, at (-) 7 o’clock

Some prepositional phrases of place: at (-) home, at (-) work, in (-) bed, at (-) sea

Take note: school/university, etc.
There is a special rule for these places: school, university, college, hospital, prison, church. Compare these examples:

The children go to school by bus. I go to the school to help twice a week.

Ben’s studying maths at university. He works in the canteen at the university.

She was in hospital for three weeks. Is there a shop in the hospital?

If someone is at the place because they are a student / are sick / a prisoner, etc, we don’t use the. If they are there for another reason, or we are talking about the building, we use the.

Articles and adjectives
Adjectives go between articles and nouns: What a great place this is! I went on an amazing trip. We went to the famous Bondi beach.

Pronouncing articles

In natural spoken English, we usually pronounce ‘a’ or ‘an’ with a weak vowel sound /ə/ (uh). It sounds similar to the vowel sound in ‘fun’, and not the vowel sound in ‘cat’. For example: a holiday, a ticket, an umbrella.

We also pronounce ‘the’ with this weak sound /ə/ (uh) before consonants - the doctor, the party - and before words that start with a y (/j/) sound, like the uniform, The European Union.

But when ‘the’ is before a vowel sound, we pronounce the with the long ‘ee’ sound (iː) like in ‘me’: the afternoon, the ice, the open door, the upstairs rooms.

Got that? Now you say them…

‘a’ (uh)… ‘the’ (uh)… and ‘the’ (thee).

3.vocabulary

jealous
unhappy because someone else has something you can’t have or do

postcard
a small card with a picture on one side and a space for writing on the other. People sometimes send them to friends and family from places they are visiting

spectacular
wonderful; amazing

heritage
things like art or buildings that a group of people feel are important to their history

pricey
expensive

low-cost
cheaper than normal

picture-postcard
a very beautiful view, similar to pictures on postcards

destination
place you travel to

traditional
based on past customs and beliefs by a certain group of people

break
(here) a period of rest and relaxation

spectacular
wonderful; amazing

heritage
things like art or buildings that a group of people feel are important to their history

environment
the situation around us – particularly the land, air, water, etc.

bragging
telling everyone that something you have or did was very good, often making them feel jealous

lifeguard
someone whose job is to watch over a swimming pool or part of the sea where people swim, to make sure they are safe

cost an arm and a leg
be very expensive

virtual postcard
a message you send over the internet to tell someone about a place that you are visiting, usually as a holiday

spice souk
market in an Arab town that sells spices

republic
country ruled by someone elected by its people rather than a king or queen

kingdom
country ruled by a king or queen

architecture
the style and design of buildings

cultural
(here) relating to music, literature, theatre and other arts

pressure
a feeling that a situation is difficult or stressful

showcase
a place or event that shows the good qualities of something

juggler
someone who throws and catches lots of objects at the same time, usually as a performance to entertain people

chainsaw
a motorised tool made of lots of small blades that move very quickly, used for cutting down trees

axe
a heavy metal blade joined to a wooden handle, used for cutting trees or wood

rooted
based on or influenced by

perspective
viewpoint or particular opinion

conquer
take control of (often by using force)

assertion
claim or statement

devastating
terrible; causing a lot of damage

liberation
freedom from control

forged
(here) created

complex
(here) group of buildings that have a shared purpose

entrenched
(values, views or feelings) held for a long time and difficult to change

vibrant
lively and exciting

ideal
perfect; best possible

destination
place where someone is going

transparent
if something is transparent, you can see through it

breeze
a light wind

remote
far away

accessible
able to be reached

mayor
leader of a town or city

supplies
things like food and medicine that you need to live

narrow
not wide

half a dozen
six (a dozen = 12)

lacks
doesn’t have

amenities
things that make life more pleasant and easy

to get away from it all
to have a break somewhere far away

slap-up meal
large and very good meal

tucking into
starting to eat food with great enthusiasm

serving up
bringing food to a table and/or putting food onto plates for people to eat

dessert
sweet food that people eat after a main meal

food poisoning
an illness affecting your stomach, caused by old or badly cooked food

as sick as a dog
very ill

worried sick
very worried or concerned

sick and tired
fed up or unhappy about a situation

as sick as a parrot
very disappointed about something

4. How to write a postcard

"Dear Friends,

Hello from London! I’m having lots of fun. I’m staying at a wonderful hotel – it’s my house!

I’ve been to see the Tower of London and I’ve been on a ferry down the River Thames. I’ve eaten the best fish and chips in the whole of Britain! Tomorrow I’m going to see a musical at The London Palladium.

Wish you were here. Love from Emma."

How to write a postcard
Emma’s writing a postcard from her home town. Let’s look at it more closely. When you write a real or electronic postcard to send to someone, remember to begin with ‘Dear (name)’ or ‘Hello’. Then write about some of these things:

Where you are (I’m in London)
Where you are staying (I’m staying at a wonderful hotel)
What you have done (I’ve been to see The Tower of London and I’ve been on a ferry down The River Thames. I’ve eaten the best fish and chips in the whole of Britain!)
What you are going to do (Tomorrow I am going to see a musical)
What it’s like (I’m having the time of my life)
Sign-off (Wish you were here. Love from Emma)