General English Lower Intermediate Level
Lesson 10

Health

Health

1. Questions to speak about

  1. How do you think, are you healthy?
  2. Do you eat well?
  3. How do you keep healthy?
  4. What exercises do you do every day?
  5. Do you have any good eating habits?
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2. Watch the video

Expression to work on

I try to eat well and keep healthy, but it isn’t always easy

I eat a lot of fruit and drink a lot of water, but I like drinking coffee too, I am naughty very often, and when I am I go to bed and sleep

Do you have a healthy lifestyle?

I think it is very healthy

I think my lifestyle is quite healthy, I work outside, which means I have to do a lot of physical activity

I think it is very healthy, first of all, almost in time I get my food, from the farm, which is close where I live, and I grow some of my stuff as well

I think it is really healthy

I do really like to keep a balance, I try to eat some fruits and vegetables every day, but I have some coffee on occasion or some chocolate

I think it is healthy, because I try to maintain a balance between diet and exercise

Generally, my lifestyle is very healthy but I am a musician, I play flit and that results in a hectic schedule, I don’t have sleeping enough

What do you do to stay healthy?

I do a lot of training, am an athlete

Exercise is more important for me than eating healthy. I know I should eat better

One thing is that I try not to eat too much eat, two or three time a week fish, two or three times a week vegetarian food

I like to run and I go to the gym, all I need is a good exercise but it also helps at the end of the day if it was a stressful day to relax a bit

I dance, I do yoga regularly

I think eating routine is really important, so I try to eat with my housemaids we cook together

What do you do when you are ill?

I stay in bed and wait until I am good

I am not really good when I am ill I go to bed I stay in bed

It is always rare, almost never, when I am, I have two strategies, one is rest and relaxation, walking

I stay in bed to get some extra rest and if it continues, go to the doctor get a prescription and take some medicine for recovering

I try to heal naturally if that is not possible I try to take something herbal.

Activity 1

'The' and the zero article

A message from Dubai

Emma's travelling friends are still sending her messages. Join her as she reads a letter from Catherine, and learn when to use the zero article.

Watch the video

Transcript

Look, it's a grey day in London and I'm stuck here whilst my friends are elsewhere having fun. Catherine sent me a letter today. Let's see where she is...

"Hi Emma, I'm taking a break in Dubai in the United Arab Emirates. I had afternoon tea in the Burj Khalifa - the World's tallest building. I went shopping in a traditional spice souk. The souk had a wonderful smell - and I bought you a little present. Finally, I went skiing in the world's largest indoor snow park. Wish you were here! Catherine. PS: Would you like to go on a trip to South America next year?" 

That would be wonderful. I do need a holiday... but I can't afford that...  where do you think I should go to?

Session Vocabulary
  • traditional 
    based on past customs and beliefs by a certain group of people
  • 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
Explanation

When should we use the and when should we use the zero article (-) ? Read the rules carefully:

Use 'the' with… 
  1. Countries with plural names or with Republic or Kingdom in the name: The United Arab Emirates, The Netherlands, The United Kingdom.
  2. Geographical areas in noun phrases: I live in the north-west of Egypt; in the east.  
  3. The names of rivers, seas, oceans and mountain ranges: The Mississippi, The Black Sea, The Atlantic, The Urals.   
  4. Parts of the day: In the morning/afternoon/evening. 
  5. Most prepositional phrases of position and place: At the top, on the left, at the office/bank/cinema. 
  6. Most prepositional phrases with 'of': At the end of my holiday; in the middle of the night
  7. Superlative adjectives: He is the oldest son. 
Use 'zero article' (-) with… 
  1. The names of most countries, cities and continents: (-) Saudi Arabia, (-) Argentina, (-) Warsaw, (-) Beijing, (-) Europe, (-) Asia.  
  2. Geographical areas in adjective phrases: I live in (-) north-west Egypt, (-) eastern France. 
  3. The names of single mountains and lakes: (-) Mount Kilimanjaro, (-) Lake Titicaca. 
  4. Exact days, months and times: on (-) Friday, in (-) March, at (-) 7 o’clock. 
  5. Some prepositional phrases of place: at (-) home, at (-) work, in (-) town, in (-) bed, at (-) sea.
To do
When to use 'the

Sort the place names into ones that need the and those that don't

  • Mississippi
  • England
  • South-east Asia
  • United States of America
  • Alps
  • Mexico
  • Indian Ocean
  • London
  • Europe
  • Thames
  • Middle East
  • Dubai
  • Mekong
These names need 'the' These names don’t need 'the'

Activity 2

Covent Garden

Welcome to London!

Have you visited London? The UK's capital city has so much to see and do and it's where the BBC Learning English team live and work - so we made an audio guide to different parts of London!

Here's part of the guide. It's about a very famous area in London. Can you hear where it is? Listen to the guide, then scroll down the page to hear the answer and try a comprehension activity.

Try the activity

Transcript
Presenter

Although it is called Covent Garden, it is far more than a garden. In fact, it is a public square with rich history, beautiful architecture and an attractive cultural atmosphere. Don't forget that the famous opera house is right here too with all the big theatres and cinemas as well. Almost 1 million people visit the famous Covent Garden every week, from all parts of the world. But why?

Londoner

I like to come to Covent Garden because it has an environment where there is something for everyone. There is a restaurant of your choosing, there are shops, there is entertainment. It's a nice place to walk around because there is no traffic. So people can do whatever they want here at their leisure. There isn't any pressure to worry about going somewhere. You can spend all day here and feel you've had a good time out.

Presenter

Yes, it's wonderful going around the market as it is London's best showcase for homemade British design.

Here in the large open space, a juggler is entertaining crowds of people who are cheering with excitement...

Spectator

Well, there's somebody juggling with actually, it's a chainsaw, it's actually an electric device and an axe, and an apple, and he eats a bit of the apple and he juggles and he eats a bit of the apple, it's really incredible.

Presenter

Yes: impressive. If you ever get the chance to go to London, I certainly think Covent Garden is a place worth going to. Although many of the shops and restaurants around here can be a bit pricey, there's plenty to watch and see for free, whether it's street theatre with jugglers and acrobats or handicrafts and paintings. There certainly is something for everyone. And getting there is easy. The name of the tube stop is Covent Garden.

To do

Did you get it? The guide is about Covent Garden. Now try the comprehension activity to test your understanding.

Covent Garden Comprehension

Activity 3

Pronunciation Practice

Articles in spoken English
you know how to pronounce the articles a, an and the correctly? Emma's here to tell you everything you need to know.

Listen to the audio

Transcript

Hello, Emma here with a few tips on how to pronounce 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).

See you soon.

Homework

1. Learn the vocabulary

2. Learn the grammar rules

Activity 1

How to write a postcard

Emma's dream destination

Emma knows where she wants to go for a holiday. Watch the video to see where her dream destination is.

Watch the video and complete the activity

Transcript

Brazil, India, Thailand… there are so many places to choose from, but I've decided where I'm going to have my holiday…

"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."

Do you wish you were here? And did you notice the articles in my postcard?

Right, I need to find a post box. See you later!

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)
Exercises
The indefinite article a/an
  1. Lucy has dog.
  2. Let's sing song.
  3. Emily needs new desk in her room.
  4. I need blue pen.
  5. Ben has old bike.
  6. Peter has aunt in Berlin.
  7. We listen to English CD.
  8. She has exercise book in her school bag.
  9. The speed of this car was 160 miles hour.
  10. They finished unit.
Do we use the definite article the with the following nouns?
  1. rivers →
  2. names of countries in the plural →
  3. continents →
  4. streets →
  5. relatives →
  6. musical instruments →
  7. towns →
  8. mountain ranges →
  9. names of countries in the singular →
  10. family names in the plural →

Additional

Learn the grammar reference

The indefinite article – a, an
1. The indefinite article – a

The indefinite article a is the same for all genders.

  • a boy
  • a girl
  • a cat

The indefinite article has no plural form.

  • a boy → boys

We use an if the following word starts with a spoken vowel.

the following word starts with a spoken consonant the following word starts with a spoken vowel
  • a boy
  • a school
  • a girl
  • an aunt
  • an old school
  • an American girl

Mind the pronunciation of the following word.

the following word starts with a spoken consonant the following word starts with a spoken vowel
  • The first sound we speak is [j], so we use a → a unit
  • The first sound we speak is [ʌ], so we use an → an uncle
2. Use of the indefinite article a/an

2.1. before phrases of time and measurements (per week/weekly)

  • We have English 4 times a week.
  • I go on holiday twice a year.
  • Our car can do 220 kilometres an hour.
  • Tomatoes are $2 a kilo.

2.2. before phrases of jobs

  • My father is a car mechanic.

2.3. with a noun complement

  • He is a good boy.

2.4. before phrases of nationality

  • Bruce Springsteen is an American.

2.5. half/quite

  • We need half a pound of sugar.
  • This is quite a good story.
The definite article – the
The definite article – the

The definite article the is the same for all genders in singular and in plural.

  • the boy
  • the girl
  • the cat
  • the computers

If the following word begins with a consonant, we speak [ðə], if the following word begins with a vowel, we speak [ði:].

[ðə] [ði:]

the following word starts with a spoken consonant

  • the girl
  • the book
  • the school

the following word starts with a spoken vowel

  • the English girl
  • the orange book
  • the old school
Compare the following words:
Here [j] is pronounced at the beginning of the word → the unit Here [ʌ] is pronounced at the beginning of the word → the uncle

We have listed some examples in the following table. There you can see when we use the definite article and when we don't.

without the definite article with the definite article – the

general words (indefinite)

  • Life is too short.
  • I like flowers.

general words (definite)

  • I've read a book on the life of Bill Clinton.
  • I like the flowers in your garden.

names of persons on the singular, relatives

  • Peter and John live in London.
  • Aunt Mary lives in Los Angeles.

family names in the plural

  • The Smiths live in Chicago.

public buildings, institutions, means of transport (indefinite)

  • Mandy doesn't like school.
  • We go to school by bus.
  • Some people go to church on Sundays.

public buildings, institutions, means of transport (definite)

  • The school that Mandy goes to is old.
  • The bus to Dresden leaves at 7.40.
  • The round church in Klingenthal is famous.

names of countries in the singular, summits of mountains, continents, towns

  • Germany
  • France
  • Mount Whitney
  • Mount McKinley
  • Africa
  • Europe
  • Cairo
  • New York

names of countries in the plural, mountain ranges, regions

  • the United States of America
  • the Netherlands
  • the Highlands
  • the Rocky Mountains
  • the Alps
  • the Middle East
  • the west of Australia

single islands

  • Corfu
  • Bermuda
  • Sicily

groups of islands

  • the Bahamas
  • the British Isles
  • the Canaries

parks, lakes, streets

  • Central Park
  • Hyde Park
  • Lake Michigan
  • Loch Ness
  • 42nd Street
  • Oxford Street

names with of-phrase, names in plural, well-known buildings, oceans, seas, rivers, musical instruments, newspapers

  • the Statue of Liberty
  • the Tower (of London)
  • the Great Lakes
  • the Empire State Building
  • the Isle of Wight
  • the Atlantic (Ocean)
  • the Mediterranean (Sea)
  • the Nile
  • the Rhine
  • the Suez Canal
  • the piano
  • the Times

months, days of the week (indefinite)

  • The weekend is over on Monday morning.
  • July and August are the most popular months for holidays.

months, days of the week (definite)

  • I always remember the Monday when I had an accident.
  • The August of 2001 was hot and dry.

We use the seasons of the year (spring, summer, autumn, winter) with or without the definite article.

  • in summer
  • in the summer

The American English word fall is always used with the definite article the.

Sometimes we use the article and sometimes we do not. It often depends on the context. Watch the following example:

  • The student goes to school.
  • The mother goes to the school.

In the first sentence we do not use the definite article, in the second we do. The student goes to school for its primary purpose, so we do not use the article.

The mother might talk to a teacher, for example. She visits the school for a different reason. That's why we use the definite article the in the second sentence.