I like the dogs: when to drop 'the'

Objective & content

This Grammar Fix video (about 3 minutes 30) fixes one mistake: adding the when you talk about something in general. Freya (British) and Cody (American) give the rule: no article for general ideas (I like dogs, Life is hard). It works for plural nouns (Cats are friendly) and for nouns you cannot count (Music is fun, Water is important). The comes back for one specific thing (the dogs next door). Students repeat words with the hosts, then play a three-round game: which sentence is right?

Pedagogical guide

French, German, Spanish, Italian, Portuguese, Polish and Dutch speakers all make this mistake, in different ways. French, Spanish, Italian and Portuguese use the article for general ideas. German and Dutch already drop it for plural nouns, so their mistake shows with nouns like life. Polish has no articles, so learners often add the everywhere when they start to learn them.

Watch for the opposite problem. Some students learn "no article" and then drop the when they mean one specific thing. Game round three catches it. The video quotes the wrong sentence once. Do the same: correct it, do not drill it.

Suggested procedure

1. Before (2 min). Ask students to say what they like or what is important to them. Write two or three sentences on the board. Do not correct yet.
2. Watch (4 min). Play the video once. Students repeat aloud when the hosts say "Say them with me": dogs, music, water.
3. Game (3 min). Play the game again. Both sentences are on screen and spoken. Pause at each thinking beat ("Have a think", "Hmm... let's see", "Which is it") and ask the class to vote. Warn them that round three is different.
4. After (3 min). Go back to the board. In pairs, students check each sentence: general or specific?

Materials & prerequisites

• The video, a screen and sound for the whole class.
• The examples are at about A1+ level. Students need plural nouns and the verb be.

Assessment & extensions

Students write three general sentences and three specific ones about the same things (Teachers are helpful. The teachers at my school are helpful.). They swap with a partner and check the articles.