Ampersand Lab

Intermediate grammar · Lesson 74 · B1

the 2 (school / the school etc.)

Say school, hospital, prison, university, church, bed, work and home without the when you mean the place for its usual purpose, and use the when you mean a particular building or object.

Start the lesson

16Steps · about 33 minutes

In this lesson

school and the schoolA2 screens of questions
prison, hospital, university, college, churchB4 screens of questions
bed, work and homeC5 screens of questions

Point A of 3

school and the school

Maisie is nine and lives in Barnsley. Every weekday she goes to school. At the moment she is at school. School starts at quarter to nine and finishes at quarter past three.

A pupil goes to school and is at school. No particular building is meant; school here is the idea of lessons and learning.

This evening Maisie's dad wants a word with her teacher about a missing PE kit, so he has gone to the school. He is at the school now. He is not a pupil, so he is not 'at school'. He has gone to the school, meaning Maisie's school, one specific building with a car park he cannot find a space in.

  • Maisie goes to school five days a week.
  • Is your son still at school, or has he started work?
  • Maisie's dad has gone to the school for parents' evening.
  • There's a fence round the school, so the children can't wander off.

Point A · Exercise 74.1 · part 1 of 2

Complete the sentences with school or the school.

  1. Example

    Why isn't Oscar at school today? Has he got a cold?

    AnswerWhy isn't Oscar at school today? Has he got a cold?

  2. When she was little, Freya hated going to , but she loves it now.

  3. A crowd of parents was standing by the gates of at half past three.

  4. What time does finish in the afternoon?

  5. How do your kids get to in the morning? Do you drive them?

Point A · Exercise 74.1 · part 2 of 2

Complete the sentences with school or the school.

  1. What was the name of you went to in Doncaster?

  2. What does Kieran want to do when he leaves ?

  3. My two walk to . is only ten minutes from our house.

Point B of 3

prison, hospital, university, college, church

prison (or jail), hospital, university, college and church behave the same way. When the place stands for its purpose rather than for a building, there is no the.

Without the: the place for its purpose With the: a particular building
When I finish my A levels, I'd like to go to university. (as a student) I went to the university to drop off my sister's laptop. (as a visitor)
Gemma came off her bike and was taken to hospital. She's still in hospital. (as a patient) Her mum went to the hospital to see her. She's at the hospital now. (as a visitor)
Dean's cousin is in prison for fraud. (as a prisoner, no particular prison in mind) Dean drove to the prison to visit his cousin. (as a visitor)
Mrs Akhtar's neighbour goes to church every Sunday. (for a service) A roofer went up to the church to look at the leak. (a particular building)

With most other places you need the: the station, the bank, the cinema, the post office.

  • Our Callum's at college in Leeds, studying plumbing.
  • My grandad was in hospital for a week after his fall.
  • We parked outside the hospital and walked in.
  • He spent three years in prison and came out a reformed man, or so he tells everyone.
  • Is the church open to visitors on a Saturday?

Point B · Exercise 74.2 · part 1 of 4

Which is right? Choose the correct form.

  1. Example

    Excuse me, where's the university (university / the university)? Is it far from the station?

    AnswerExcuse me, where's the university? Is it far from the station?

  2. Liam left school at sixteen and trained as a plumber. He never wanted to go to (university / the university).

  3. In your country, how many young people go to (university / the university)?

  4. Our town is tiny, but (university / the university) here has twelve thousand students.

  5. My nan is ninety-one and she has never once been in (hospital / the hospital).

Point B · Exercise 74.2 · part 2 of 4

Which is right? Choose the correct form.

  1. When Dev had his operation, I took the bus to (hospital / the hospital) with a bag of grapes.

  2. While I was visiting Dev, I bumped into Claire, who works as a porter at (hospital / the hospital).

  3. A cyclist was knocked off his bike outside the chippy and taken to (hospital / the hospital).

  4. Why was he sent to (prison / the prison)? What had he done?

Point B · Exercise 74.2 · part 3 of 4

Which is right? Choose the correct form.

  1. There was a flood at (prison / the prison) last night, and two hundred inmates had to be moved.

  2. Do you think sending people to (prison / the prison) actually stops crime?

  3. Mrs Holroyd is very religious. Every Sunday she's at (church / the church) by ten.

  4. Her husband never goes to (church / the church). He stays at home with the crossword.

Point B · Exercise 74.2 · part 4 of 4

Which is right? Choose the correct form.

  1. If you're in the village, have a look round (church / the church). Parts of it are eight hundred years old.

Point C of 3

bed, work and home

We say go to bed and be in bed, not 'the bed'. When we mean the piece of furniture itself, we use the.

We say go to work, be at work, start work and finish work, not 'the work'.

We say go home, come home, get home, arrive home, be (at) home and do something at home. There is no to before home: one goes home, never 'to home'.

  • I'm off to bed. Night, everyone.
  • She had a cold, so she spent Sunday in bed.
  • Leave the ironing on the bed and I'll put it away.
  • Kirsty didn't go to work on Monday.
  • What time do you finish work on Fridays?
  • It's nearly midnight. Shall we go home?
  • I don't commute any more. I work at home.

Point C · Exercise 74.3 · part 1 of 3

Complete the sentences. Choose from the box. One word appears twice.

Use these

bedthe bedin bedhomehomeat homelike homeworkto workafter work

  1. Example

    What time did you get home last night?

    AnswerWhat time did you get home last night?

  2. How do you usually get ? Do you cycle?

  3. Zara likes to go to late and sleep until lunchtime.

  4. I can't send you the photo yet. I've left my phone .

  5. "Where's the cat?" "Asleep on , as usual."

Point C · Exercise 74.3 · part 2 of 3

Complete the sentences. Choose from the box. One word appears twice.

Use these

bedthe bedin bedhomehomeat homelike homeworkto workafter work

  1. Shall we go for a curry on Friday?

  2. I always read for half an hour before I turn the light off.

  3. The train was delayed outside Wakefield, and we didn't get until after midnight.

  4. My sister starts at seven o'clock, so she's up at half five.

Point C · Exercise 74.3 · part 3 of 3

Complete the sentences. Choose from the box. One word appears twice.

Use these

bedthe bedin bedhomehomeat homelike homeworkto workafter work

  1. Mallorca was lovely, but there's no place .

Point C · Exercise 74.4 · part 1 of 2

Complete the sentences with at, in or to and one of these words. Two words are used twice.

Use these

bedhomehospitalprisonschooluniversitywork

  1. Example

    Jo's dad is having his knee replaced. He'll be in hospital for about a week.

    AnswerJo's dad is having his knee replaced. He'll be in hospital for about a week.

  2. In your country, at what age do children have to start going ?

  3. Imran was shattered on Saturday night, so he stayed and watched a film.

  4. The ring road is packed at eight o'clock, when everybody is driving .

  5. When Holly finishes her A levels, she wants to study engineering .

Point C · Exercise 74.4 · part 2 of 2

Complete the sentences with at, in or to and one of these words. Two words are used twice.

Use these

bedhomehospitalprisonschooluniversitywork

  1. Craig never surfaces before ten on a Saturday. It's half past nine, so he'll still be .

  2. It was only a little bump. Nobody needed to go .

  3. People who keep on breaking the law tend to end up .

Lesson 74 · Result

How you did

Next lesson: the 3 (children / the children)Back to the course

–Right

Each point

A. school and the school–Not checkedB. prison, hospital, university, college, church–Not checkedC. bed, work and home–Not checked