The Atlantic, Lake Hillier

  • B2 · Upper-intermediate
  • Grammar lesson
  • 60 min
  • articles with place names

Articles with place names: Lake Hillier is on Middle Island, off the coast of Western Australia, but the Southern Ocean, the Recherche Archipelago and the Sierra Nevada take the. The student reads about the world's pink lakes, sorts names by the reason for the, writes full names and plans a route for a travel show.

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Lake Ontariothe Atlanticthe Florida Keys

What's in the lesson

  1. 1Warm-up
  2. 2In this lesson
  3. 3Reading: pink lakesReading comprehension
  4. 4What does it mean?Grammar exercise
  5. 5Find the names with theGrammar exercise
  6. 6the Atlantic, Lake HillierGrammar rule
  7. 7Why the?Grammar exercise
  8. 8Fiona's listGrammar exercise
  9. 9Find the mistakeGrammar exercise
  10. 10Questions for your teacherGrammar exercise
  11. 11Say it naturallySpeaking practice
  12. 12Colors of the worldSpeaking practice
  13. 13About youGrammar exercise
  14. 14Wrap-up

Homework

  1. 1Homework: the or no article?Grammar exercise
  2. 2Homework: sort the namesGrammar exercise
  3. 3Homework: find the mistakeGrammar exercise
  4. 4Homework: a place worth the tripDiscussion

Two slides from the lesson

Warm-up

A few questions about you before we start.

  1. What is the most unusual color you have ever seen in nature?
  2. Do you prefer vacations by the water or in the mountains? Why?
  3. Would you travel a long way to see a natural wonder? Which one?

Grammar rule

the Atlantic, Lake Hillier

No article

PlaceExamples
one lakeLake Ontario, Crater Lake
one mountainDenali, Mount St. Helens
one islandTasmania, Long Island
continents, most countries, states, citiesAfrica, Canada, Texas, Lagos

the

PlaceExamples
oceans, seas and gulfsthe Bering Sea, the Gulf of Alaska
rivers and canalsthe Rio Grande, the Yukon River, the Suez Canal
mountain rangesthe Appalachians, the Ural Mountains
groups of islandsthe Hawaiian Islands, the Florida Keys
plural names; countries with Republic, Kingdom, States…the Dominican Republic, the Marshall Islands
names with ofthe Bay of Bengal, the Isle of Skye

Notes

  • We often leave out River, Ocean or Sea, but the stays: the Colorado (River), the Atlantic (Ocean).
  • the + coast / north / south / west of + a name: the east coast of Africa, the north of Texas.
  • After we name a place, the + an ordinary word is normal: Crater Lake… the lake; Denali… the mountain.
  • No the before a name with 's: Canada's longest river.
  • A few exceptions: the Matterhorn (one mountain), the Gambia (a country).

Watch out

  • No the with one lake or one mountain: We swam in the Lake Ontario → in Lake Ontario.
  • Keep the with oceans and seas: They sailed across Bering Sea → across the Bering Sea.
  • A country and a river can share a name: Niger (the country), the Niger (the river).

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