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Lesson planA245 minsNew. New: checked automatically for level, grammar, facts and originality; a teacher's review is still to come. Spotted a mistake? Tell us.
The Best Café in Town: a, the or no article
Students practise using a, the and no article to talk about places in a town, then write a short guide for a visitor.
Articles extended · Town · Places
Or download everything as a ZIP (2 PDFs)This lesson plan and its PDFs are free.
Plan at a glance
Aims
- Use zero article with uncountables; the + superlative accurately
- Learn and use 15 words and phrases in 2 sets: Places in a town, Places to eat and visit
- Read for detail: Welcome to Brookfield
- Writing task: My town
Stages · 45 min
- 5 minLead-in: Pairs talk about town and share ideas with the class.
- 5 minVocabulary: Ex. 1
- 5 minLanguage focus: Go through the grammar notes together and check understanding.
- 15 minControlled practice: Ex. 2–4
- 5 minReading: Ex. 5
- 10 minWriting: Ex. 6
Printables
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Download all (ZIP, 2 PDFs)Grammar notes
No article: things in general
- Use no article when you talk about something in general: Coffee is expensive here. I love music. Water is good for you.
- Use the for one thing that you both know: Can you pass me the salt? The food in this café is great.
the + superlative
- Always use the with a superlative: It's the best café in town. It's the biggest park in the city.
- Not: It's best café… / It's a best café…
Places in town
- the for places we all know: I study in the library. The children play in the park. We go to the beach.
- But: go to town (no the). I live in a city (a + one of many).
Study tips
- Write three sentences about your town with the best, the biggest and the most beautiful.
- Before an uncountable word in general (coffee, music, water, life), don't add the.
Glossary
- Places in a town8 items
- Places to eat and visit7 items
Complete the exercises, then check your answers.
1
Places in town
Choose the correct word.
- a
We went to a ___ for my birthday and had a big dinner with soup, fish and dessert.
- b
Let's meet at the ___ on the corner for a quick drink and a sandwich.
- c
Can I have a cup of ___, please? With milk, no sugar.
- d
The children play football in the ___. It's big and it's free for everyone.
- e
You can borrow books from the ___ for free.
- f
The ___ has very old things from Egypt — and the children love the dinosaurs!
- g
The shops and restaurants are in the ___ of town, not near my house.
- h
Rome is a very big ___. About three million people live there.
- i
We swam in the sea and then sat on the ___.
2
a, an, the or no word?
Choose the correct answer. (no word) = no article.
- a
I love ___ music. I listen to it every day.
- b
My doctor says ___ water is good for you.
- c
My brother doesn't eat ___ meat.
- d
Is ___ coffee bad for you?
- e
Can you pass me ___ salt, please?
- f
We had lunch at a new café, and ___ food was great.
- g
I'd like ___ glass of water, please.
- h
My mum is ___ engineer.
3
The best in town
Choose the correct words.
- a
This is ___ café in town. The coffee is great!
- b
The city park is ___ park in the city.
- c
The museum is ___ building in our town.
- d
This is ___ restaurant in the centre. Dinner costs £100!
- e
Saturday is ___ day for the shops — everyone goes to town.
- f
The beach near our town is ___ beach in the country.
- g
This is ___ bookshop in town. They never have the books I want.
4
Find the mistake
One sentence has a mistake. Choose the correct sentence.
- a
Choose the correct sentence.
- b
Choose the correct sentence.
- c
Choose the correct sentence.
- d
Choose the correct sentence.
- e
Choose the correct sentence.
- f
Choose the correct sentence.
- g
Choose the correct sentence.
- h
Choose the correct sentence.
- i
Choose the correct sentence.
- j
Choose the correct sentence.
5
Read: Welcome to Brookfield
Read the text. Then choose the correct answer.
Brookfield is a small town by the sea. It isn't a city, but there are lots of things to do. The centre of town is small, and you can walk everywhere. On Saturdays everyone goes to town for the market. Fruit and vegetables are cheap there, and the bread is fresh every morning. The best café in town is Bella's, on the corner of Market Street. Coffee is expensive in Brookfield, but Bella's is cheaper than the other cafés. For dinner, try the Harbour Restaurant. It's the oldest restaurant in Brookfield, and the fish is wonderful. The town museum is small but interesting, and the library has free internet. Children love the park next to the river. And of course there's the beach. It's the most beautiful beach on this coast, and in summer the sea is warm.
- a
What is Brookfield?
- b
When does everyone go to town?
- c
Why do people like Bella's?
- d
What is very good at the Harbour Restaurant?
- e
Where can you use the internet for free?
6
Write: My town
Write a short guide to your town.
Write a short guide to your town or city for a visitor. (6–8 sentences) What's the best café? Which is the most interesting place? What is life like there? Use the + superlative, and no article for things in general (Coffee is…, Life here is…). Word box: town · city · restaurant · café · coffee · park · library · museum · centre · beach Example: I live in Valencia. It's a big city by the sea. The best café in town is Café Sol. Coffee is cheap there, and the cakes are great.
Suggested minimum: 40 words
0 words · aim for at least 40
Spotted a mistake in this lesson?· tell us the exercise and item
Revise with a game
This lesson's own words and questions. Play on your own, or in teams on the classroom screen.
- Step UpAnswer the lesson's questions to climb to the top.
- Pair UpMatch the lesson's words to their meanings against the clock.
- SnapA word and a meaning: do they go together? Answer fast.
- Quiz BoardTeams choose questions worth 100 to 500 points.
- Retro arcadeWord Invaders, Word Snake, Word Maze and Word Crossing: classic arcade games with the lesson's words.
Glossary
The 15 words and phrases this lesson teaches, in 2 sets.
Places in a town
- town
- a place with houses and shops. It is bigger than a village and smaller than a city.
- city
- a very big town with a lot of people and buildings
- centre
- the middle of a town or city
- park
- a public place with grass and trees. People go there to relax.
- beach
- sand or small stones next to the sea
- market
- a place, often outside, where people buy and sell food and other things
- harbour
- a place on the coast where boats can stay safely
- river
- water that moves across the land to the sea
Places to eat and visit
- restaurant
- a place where people pay to eat meals
- café
- a small place where people buy drinks and small meals
- coffee
- a hot brown drink
- library
- a place where people can borrow books
- museum
- a building where people can look at old or interesting things
- bookshop
- a shop that sells books
- gallery
- a building where people can look at paintings and art
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