Friday, December 30

Grammar tips

Today we will take a close look at an important rule for the exam: use of “the” with acronyms and possessives.

First, we can highlight three rules about the use of “the” with possessives:

1. In sentences with proper names without possessive, you must use the: “The Lula government.”
2. In sentences with proper names with possessive, you don’t use the: “Lula’s government.”
3. In sentences with abstract terms with possessive, you must use the: “The people’s government.”

Second, there are two simple (but efficient) rules about the use of "the" with acronyms:

1. When you pronounce the acronym letter by letter, use “the”: “The WTO”; “The UN”; “The EU”.
2. When you pronounce the acronym as a word, do not use “the”: “NATO”; “UNESCO”; “MERCOSUR”.

Next week we will continue this subject, stressing more rules to help you master the use of this article.