Further Practice 2

Task
Visitors with disabilities receive a £3 discount on the adult and child prices plus a free carer ticket.

1. Comment on the use of articles in the above extract from a Visitors’ Guide to Leeds Castle

2. Comment on the features of connected speech in the same extract.

When you have finished, scroll down for the Answers on the next page.
Answers
Question 1
‘Visitors’
zero / no article used because it refers to visitors in general and precedes a plural countable noun
disabilities
zero / no article used because it is not specifying particular disabilities / non-specific/general and
precedes a plural countable noun

‘a £3 discount’
indefinite article ‘a’ used as this is the first mention/new information
‘a’ not ‘an’ because it is followed by a noun beginning with a consonant sound
‘a’ to indicate that one discount is offered, not more (with singular noun)

‘the adult and child prices’

definite article ‘the’ used because the prices are specified (elsewhere on the brochure) / specific
definite article ‘the’ is ellipted before child (because it is understood by the reader from the context)

‘a free carer ticket’

indefinite article ‘a’ used as this is the first mention of / to introduce a new type of ticket
‘a’ not ‘an’ because it is followed by a noun phrase beginning with a consonant sound
to indicate that one ticket is offered (not more) (with singular noun)

Question 2

Catenation/consonant vowel linking between ‘receive’ and ‘a’ - /rɪsiːvə/; ‘discount’ and ‘on’ -
/dɪskaʊntɒn/; ‘adult’ and ‘and’ /ædʌltən/; ‘plus’ and ‘a’ /plʌsə/.
Elision of /d/ at the end of ‘pound’ - /paʊn dɪskaʊnt/; the /d/ at the end of ‘and’ -/əntʃaɪld/; the /d/
at the end of ‘child’ /ʧaɪlpraɪsɪz/; possible elision/glottalisation of final /t/ on ‘discount’ (unexploded
plosive /t/)
Weak forms ‘a’ /ə/; ‘and’ /ənd/
Intrusive /j/ between ‘the’ and ‘adult’ - /ðiːjædʌlt/
Possible stresses on: ‘Visitors’/’disabilities’/’three’/’discount’/’adult’/’child’/’prices’/’free/’carer’/
’ticket’