Level: beginner
The definite article the is the most frequent word in English.
We use the definite article in front of a noun when we believe the listener/reader knows exactly what we are referring to:
- because there is only one:
The Pope is visiting Russia.
The moon is very bright tonight.
Who is the president of France?
This is why we use the definite article with a superlative adjective:
He is the tallest boy in the class.
It is the oldest building in the town.
- because there is only one in that context:
We live in a small house next to the church. (= the church in our village)
Dad, can I borrow the car? (= the car that belongs to our family)
When we stayed at my grandmother’s house, we went to the beach every day. (= the beach near my grandmother’s house)
Look at the boy over there. (= the boy I am pointing at)
- because we have already mentioned it:
A young man got a nasty shock when he tried to rob a jewellery shop in Richmond. The man used a heavy hammer to smash the windows in the shop.
We also use the definite article:
- to say something about all the things referred to by a noun:
The wolf is not really a dangerous animal. (= Wolves are not really dangerous animals.)
The kangaroo is found only in Australia. (= Kangaroos are found only in Australia.)
The heart pumps blood around the body. (= Hearts pump blood around bodies.)
We use the definite article in this way to talk about musical instruments:
Joe plays the piano really well.
She is learning the guitar.
- to refer to a system or service:
How long does it take on the train?
I heard it on the radio.
You should tell the police.
- The definite article the 1
- The definite article the 2
- The definite article the 3
Level: intermediate
We can also use the definite article with adjectives like rich, poor, elderly and unemployed to talk about groups of people:
Life can be very hard for the poor.
I think the rich should pay more taxes.
She works for a group to help the elderly.
Level: beginner
The definite article with names
We do not normally use the definite article with names:
William Shakespeare wrote Hamlet.
Paris is the capital of France.
Iran is in Asia.
But we do use the definite article with:
- countries whose names include words like kingdom, states or republic:
| the United Kingdom | the Kingdom of Bhutan |
| the United States | the People's Republic of China |
- countries which have plural nouns as their names:
| the Netherlands | the Philippines |
- geographical features, such as mountain ranges, groups of islands, rivers, seas, oceans and canals:
| the Himalayas | the Canaries | the Atlantic (Ocean) | the Amazon | the Panama Canal |
- newspapers:
| The Times | The Washington Post |
- well-known buildings or works of art:
| the Empire State Building | the Taj Mahal | the Mona Lisa |
- organisations:
| the United Nations | the Seamen's Union |
- hotels, pubs and restaurants:
| the Ritz | the Ritz Hotel | the King's Head | the Déjà Vu |
But note that we do not use the definite article if the name of the hotel or restaurant is the name of the owner:
| Brown's | Brown's Hotel | Morel's | Morel's Restaurant |
- families:
| the Obamas | the Jacksons |
- The definite article with names 1
- The definite article with names 2
- The definite article with names 3
- The definite article with names 4
Hello p t balagopal
I would suggest 'about sugar intake' here, to be honest. If you say 'intake of sugar', though, I would say 'our', or perhaps 'the', here.
All the best
Kirk
The LearnEnglish Team
Hello raj.kumar123,
I expect that no article is required before 'contemporary politics', but it is impossible to be sure, and nor can we be sure if an article is required before 'historical past'.
The sentence is not in any kind of context, so we do not know what has been said before and what will follow. Articles are reference devices which can refer to things in the sentence or outside it (this is why, presumable, you have a definite article before 'book'). Here, we do not know if there is any reference outside of the sentence, and so cannot comment with any confidence.
Peter
The LearnEnglish Team
Hello raj.kumar123
Yes, I would use it there.
All the best
Kirk
The LearnEnglish Team
Hello muratt
Well done -- except for the fourth one, you've used the nouns correctly in those sentences. We don't say 'an experience in sales' but rather something like 'excellent sales experience' (where it is uncountable). An example of 'experience' as a count noun would be something like 'He studied in Istanbul for one year and had a great experience'.
All the best
Kirk
The LearnEnglish Team
Hello Keimo,
The normal use in legal documents such as contracts is The Customer (The Employee, The Client, The Contractor etc.), and this is true right through the document.
Peter
The LearnEnglish Team
Hello Kaisoo93,
The use of articles is generally dependent on the context.
In your example, if you are simply making a prediction about the future in general (the most likely option) then no article is needed. The reference is to unmanned flying machines in general, not to a particular group of unmanned flying machines in contrast to another group of unmanned flying machines:
The future belongs to unmanned flying machines.
Peter
The LearnEnglish Team
Hi man,
'The weekend' is a particular period of time. The equivalent (Monday to Friday) would be 'during the week', which also uses the definite article.
'Weekdays' is just a plural noun, not the name of a period of time. You could also say 'on Tuesdays' or 'on Fridays', for example, also without an article.
Peter
The LearnEnglish Team
Hello Nakul,
'Retribution' is an uncounable noun and we do not generally use an indefinite article before it.
You can check things like this easily in a dictionary:
https://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/english/retribution
https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/retribution
Peter
The LearnEnglish Team
Hi Mah,
The sentence is fine both with and without the article, so you can say
However, when 'both of' is used, the article is required:
Peter
The LearnEnglish Team
Hello LeyM,
I'm afraid we don't check or correct sentences for our users like this. Although I know it would be very helpful, we are only a small team and can't offer such help to all our users. In addition, questions like this are dependent on the broader context rather than just the individual sentence. We'd need to read the text around this and see what was mentioned before, for example, to give a confident answer.
Peter
The LearnEnglish Team
Hello Rai
That really depends on the context, but yes, 'the' is often used when speaking about an invention.
All the best
Kirk
The LearnEnglish Team
Hello Wan Fatisyah binti Wan Yahaya
Are you talking about just one box? If so, I think 'the larger, heavier box' would be best.
All the best
Kirk
The LearnEnglish Team
Hello Pratima Kapure
They both look correct to me.
All the best
Kirk
The LearnEnglish Team
Hello Mah
2 and 4 are not correct -- no definite article is needed here. I'm afraid I can't say whether 1 or 3 is better, as this is something there is no agreement on. If I were writing this, I would put Little Mouse and Friends in italics (Little Mouse and Friends) and as a second option would write it like 1.
All the best
Kirk
The LearnEnglish Team
Hello Panos
It sounds to me as if the article 'the' should go before 'property's address' here. Since both you and the other person know which property is being referred to, you should use the definite article 'the'.
All the best
Kirk
The LearnEnglish Team
Hello Mah
Here the general rules for using articles apply. In other words, if you think the person you are speaking or writing to already knows about the course, then you should use 'the'. On the other hand, if the course hasn't been mentioned yet in your conversation, then 'a' would be more appropriate. Does that make sense?
All the best
Kirk
The LearnEnglish Team
Hello miswan
I would say the second one, though I would say 'on the G floor' instead of 'at G floor'.
All the best
Kirk
The LearnEnglish Team