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 Shameer,
It's perfectly fine to use 'the British' in that way.
I can't comment specifically on the rule you mention since I don't know its source or the full context in which it is given. The definite article often shows specificity, but it can be used for general reference as well.
If you'd like some more information on how various articles can be used for general reference, then take a look at my reply to another user on this page:
https://learnenglish.britishcouncil.org/english-grammar-reference/the-definite-article-the
Peter
The LearnEnglish Team
Hello Bobi Learner
'the' can be used to refer to singular or plural nouns. In both of the sentences you ask about, 'the' comes before a plural noun ('leaders', 'Jews', 'Romans').
All the best
Kirk
The LearnEnglish Team
Hello Raj,
It's possible to use women or woman in Wollstonecraft's title. In fact, she previous wrote a text entitled A Vindication of the Rights of Men. Both forms have a general meaning.
The sentence with cow is not grammatical. You could use a plural form without an article, the definite article or the indefinite article here. All can have a general meaning, but there are differences. It is a complex area but here are the rules:
a + singular countable noun
We can use this with general meaning when we are talking about something which defines the group. For example:
In other words, being an impressive sight is one of the characteristics of an elephant; if we saw an animal and it was not impressive then we could be fairly sure that it was not an elephant. We are talking about any elephant here - it is true of them all.
the + singular noun
We can use this with general meaning when we are talking about our image or concept of the noun. For example:
Here we are not talking about a real elephant, but rather the concept of 'elephant' in our heads.
no article + plural countable noun or uncountable noun
we use this to talk about what is normal or typical of a type. It may or may not be true of all individuals but it is typical of most. For example:
Here we are talking about the average height of Swedes, not any particular person or concept.
The distinctions are subtle but sometimes can be important. For example, we can say with general meaning:
However, we cannot say:
This is because being in danger of becoming extinct may be true but it does not define the whale.
I hope that helps to clarify it for you. It is a complex area.
Peter
The LearnEnglish Team
Hello H_L
Sorry about the confusion. When we say 'particular islands', what we mean is an island (e.g. Guadeloupe, Menorca) and not a group of islands (e.g. the Bahamas); similarly 'particular mountains' refers to a specific mountain (e.g. Mount Everest, Mount Kilimanjaro) and not mountain ranges (e.g. the Himalayas, the Appalachians). In the exercise, these two options therefore go in the first group, since 'the' is not used with such place names.
Hope this helps.
All the best
Kirk
The LearnEnglish Team
Hello amin.sharifi,
The phrase 'in power' is a fixed expression meaning 'who holds power'. Power here is conceptual and abstract - power in general terms.
In the second sentence you are describing not power in general but a specific kind of power: the power of television. Thus, the definite article is used.
Peter
The LearnEnglish Team
Hello amin.sharifi
We don't normally explain the use of articles from other websites, but here I'd say since there is only one main goal, 'the' is used. 'power' is general here -- it can refer to all kinds of power I think -- and so 'the' would limit the meaning of the word too much.
All the best
Kirk
The LearnEnglish Team
Hello Raj,
You could use the before page number (meaning the page number of the book), but it is not essential as you could consider page number to be preceded by the possessive writer's, and we do not use articles and possessive forms together.
Peter
The LearnEnglish Team
Hello Raj,
I think the context makes it clear that the page number is related to a particular piece of writing by a particular writer. There is no possibility of misunderstanding here.
Peter
The LearnEnglish Team
Hello Raj
It really depends on the context, so I'm afraid I can't really say anything that would apply for all situations. But in general, there is no difference. It might be useful to have a look at an article about India (for example, Partition of India) to see how articles are used there. On that page, the first three instances of 'Indians' are not preceded by 'the'.
All the best
Kirk
The LearnEnglish Team
Hello Raj
You can drop 'the' after 'both', but it is not required. 'Both books' and 'Both the books' and 'Both of the books' are all correct.
Sentences 1 and 2 are fine, though 1 is better. Sentence 3 is a bit unusual, but could be correct in a specific context.
All the best
Kirk
The LearnEnglish Team
Hello Raj
It's really difficult to make generalizations about definite articles because they are so contextual. It's also possible that the use of definite article with such important groups is a little different in India than in the UK due to the different political and social situation.
Following on this idea, I'm guessing (but don't really know for sure) that the rules you speak of in questions 1 and 2 are based on semantics more than grammar. In other words, if you say 'the Hindus', some might say that it makes it sound as if you're talking about all Hindus without exception. In a country with so many religions and ethnicities, this kind of thinking can promote division rather than unity. But this is not really a grammatical rule; it's a guideline for usage based on what the grammar can be interpreted to mean.
Off the top of my head, I can't think of a time when you'd say 'a first time'. By definition, there is only one first time. You could say 'a first-time batter', but here 'first-time' is an adjective in a noun phrase, not an entire noun phrase by itself.
I hope this helps.
All the best
Kirk
The LearnEnglish Team
Hello Sheryn
Here 'public transport' is being spoken about in general. The note about systems and services only applies when you're talking about using the service. For example, we can say 'I heard it on the radio' to speak about using the radio service, but when speaking in general about the service, we say 'Radio needs to be innovative to survive in the Internet age'.
All the best
Kirk
The LearnEnglish Team
Hello _princess_,
Generally, we use the before the names of museums, galleries and hotels, as well as bars and restaurants:
However, when there is a name (often the owner's name) with an apostrophe we do not use an article:
As far as your examples go, I would expect that the forms would be as follows:
However, these are my expectations. Exceptions are always possible.
Peter
The LearnEnglish Team
Hello Raj
It seems odd to me to use 'the' here, but I suppose it refers to the historical period referred to. It's difficult to say for sure without knowing the context. 'contemporary' can also refer to now, i.e. the time of speaking -- as in sentence b, today's politics -- or it can refer to the time period of a past period. You can see examples of both in the Cambridge Dictionary.
All the best
Kirk
The LearnEnglish Team
Hello Tbm
These are just the way definite articles are used in English. When we say 'the wolf is a pack animal', it's as if we're thinking of the species rather than individual animals. This way of speaking of an animal is fairly infrequent -- if you look at the Wikipedia entry for 'Wolf', for example, you can see how it begins with this singular use but then changes to the plural in the third sentence.
As for 'the police are', this is just the way people have come to speak. The police can certainly be seen as a single entity, but this is not reflected in the way we typically speak.
Hope this helps.
All the best
Kirk
The LearnEnglish Team
Hi muratt,
In modern English both are acceptable.
When we use collective nouns, such as a group of, the verb can be either singular (when we are thinking of the group as a whole) or plural (if we are focusing on the group as a collection of individuals).
The rule is different when we use quantifiers. Here, the verb agrees with the noun which follows. For example:
Peter
The LearnEnglish Team
Hello Elvin777,
I would use articles as follows:
Peter
The LearnEnglish Team
Hello Momocompanyman
You're right, there is no mistake. There used to be one in the exercise, but we removed that part of the task and neglected to update the instructions until now. I'm very sorry for the confusion!
All the best
Kirk
The LearnEnglish Team
Hello Maite23
The first one is correct.
All the best
Kirk
The LearnEnglish Team
Hello Maite23
This is a tricky area, as it depends on how well-known you think the restaurant is to the people receiving the invitation. 'the' is often used with unique restaurants, which also tend not to have the word 'restaurant' in their name (though as far as I know that is not a rule). Since the restaurant you asked about had 'restaurant' in its name, I recommend not using 'the', but it does depend a bit on the situation.
I'm sorry I can't be more definitive, but I hope that helps you make some sense of it.
All the best
Kirk
The LearnEnglish Team
Hello Dor1989
Yes, 'the' is correct here. I would say 'for your journey' instead of 'of'.
All the best
Kirk
The LearnEnglish Team
Hello academie_19
I'm not familiar with that idea; in most grammars, they are considered determiners. I would encourage you to check several grammars to get different perspectives on this idea.
With a few exceptions in a small number of specific phrases, the use of articles in British and American English is exactly the same.
All the best
Kirk
The LearnEnglish Team