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 Chekytan,
The Encyclopedia Britannica and the Wikipedia use 'the United Arab Emirates'. Please have a look in reference materials -- you can often find the answer to such questions there.
All the best,
Kirk
The LearnEnglish Team
Hello Sourav Bhatia,
I'd need to see the full text before and after the sentence to be sure, but I expect that here the different impacts of social media have been discussed, and so this impact has already been mentioned.
All the best,
Kirk
The LearnEnglish Team
Hello Sourav Bhatia,
It's also possible to use other determiners such as 'an academic curriculum', 'their academic curriculum' and others. As in most cases, we use 'the' when we think the noun phrase has already been mentioned.
All the best,
Kirk
The LearnEnglish Team
Hi lexeus,
You are correct in saying that the pronunciation of the is dependent on vowel sounds. When the next word begins with a vowel sound, the is pronounced to rhyme with 'three'.
The thing to remember is that sometimes a vowel (letter) may not represent a vowel sound. This is why we say 'a university' and 'a union', for example, where the initial sound is /j/ as in 'you' or 'yellow' even though the letter is a vowel.
Peter
The LearnEnglish Team
Hello Monse2509,
The use of articles with body parts is no different from the use of articles with any nouns. If you are referring to a unique example then 'the' is used; if you are talking about any example then 'a' is more likely; if you are speaking in general then no article and a plural form is most likely:
You have a big nose. [there are many big noses; yours is one]
You have the biggest nose in the world! [this is a unique nose]
Big noses are beautiful. [talking about big noses in general]
Peter
The LearnEnglish Team
Hello Vijaya,
In 2, 'the' is used in the way explained above:
In 3, 'the' is used as part of a superlative adjective ('the tallest', 'the best', 'the most expensive', etc.).
I'm afraid that 1 and 3 are not correct -- in standard British English, it's not correct to begin such a sentence with a singular noun and no determiner. You could begin with 'the' (as in 2) or more commonly a plural form is used -- for example, 'Giraffes are the tallest animals.'
All the best,
Kirk
The LearnEnglish Team
Hello Rita Laranjeira,
I'm afraid I'd need to see the full context to be able to say for sure. You're welcome to send us this is you'd like.
All the best,
Kirk
The LearnEnglish Team
Hello Fiona,
It's quite possible to use 'the' with plural nouns:
Peter
The LearnEnglish Team
Hello Fiona,
Yes, that's the correct.
All the best,
Kirk
The LearnEnglish Team
Hi karentrewinnard,
We usually leave the out of the abbreviation. For example, we say The BBC and The UN.
I think this is just a convention, not a rule. So, there might be some abbreviations which do abbreviate the - but I can't think of any examples at the moment.
Best wishes,
Jonathan
The LearnEnglish Team
Hello Avianna,
Yes, we usually say the Golden Gate Bridge.
Most bridges are treated as pI don't think there is a rule here. You just need to learn which bridges have no article and which take the definite article.
Peter
The LearnEnglish Team
Hello dvdmrn,
I've never heard it described as anything other than French Guiana (no article), so I think adding 'the' would not sound natural.
Peter
The LearnEnglish Team
Hi clintoncerejo,
No, it wouldn't be grammatically wrong. But it might (or might not) be considered a pronunciation error. Using the longer vowel sound (e.g. 'thee edition') is a feature of standard pronunciation, at least in British English, so it's normal and expected from that point of view.
But at the same time, many speakers (including myself) don't always follow the standard, and there is a lot of variation in pronunciation. So, I'm afraid I don't have a simple answer.
Unless you need to take a pronunciation test, I would say that if your words can be clearly understood by a listener, you can say either 'the' or 'thee'.
Best wishes,
Jonathan
The LearnEnglish Team
If the uncountable noun is abstract (not concrete), and the intended meaning is general (not specific), then the is often omitted.
Here, I understand delivery as an abstract and general thing, not as a specific instance of delivery (even though the context is about a specific customer order). If we want to make it more specific, we could say:
This is much more clearly about a specific delivery, not delivery in general, so the is used. But I do think the first version would be the more common way to say it.
Two more examples:
So, it's not really optional, but dependent on the situation. It's hard to give rules about this, since much depends on what level of specificity is expected in the particular situation. A good way to build up a sense for this is by noting more examples with and without the that you find, as you've done here.
Best wishes,
Jonathan
The LearnEnglish Team
Hi Kim Hui-jeong,
I understand delivery in an uncountable sense in this example. So, although it's possible the company may make more than one delivery, the sentence meaning isn't specific about that.
If the company wants to emphasise that it will only make a single delivery, it's possible to say a delivery. But I think the uncountable version would be the more usual way to say it.
Best wishes,
Jonathan
The LearnEnglish Team
Hello Mordhvaj,
When we use the name of the language there is no article, as you say:
I speak English and French.
The book was translated into Farsi last year.
However, in your example 'English' is not a noun, but an adjective. The noun is 'language' and the article is used before it because we specify which language we are talking about - the English language.
Peter
The LearnEnglish Team
Hello Mordhvaj,
When we use the name of the language there is no article, as you say:
However, in your example 'English' is not a noun, but an adjective. The noun is 'language' and the article is used before it because we specify which language we are talking about - the English language.
Peter
The LearnEnglish Team
Hello Mordhvaj,
When we use 'by' + a mode of transport, in general, no article is used. As far as I know this is due to convention -- in other words, it's just what people say.
All the best,
Kirk
The LearnEnglish Team
Hello Robert Darling,
I'm not at all familiar with this topic, but what I see in the Wikipedia, for example, is 'infinitesimal calculus' (without 'the'). I can try to help you with your question if you could explain the context. Context matters a great deal when we use articles.
All the best,
Kirk
The LearnEnglish Team
Hello WantToLearn,
I'd encourage you to speak to your teacher about any questions you have about your exam, as we don't know how you've been taught, what the instructions were, what your teacher's expectations are, etc.
All the best,
Kirk
The LearnEnglish Team
Hello Vsevolod_IV,
Both forms can be used. I think discussing here implies that the speaker is being asked to discuss the topic, while discussion is more neutral and may or may not include the speaker in the discussion.
Peter
The LearnEnglish Team
Hello p t balagopal
You're right, that sentence should begin with 'the'. I'm afraid I can't explain why whoever wrote it did not include it.
All the best
Kirk
The LearnEnglish Team
Hello taile77,
It depends. If the statements contain some but not all of the adjustments, then ...include all the adjustments made... is fine.
If, on the other hand, no adjustments are included, then ...include adjustments made... is appropriate.
Peter
The LearnEnglish Team
Hello Shameer
We use 'the' here because we are speaking about the people of one particular country, nation, or group. There is no other group called 'the British' and so we can assume that the listener knows which group we are referring to.
All the best
Kirk
The LearnEnglish Team