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 Kirk. I said this sentence to a native speaker "I want to write you this evening", then he replies 'it should be "write to you". In British English, it would be wrong to omit "to". My question: why is "would" used in "it would be wrong to omit "to"? Could "would" be replaced with "is", if it could, what's the difference?
Hello Jembut,
I believe I answered this question on a different page. Please see my response there: https://learnenglish.britishcouncil.org/comment/172008#comment-172008
Please remember to post your questions just once.
All the best,
Kirk
The LearnEnglish Team
Dear sir,
I am writing this comment to ask you about 'the'. When I search 'function of skin' on the google website, many websites say it like this, 'the function of the skin'.
1. Why do they use 'the function' ? Is the function only one in the context?
2. Why do they use 'the skin'? Does it mean all skins?
Thank you.
Hello archie,
The use of articles is very much context dependent, so you'd need to look at the sentence in it's broader context. Was the function or the skin mentioned earlier, for example? Is there a reference to define it? Simply seeing the phrase in isolation isn't enough to judge why the article is used.
Peter
The LearnEnglish Team
Peter
The LearnEnglish Team
Hello, Peter. I see you say "you would need..." instead of "you need...", I'm wondering why you add "would?"
The use of articles is very much context dependent, so you would need to look at the sentence in it's broader context
Hello Plokonyo,
I think you've asked questions like this before and we've answered them, so perhaps you can try to explain it yourself and we'll comment after that. That way you'll see if your understanding is correct.
Peter
The LearnEnglish Team
I employed some workmen whose job included cutting trees in the garden.
I came back the next day the trees were all gone.
They said there was no difference between wanting them to cut down trees in the garden and wanting them to cut down the trees the garden.
Are they right?
Hi Philip,
It depends on the context - i.e., the rest of the conversation or discussion, including any other instructions about what the workers should do. 'Cut down THE trees in the garden' means 'all the trees'. 'Cut down trees in the garden' may mean all or some of the trees. If the intended meaning is that they should only cut down SOME of the trees, the speaker should specify which ones to cut down (and which ones not to cut down). Without that information, it could be understood as meaning 'all the trees'.
I hope that helps.
Jonathan
The LearnEnglish Team
Hello DaniWeebKage,
Both sentences are possible but I think the most likely sentence is the second: ...near the beach. Certain geographical features tend to have the definite article before them in contexts like this, including by the lake, by the river, on the coast, near the beach, in the mountains and others.
In these examples we are not describing a particular beach (coast etc) but rather referring to the concept of beach. In other words we are telling the listener about the kind of location in which the house stands rather than describing a particular beach.
Your second sentence is not correct. The sentence should be:
The indefinite article is used because you are talking about any teacher, not a particular teacher. You could also use a plural form without an article (Teachers must...). This would refer to all teachers.
'...there is only one in that context' means that the context limits the possible choices.
When there is a unique item in the world we use 'the': the Olympic marathon champion, the Pope, the President of France etc.
If we limit the context then we can create a unique item within that context: the dog in my garden, the lamp on my table etc.
Peter
The LearnEnglish Team
Hi Hosseinpour,
It's because which (substituting for Asia) is the subject of the relative clause, i.e.:
Use of which (or another preposition + which) if Asia is neither the subject nor the object of the relative clause. In other words, to use of which, the relative clause must specify a new subject (i.e., not Asia; in the example below, it is 'we'):
You might find this page from the Cambridge Dictionary useful. See especially the 'which + prepositions' section, and other '+ prepositions' sections.
It would also be great if you can try to post questions on relevant pages. This question would be perfect for our Non-defining relative clauses page, for example. Thanks :)
Jonathan
The LearnEnglish Team
Hello Jembut,
'There' in this sentence is used to draw another person's attention to something that they may not have noticed. It's difference from 'that' or 'this', which refer to things already seen or noticed.
Peter
The LearnEnglish Team
Hello Hosseinpour,
Without knowing the context in which this appears it is very hard to say. It looks like it may be part of an incomplete hypothetical construction as you can use inversion in place of if in sentences like this:
Peter
The LearnEnglish Team
Hi Hosseinpour,
Will indicates a realistic situation, i.e., something that (in the speaker's view) is possible in real life, and would indicates a hypothetical or imaginary situation, i.e., something that (in the speaker's view) is impossible, unlikely or unrealistic.
The greenhouse effect is a natural process of the Earth and its atmosphere, so we don't have a reason to think that it will end. That's why would be is a better answer in your sentence - it reflects that fact that this situation is unlikely, impossible or unrealistic.
Will be is grammatically correct too, but if the speaker says will be, it indicates that this situation is possible, so it might slightly confuse the listener (because if the listener knows that the greenhouse effect is a natural process, he/she knows that it is impossible or unlikely to end.)
Thanks for your question and I hope my answer helps :) You can find more examples and explanation on this page about will and would and if you have more questions about this topic, please post them on that page. Thanks :)
Jonathan
The LearnEnglish Team
Hi Hosseinpour,
Good question! Let me clarify some terminology first. ‘That’ and ‘which’ are relative pronouns, and it’s important to understand that relative pronouns substitute for a previous noun. For example, in the sentence Daycare is a service that … , the relative pronoun ‘that’ substitutes for ‘a service’. The relative pronoun introduces a relative clause describing ‘a service’.
You should use ‘that’ and ‘which’ when the relative pronoun is the subject or object in the relative clause. For example, we use ‘that’ here:
In your example (which I’ll slightly simplify), I’ll underline the relative clause:
The verb phrase is ‘are cared for’. The subject is ‘children’ (not ‘service’). It doesn’t have an object (it doesn’t make sense to say ‘
children are cared for service’). So, that’s why we can’t say ‘Daycare is a service that …’ in this sentence – because ‘that’ (referring to ‘a service’) isn’t the subject or object in the relative clause. This might be clearer if we rephrase the sentence:The relationship between ‘children are cared for’ and ‘a service’ is that one happens in the other – i.e., children are cared for in the daycare service. That’s why we need ‘in which’. Does that make sense?
Jonathan
The LearnEnglish Team
Hello Hosseinpour,
You could use a past perfect form here: he wishes he had gone, but the perfect modal verb is also correct.
Both forms (wishes he had gone and wishes he could have gone) describes unreal past situations, but the first describes an act while the second describes a possibility or opportunity:
Peter
The LearnEnglish Team
Hello Sokhom,
Of those four options, 3 is the correct one.
As for the other sentence, 'plant' is referring plants in general, not to a specific one or one already mentioned. 'a new species' refers to one particular species that is just now being mentioned, but 'plant' does not.
Hope that helps.
All the best,
Kirk
The LearnEnglish Team
Hi Sokhom,
I've just answered your question on another page. :)
Jonathan
The LearnEnglish Team
Hi Hosseinpour,
Yes! Whether/or works fine.
There is another option - to use either/or. But there's a slight difference in meaning.
I hope that helps!
Jonathan
The LearnEnglish Team
Hi LitteBlueGreat,
Yes, that's right! I would add that the first meaning you mention (to say something about all the things referred to by a noun) is often used in academic or scientific explanations, since it refers to an entire class of things rather than one particular identified thing, just as in the examples above and your example. So, it's often used to explain something about animals, parts of the body, inventions and pieces of technology, for example. It's perhaps less common in ordinary conversation, and your option B would be more common.
I hope that helps.
Jonathan
The LearnEnglish Team
Hi LitteBlueGreat,
Yes, that's right. If I say, for example:
I'm making a statement about all wolves, or every wolf.
Jonathan
The LearnEnglish Team
Hello, Jonathan. I see your sentence use "would" as in "I would add that..." and "your option B would be more common". Could you tell me the use of "would" in your sentence?
Hello Plokonyo,
I'm afraid Jonathan won't be able to reply in the near future, so I thought I'd respond in his stead.
The 'would' in 'I would add that ...' shows that Jonathan is speaking about how he would change LittleBlueGreat's explanation if he (Jonathan) were editing it. So in this sense, it's speaking about a hypothetical situation. Which I know may seem a bit strange because Jonathan is in fact adding to the explanation. The way to understand this is to see it as a way of politely doing this.
In the case of 'your option B would be more common', 'would' again refers to a hypothetical situation: if the context were ordinary conversation, option B would be more common. Jonathan could also have said 'in the context of ordinary conversation, option B is more common', but we often use 'would' to be less direct and thus more polite.
Hope this helps.
All the best,
Kirk
The LearnEnglish Team
Hi Olga21,
It may be correct - it depends on the context. If, for example, both the speaker and the listener know which film they are talking about then 'the' is fine. Perhaps they've already been talking about it, or perhaps they've just bought a DVD.
If, however, it could be any film then they would say 'a new film'.
Articles are very often context dependent. They signal what is known and shared and what is new.
Peter
The LearnEnglish Team
Hi Indiana,
Yes, these are all correct :)
Jonathan
The LearnEnglish Team
Hello bella9073,
When we say 'I need to go to the bathroom' we are talking about the physical need, not the room. You could say 'I need to go to the bathroom' in the middle of a field or a forest, for example!
If we want to talk about the room then we would use 'a' or 'the' depending on the situation. Generally, we assume that there is one bathroom, or that it's understood that we mean the nearest bathroom. However, we might say 'Is there a bathroom here?' on a hotel floor, for example, or ask very politely 'Could you tell me where I can find a bathroom, please?'
Peter
The LearnEnglish Team