Definite Article - “the”

“The” as an Article

• Articles are considered a type of adjectives, because theymodify nouns, and more specifically as determiners due totheir function to show the reference of the noun or nounphrase in a given context.

• There are 2 types of articles in the English language: theindefinite article a/an, and the definite article the.

• The occasion when no article is required in a noun phrase iscalled zero article.

• The articles are words that never change their form.

• Pronunciation of the: In its normal use, the definite article isalways written the, but pronounced /ðə/ before consonantsand /ðɪ/ before vowels.

The /ðə/ boy, usage, hole

The /ðɪ/ airplane, undertaker, hour, heir

The is used in the following cases:

When the object or group of objects is unique or considered to be unique (there is only one of them or one set of them):

• the Earth, the sun, the world, the atmosphere, the sky, the equator, the human race, the environment, the industry, the ground, the air

• BUT! If we want to describe a particular instance of these we can use the indefinite article, for example:

• I saw a plane up in the sky.

• When I woke up there was a bright blue sky.

Before a noun which has become definite by being previously mentioned

• He struck a tree with his car. The tree fell on the car. (That particular tree fell on that particular car.)

Before a noun made definite by the addition of a phrase or clause:

• The girl in blue; The man with the banner;

• The boy that I met; The place where I met him

With nouns referring to something specific ( the hearer knows who/what the speaker is talking about)

• Close the window! (The one in this room)

• The doctor told me to rest. (The person is talking about his/her doctor)

• Similarly: the postman (the one who comes to us), the car (our car), the newspaper (the one we always read).

The is used in the following cases:

Adjectives and Adverbs

With adjectives/adverbs in the superlative form

• The tallest man alive; The most interesting book; She did the best she can.

• BUT when most is followed by a noun, it doesn’t take the. (Most people enjoy hiking)

• There is an idiomatic function in connection with this: Thesooner the better; The bigger they come the harder they fall; The more the merrier;

With last and only, and first, second, third, etc.

• She was the only one who came.

• The first song on their album is A Beautiful Day.

General reference to certain groups

The + singular noun can represent the whole class of animals or things which the noun belongs to:

• The whale is in danger of becoming extinct. (All the whales)

• The dishwasher has made life easier for housewives. (Every kind of dishwasher)

• But man, used to represent the human race, has no article: If oil supplies run out, man may have to fall back on the horse.

The + adjective represents a class of people

• the elderly the sick the poor the rich

Other usages of the

We use the definite article in this way to talk about musical instruments in a general context:

• Joe plays the piano really well.(= George can play any piano)

• She is learning the guitar.(= She is learning to play any guitar)

With the names of dances

• the Salsa, the Tango, the Polka

Other usages of the

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.

With the words day, morning, afternoon and evening used in adverbial phrases

• They left early in the morning.

• BUT: at night, at noon, at midnight, by day/night

• They left at night.

Other usages of the

With the names of newspapers (the Guardian), cinemas (theOdeon), theatres (the Broadway), museums/art galleries (theLouvre), ships (the Titanic), organisations (the United Nations)

With institutions (school, prison, hospital, university) when not referring to the reason for which they exist

• She went to the prison to visit her husband; He was in prison for robbing a bank.

• John went to the school to pick up his daughter.

With some proper nouns

It is also used before names of choirs, orchestras, pop groups etc.:

• the Bach Choir, the Philharmonic Orchestra, the Beatles, theRolling Stones

The + plural surname can be used to mean 'the . . . family': The Smiths, The Clintons, The Obamas

• the Smiths = Mr. and Mrs. Smith (and children)

The + singular name can be used to distinguish one person from another of the same name:

• Which John do you want? We have two working here.- I want the John who signed this letter.

With titles and nationalities

The is used with titles

• the Queen, the Pope, the President

• BUT not with titles including a proper name (Queen Elizabeth, Pope Francis, President Obama)

With the names of nationalities ending in –sh, - ch, or –ese; other nationalities can be used with or without the

• the French, the Irish, the Portuguese, the Macedonians

Geographical use of the

In front of names of rivers, seas, oceans, groups of islands and canals

• the Thames, the Nile, the North Sea, the Atlantic, theBermudas, the Panama Canal

Before the names of mountain ranges and desserts

• the Alps, the Sahara

With the names of countries that are in the plural or include words such as Kingdom or Republic

• the United States of America, the Netherlands, thePhilippines, the Republic of Macedonia, the United Kingdom

Geographical use of the

The is used before the adjectives east/west etc. + noun in certain geographical names:

• the East/West End, the East/West Indies, the North/South Pole

• But is normally omitted: South Africa, North America, West Germany

The is used before east/west etc. when these are nouns:

• the north of Spain (geographical)

• the Middle East, the West (political)

• Compare: Go north! (adverb: in a northerly direction) with He lives in the north. (noun: an area in the north).

Some triviaThe is the most commonly used word in the English language

In an attempt to seem quaint or old-fashioned, manystore signs such as "Ye Olde Coffee Shoppe" usespellings that are no longer current. The word ye in suchsigns looks identical to the archaic second pluralpronoun ye, but it is in fact not the same word. Ye in "YeOlde Coffee Shoppe" is just an older spelling of thedefinite article the. The y in this ye was neverpronounced (y) but was rather the result of improvisationby early printers. In Old English and early Middle English,the sound (th) was represented by the letter thorn (þ).When printing presses were first set up in England in the1470s, the type and the typesetters all came fromContinental Europe, where this letter was not in use. Theletter y was used instead because in the handwriting ofthe day the thorn was very similar to y.