The definite article THE

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 Form:

The is the same for singular and

plural and for all genders:

- the boy / the boys;

- the girl / the girls;
- the day / the days
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 Use:

1) The is used when the object (or

group of objects) is unique or is
considered to be unique:

- the earth;
- the sea;
- the sky;
- the equator;
- the stars. 3
 2) The is used before a noun
which has become definite as a
result of being mentioned a second
time. But when a person or thing is
introduced for the first time, we
use the indefinite article A / AN:

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 I watched a car as it came up our
road. The car stopped outside our
house and a man got out. The man
was carrying a case in his hand.
With the case in his hand, the man
looked like a salesman.

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 3) The is used before a noun
made definite by the addition of a
phrase or of a clause:

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 - The girl in blue;
- The man with the hat;
- The boy that I met;
- The place where I met him.

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4) The is used before a noun
which can represent only one
particular thing:

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- Ann is in the garden (the garden of
this house);
- Please, pass the wine (the bottle of
wine on our table);
- Look, the postman is arriving (the
one who comes to us every day);
- Enter the car, kids (our car);
- Have you got the newspaper, dad?
(the one we read every day)
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5) The is used before superlatives;
before first, second etc.; before
only:

- the first week;

- the best day;
- the only way.

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 6) The + singular noun can
represent a class of animals or
things:

- The whale is in danger of

becoming extinct;
- The dishwasher has made life
easier for housewives.
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 But man / mankind, used to
represent the human race, has no
article:

- If oil supplies run out, man may

have to fall back on the horse.

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 7) The + adjective represents a
class of people:

- the rich; - the poor; - the Spanish;

- the Welsh; - the accused
(person); - the unexpected (thing).

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 8) The is used before certain proper
names of seas, rivers, islands, chains of
mountains, plural names of countries,
deserts:

- the Atlantic;
- the Netherlands;
- the Crimea;
- the Sahara.
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9) The is used before other proper
names consisting of adjective +
noun or noun + of + noun:

- the National Gallery;

- the Tower of London.

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It is also used before names of choirs,
orchestras, pop groups etc.; before
names of newspapers and ships:

- the Beatles;
- the Bach Singers;
- the Philadelphia Orchestra;
- The Times;
- the Titanic.
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10) The with names of people has
a very limited use. But the + plural
surname can be used to mean
“the...family”:

- the Smiths = Mr and Mrs Smith

(and their children)
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 Omission of the article THE:

1) The is not used before names of

places (except as shown above), or
before names of people.

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2) The is not used before abstract
nouns (except when they are used
in a particular sense):

- All men fear death

- The sudden death of the Prime
Minister left his party without a
leader.
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3) The is not used after a noun in
the possessive case, or after a
possessive adjective:

- the boy’s uncle;

- It is my book.

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4) The is not used before names of
meals:

- The Scots have porridge for

breakfast.

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5) The is not used before names of
games:

- He plays golf.

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6) The is not used before parts of
the body and articles of clothing,
as these normally prefer a
possessive adjective:

- Raise your right hand.

- He took off his coat.

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7) The is never used before indefinite
plural nouns. But in the Italian
language this use is possible:

- Women are expected to like babies

(women in general)
- The women are expected to like
babies (it means that we are referring
to a particular group of women).
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 8) The is not used before nature,
where it means the spirit creating
and animating the world of plants
and animals:

- If you interfere with nature you

will suffer for it.
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 9) The is not used before the
following nouns (when they are
not preceded or followed by a
descriptive word or phrase):

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 - home
- bed
- church
- court
- hospital
- prison
- school / college / university
- work
- sea
- town
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