DEFINITE ARTICLE: THE
1.- Form
THE is the same for the singular and plural and for all genders:
the boy the girl the day
the boys the girls the days
2.- Use
The definite article is used:
when the object or group of objects is unique or considered to be unique:
the earth the sea the sky the stars
when the listener or reader knows exactly which person or thing we mean:
We use THE to talk about people and things that we have already mentioned:
I met a girl and a boy. I didn´t like the boy, but the girl was very nice.
My father bought a shirt and some shoes. The shoes were really expensive.
We use THE when we say which person or thing we mean:
Who is the man over there talking to Sue?
We use THE when it is clear from the situation which person or thing we
mean:
Where´s Simon? He´s in the bathroom (the bathroom in his house)
I got into a taxi. The driver asked me where I wanted to go (the driver of the taxi
I got into).
Before adjectives in the superlative, and before, first, second,… and only used
as adjectives or pronouns:
the best day the first week the only way
We sometimes use THE with a singular countable noun to talk about something
in general. This happens, for example, with the names of flowers, plants and
animals:
The dolphin is an intelligent animal.
Before some adjectives, such as young, old, rich, poor, blind, … with a general
meaning and used as nouns:
The young should listen to the old.
We also use THE before some nationality words, such as English, Italian,… to
mean the people of that country:
The English drink a lot of tea.
THE + plural surname can be used to refer to the whole family:
The Smiths live next door (Mr and Mrs Smith and children)
THE + singular surname + clause can be used to distinguish one person from
another of the same name:
We have two Smiths in the office.
Oh, I want to talk to the Mr Smith who signed this document.
With the name of musical instruments or scientific inventions:
She can play the piano and the guitar.
Marconi invented the radio.
3.- Omission of the article:
The definite article is not used in English:
Before plural countable nouns without special specifications, that is, used in
general:
Men can´t fly like birds
Before abstract nouns except when they are used in a particular sense:
Men fear death
*But The death of the Prime Minister was a complete surprise.
Before a proper or personal name in the possessive case:
Peter´s flat is very cold
Before names of meals: such as, breakfast, lunch, dinner,…
Before parts of the body and articles of clothing, as these are normally preceded
by the possessive adjective:
Raise your right hand
He took off his coat
Before names of games:
He played golf for fun
THE is not used with nouns as bed, church, hospital, court, prison, school,
college, high school, university when these places are used or visited for their
primary purpose:
We got to bed to sleep We are in bed, sleeping
We got to church to pray We are in church as worshippers
We go to court as litigants We are in court as witnesses
We go to hospital as patients We are in hospital as patients
We go to prison as prisoners We are in prison as prisoners
We go to school to study We are at school as students
When these places are visited or used for other reasons THE is necessary:
He sometimes goes to the prison to give lectures
I went to the church to admire the stained glass
Words such as home, work, sea, office are mostly used without the article:
He´s at home.
He´s on his way to work.
We go to sea as sailors.
My father is in office.
PLACE NAMES WITH AND WITHOUT THE
1.- Place names without the:
We do not normally use the with the names of:
Continents Africa Europe Australia
Countries, States,.. England Spain California
Cities, Towns and villages Sydney Granada Medina
Individual islands Crete Long Island
Lakes Lake Geneva Lake Michigan
Individual mountains Mount Everest
Streets Oxford Street North Road
But we use the with these place-names when they include a countable noun, such as
union, republic, states, kingdom,…
The Soviet Union The United States The United Kingdom
We also use the with plural place-names such as
The Netherlands The West Indies The Alps
2.- Place-names with the:
We normally use the with the names of:
Oceans and seas the Pacific the Mediterranean
Rivers the Nile the Mississippi
Canals the Panama Canal the Suez Canal
Deserts the Sahara the Kalahari
Island groups the Canaries the West Indies
Hotels, cinemas the Plaza Hotel the Cannon cinema
Museums, clubs the Prado Museum
Restaurants, pubs the Hard Rock Café
*But we do not use the with hotels, restaurants,.. named after the people who started
them + possessive ´s:
Macy´s Hotel
*We do not use the with churches named after saints + possessive ´s:
St Peter´s Church St Paul´s Cathedral
We use the before names with of:
The Statue of Liberty The Bank of Scotland
The University of London
EXERCISE:
1. _____ youngest boy has just started going to _____ school; _____ eldest one is at
_____ college.
2. _____ darkness doesn´t worry _____ cats. _____ cats are used to seeing in _____
dark.
3. Do you know _____ time?
Yes, _____ clock in _____ hall has just struck nine.
4. _____ family hotels are _____ hotels which welcome _____ parents and _____
children.
5. On _____ Sundays my father always stays in _____ bed till ten o´clock reading _____
Sunday papers.
6. _____ dead no longer need _____ help. We must concern ourselves with _____ living.
We must build _____ houses and _____ schools.
7. I´d like to see Mr Brown, please.
Do you mean _____ Mr Brown who works as accountant or _____ other Mr Brown?
8. It´s usually safe to walk on _____ sand; but here, when _____ tide is coming in, _____
sand becomes dangerously soft.
9. Our air hostess said, ‘_____ rack is only for _____ light articles. _____ heavy things
such as _____ bottles must be put on _____ floor’.
10. _____ windows are supposed to let in _____ light; but _____ windows in this house are
so small that we have to have _____ electric light on all _____ time.
11. Ron Lewis was born in _____ Manchester, but he lives in _____ Bristol now. He´s a
lecturer at _____ University of Bristol.
12. Luigi´s restaurant is between _____ Palace Hotel and _____ Jimmy´s Wine Bar in
_____ Fleet Street.
13. When we were in _____ Rome, we visited _____ St Peter´s Church, _____ Castle of St
Angelo and _____ National Roman Museum.
14. _____ Soviet Union was _____ biggest country in _____ world.
15. What time do you usually have _____ lunch?
16. What time does Andrew finish _____ work?
17. Who invented _____ telescope?
18. _____ Mount Blanc is higher than _____ Mount Etna.
