Definite Article - The

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definite article: the

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 hearer/reader knows exactly what we are referring to.
because there is only one:
The Pope is visiting Russia.
The moon is very bright tonight.
The Shah of Iran was deposed in 1979.
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 place or in those surroundings:
We live in a small village 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 grandmothers house we went to the beach every day.
(the beach near my grandmothers house)
Look at the boy in the blue shirt over there.
(the boy I am pointing at)
because we have already mentioned it:

A woman who fell 10 metres from High Peak was lifted to safety by a helicopter. The woman fell while climbing.
The rescue is the latest in a series of incidents on High Peak. In January last year two men walking on the peak were killed in a fall.
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.(= Joe can play any piano)
She is learning the guitar.(= She is learning to play any 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.
With adjectives like rich, poor, elderly, 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 disabled.
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 Nepal; the United States; the Peoples Republic of China.
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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; 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; the Sunflowers
organisations:
the United Nations; the Seamens Union
hotels, pubs and restaurants*:
the Ritz; the Ritz Hotel; the Kings Head; the Dj Vu
*Note: We do not use the definite article if the name of the hotel or restaurant is the name of the owner, e.g.,Browns; Browns Hotel; Morels; Morels Restaurant, etc.
families:
the Obamas; the Jacksons
(https://gamedata.britishcouncil.org/d/Grouping_Mjk2OQ==.xml)
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175
COMMENTS
Archimbaldo
(/en/users/archimbaldo) replied on 17 May, 2015 - 19:59 United Kingdom (Great Britain) PERMALINK (/EN/COMMENT/80702#COMMENT-80702)
5/21/2015 12:07 PM
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Why do we talk about 'the environment' but not 'the nature'?
(/en/users/archimbaldo)
Kirk
(/en/users/kirk)
(/en/users/kirk) replied on 18 May, 2015 - 08:00 Spain PERMALINK (/EN/COMMENT/80726#COMMENT-80726)
Hello Archimbaldo,
In many contexts, both can be used. As you can see in the entries for these words in the dictionary (see the search box at the bottom of the right margin),
'nature' can include animals, whereas 'environment' does not.
I hope this helps.
Best wishes,
Kirk
The LearnEnglish Team
(/en/users/shirley2727) replied on 23 April, 2015 - 10:12 China PERMALINK (/EN/COMMENT

/79850#COMMENT-79850)
Shirley2727
(/en/users/shirley2727)
Hi, I'm confused about "the".
1. Could you please tell me about article usage for proper nouns, such as names of companies, organizations, scenic spots, brands and some particular items?
2. I don't know if it should exist in the following sentences.
A. "The" Shandong Jinhe Investment Group is located in Weifang, Shandong Provice, China.
B. "The" Qingdao Economic & Technical Development Zone is approved by the State Council.
C. "The" Jimo Rice Wine is made from millet, yeast and water. (Jimo is a county-level city of China.)
D. "The" Jiaozhou Bay is loacted in "the" Qingdao city.
E. "The" China Eastern launched three new domestic routes. (China Eastern is a airline company)
F. in "the" rail transit industry
Thanks for help.
Peter M (/en/users/peter-m) replied on 23 April, 2015 - 19:30 Poland PERMALINK (/EN/COMMENT

(/en/users/peter-m) /79866#COMMENT-79866)
Hi Shirley2727,
The rules for these are on this page. Look for the section headed 'The definite article with names'.
In answer to your other question, we would use 'the' in sentences A, B and F, but not in the others.
Best wishes,
Peter
(/en/users/shirley2727) replied on 24 April, 2015 - 04:56 China PERMALINK (/EN/COMMENT

/79890#COMMENT-79890)
Shirley2727
Thanks very much.
But, I'm still confused about the reason:
1. Why don't we need the "the" in C,D or E? Because they are short and can be deemed as one proper noun, such as "China" and "Water"?
Or
Are there any rules to classify those names? For example:
A. "the"+common noun+common noun, e.g. the Summer Palace and the People's Hall
B. "the"+adj.+common noun, e.g. the United States and the Great Wall
The above "the" is a must, but for
C. proper noun+common noun, e.g. Jimo Rice Wine, Qingdao City and the Shandong Jinhe Investment Group.
They are different, why?
2. What about the following names?
A. "the" Yale University
B. "the" Shandong University of Science and Technology
C. "the" Beijing Railway Station
D. "the" Qingdao Municipal Government
Many thanks!
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Peter M (/en/users/peter-m) replied on 29 April, 2015 - 08:20 Poland PERMALINK (/EN/COMMENT

(/en/users/peter-m) /80053#COMMENT-80053)
Hello Shirley2727,
Much of articles use is a question of convention rather than absolute rules. Some types of phrases are treated as names, while others are treated
as descriptive terms. Sometimes this can change. For example, years ago people referred to 'the Ukraine'; now the correct term is 'Ukraine'. Your
questions show that you are looking for fixed rules of the type 'x+x+y = always no article', which unfortunately is not always the way the language
works.
'Jimo Rice Wine' would be treated as a proper noun: the name of a kind of food or drink. We do not use a definite article with such names ('Scotch
whiskey', 'Cumberland sausage', 'Danish bacon')
'Jiaozhou Bay' and 'Qingdao' are both proper nouns. Geographical terms have their own patterns and while rivers have a definite article ('The
Thames', 'The Yellow River'), bays generally do not ('Morecame Bay', 'San Francisco Bay'), though exceptions exist ('The Chesapeake Bay'). Note
that it is different when the name is a descriptive name, such as in the form 'the Bay of ... ('The Bay of Biscay', 'The Gulf of Mexico').
'China Eastern' is a company name, and these do not generally have articles ('British Airways', 'Coca-Cola', 'Mitsubishi Motors'). Again, some
exceptions exist ('The Ford Motor Company').
In your other examples, the most likely articles use would be:
Yale University
The Shandong University of Science and Technology
Beijing Railway Station
The Qingdao Municipal Government
As you can see and as I said initially, the use of articles is complex and often based upon convention rather than fixed rules.
I think you can also see that this is a very long answer, and that is the reason for the delay in responding to your question. Our role here on
LearnEnglish is primarily to look after the site and to update the materials on it; answering questions and explaining language matters is something
we do when we have time. Questions which are long, which contain multiple examples and which ask for detailed explanations are not answered
immediately as we simply do not have the time to do so. If your question is not answered quickly please be patient rather than posting multiple
requests for an answer. It does not speed the process up - quite the opposite, in fact.
Best wishes,
Peter
(/en/users/shirley2727) replied on 30 April, 2015 - 04:38 China PERMALINK

(/EN/COMMENT/80090#COMMENT-80090)
Shirley2727
Hi,
Sorry for my impatience. I'm new here, so I'm not sure if every question will be answered.
Sorry!
Thanks for your help! It means a lot to me!
Best wishes!
(/en/users/miloskovac) replied on 19 April, 2015 - 14:49 Serbia PERMALINK (/EN/COMMENT

/79725#COMMENT-79725)
miloskovac
(/en/users/miloskovac)
Could you explain me diference between "A dog likes to eat meat." and "The wolf is not really a dangerous animal." Wolf and dog are nouns but also all things of a
group. Thank you
(/en/users/peter-m) replied on 19 May, 2015 - 11:08 Poland PERMALINK (/EN/COMMENT

/80779#COMMENT-80779)
(/en/users/peter-m)
Peter M
Hello miloskovac,
Both of these sentences have a general meaning - they are not about particular animals, but the characteristics of that kind of animal. It is also possible to use
a zero article (no article) with a general meaning. However, there are differences in meaning. It is a complex issue that are asked about from time to time.
5/21/2015 12:07 PM
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In general:
a + singular countable noun - we can use this with general meaning when we are talking about something which defines the group. For example:
An elephant is an impressive sight.
In other words, being an impressive sight is one of the characteristics of an elephant; if we saw an animal and it was not impressive then we could be fairly
sure that it was not an elephant. We are talking about any elephant here - it is true of them all.
the + singular noun - we can use this with general meaning when we are talking about our image or concept of the noun. For example:
The elephant can live for over sixty years.
Here we are not talking about a real elephant, but rather the concept of 'elephant' in our heads.
no article + plural countable noun or uncountable noun - we use this to talk about what is normal or typical of a type. It may or may not be true of all
individuals but it is typical of most. For example:
Swedish people are tall.
Here we are talking about the average height of Swedes, not any particular person or concept.
The distinction is subtle, as I said, but sometimes it can be important. For example, we can say with general meaning:
Whales are in danger of becoming extinct.
The whale is in danger of becoming extinct.
However, we cannot say:
A whale is in danger of becoming extinct.
This is because being in danger of becoming extinct may be true but it does not define the whale; it is not part of our concept of 'whaleness'.
I hope that helps to clarify it for you. It is a difficult area, as I said.
Best wishes,
Peter
(/en/users/erga-tafaj) replied on 8 April, 2015 - 16:24 Albania PERMALINK (/EN/COMMENT

/79346#COMMENT-79346)
erga tafaj
(/en/users/erga-tafaj)
hello teachers!
how we can say this word
europe or the europe
thank you
5/21/2015 12:07 PM

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