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If you're seeing this message, it means we're having trouble loading external resources on our website. Show If you're behind a web filter, please make sure that the domains *.kastatic.org and *.kasandbox.org are unblocked. We use the definite article in front of a noun when we believe the listener/reader knows exactly what we are referring to:
We also use the definite article:
The definite article the 1 Matching_MTU3MDQ The definite article the 2GapFillDragAndDrop_MTU3MDU The definite article the 3GapFillTyping_MTU3MDY
Level: intermediate We can also use the definite article with adjectives like rich, poor, elderly and unemployed to talk about groups of people:
Level: beginner The definite article with namesWe do not normally use the definite article with names:
But we do use the definite article with:
Brown'sBrown's HotelMorel'sMorel's Restaurant
Grouping_MTU3MDc= The definite article with names 2GapFillTyping_MTU3MDg= The definite article with names 3GapFillTyping_MTU3MDk= The definite article with names 4GapFillTyping_MTU3MTA=
Book traversal links for The definite article: 'the'
Do you need to improve your English grammar? Join thousands of learners from around the world who are improving their English grammar with our online courses. Find out more Submitted by Hosseinpour on Thu, 15/12/2022 - 16:33 PermalinkHello respected team,
Submitted by Peter M. on Fri, 16/12/2022 - 07:02 In reply to Hello respected team, This… by Hosseinpour PermalinkHello Hosseinpour, The standard form in modern English is 'him' (her, me, us, them etc): Remember the guy from Australia that I was telling you about earlier? This is him. You can find the subject pronoun used occasionally but it's usually self-consciously archaic and said for dramatic effect: He burst into the room and shouted 'It is I, the King, and you are all under arrest!'
Peter The LearnEnglish Team
Submitted by Hosseinpour on Fri, 16/12/2022 - 18:32 In reply to Hello Hosseinpour, The… by Peter M. Thank you sir a lot for the help. Submitted by Hosseinpour on Sat, 10/12/2022 - 06:30 PermalinkHello dear team,
Submitted by Peter M. on Sat, 10/12/2022 - 08:01 In reply to Hello dear team, For each… by Hosseinpour PermalinkHello Hosseinpour, The plural form (meanings) should be used if the words have different meanings. If the words all had the same meaning then the singular would be possible.
Peter The LearnEnglish Team
Submitted by Hosseinpour on Sun, 11/12/2022 - 05:37 In reply to Hello Hosseinpour, The… by Peter M. Thank you dear sir for your help and time. Submitted by p t balagopal on Sun, 11/12/2022 - 11:39 In reply to Hello dear team, For each… by Hosseinpour PermalinkSir,
Submitted by Kirk on Sun, 11/12/2022 - 13:48 In reply to Sir, Is it possible to drop… by p t balagopal PermalinkHello p t balagopal, If the sentence is a general statement about tropical birds in general, 'the' should not be used here. If it's about a specific group of tropical birds that's already been mentioned in some way, then 'the' can be used to refer to that group. All the best,
Submitted by p t balagopal on Sun, 11/12/2022 - 16:49 In reply to Hello p t balagopal, If the… by Kirk Thanks. Your answer is very helpful. Submitted by Hosseinpour on Fri, 02/12/2022 - 05:13 PermalinkRespected team,
Submitted by Peter M. on Fri, 02/12/2022 - 07:09 In reply to Respected team, This series… by Hosseinpour PermalinkHello Hosseinpour, The noun 'series' has the same form in the singular and plural. However, in your sentence you use the determiner 'this', which indicates that you are thinking of one series ('these' would be plural). Therefore in this sentence you need to use 'is'.
Peter The LearnEnglish Team
Submitted by Hosseinpour on Fri, 02/12/2022 - 19:32 In reply to Hello Hosseinpour, The noun… by Peter M. Thank you sir for the help and time. Submitted by Hosseinpour on Tue, 15/11/2022 - 06:02 PermalinkHello dear team,
Submitted by Peter M. on Tue, 15/11/2022 - 07:21 In reply to Hello dear team, I am in my… by Hosseinpour PermalinkHello Hosseinpour, Both 'may' and 'can' are fine here. Both modals can be used for permission. I think 'can' is more common and 'may' is a little more formal.
Peter The LearnEnglish Team
Submitted by flordez on Fri, 11/11/2022 - 14:09 PermalinkHi, I have a question. I need to analyse "She was the one who told her." "What's the form of that "the"?
Submitted by Jonathan R on Sat, 12/11/2022 - 05:16 In reply to Hi, I have a question. I… by flordez PermalinkHi flordez, Here, "the" is a definite article introducing the pronoun "one". You can find a few more examples of it on this page (linked). I hope it helps. Jonathan The LearnEnglish Team
Submitted by sk0075 on Sun, 06/11/2022 - 09:02 PermalinkHello, I've got a question regarding the usage of 'the' before proper nouns, particularly for events and festivals like Parents' Day, Sports Day, Mid-Autumn Festival, etc. Is it wrong to put 'the' in front of these event names? Thanks in advance.
Submitted by Kirk on Sun, 06/11/2022 - 15:53 In reply to Hello, I've got a question… by sk0075 PermalinkHello sk0075, In general, 'the' is not used before the names of holidays or special days. (By the way, you can see lots of examples of this usage in our Magazine zone, which is full of articles about holidays and other special days.) There are certainly some exceptions to this, and one of these is with names that end with the word 'festival'. In these cases, 'the' is often used. I would say 'the Mid-summer festival', not 'Mid-summer festival', for example. I'm not aware of any rule for this, however, so in the end it's a matter of usage as far as I know. Hope this helps. All the best,
Submitted by sk0075 on Mon, 07/11/2022 - 02:27 In reply to Hello sk0075, In general, … by Kirk Thank you very much, Kirk! Submitted by JameK on Wed, 02/11/2022 - 09:35 PermalinkSir, I got this question from a website.
Submitted by Kirk on Wed, 02/11/2022 - 11:10 In reply to Sir, I got this question… by JameK PermalinkHello JameK, What you say makes sense, but to communicate the idea you have people would say 'one of the colors' instead of 'a color'. Does that make sense? All the best,
Submitted by JameK on Thu, 03/11/2022 - 06:14 In reply to Hello JameK, What you say… by Kirk Thank you Sir. Submitted by JameK on Fri, 21/10/2022 - 10:46 PermalinkSomeone said me it is wrong to say that the sentence '' I take (the) English lessons with LetThemTalk ''. He said we can't put the definite article in that sentence. Could you explain me Sir? Aren't they not specific (English) lessons as we speak the English language?
Submitted by Kirk on Fri, 21/10/2022 - 14:08 In reply to Someone said me it is wrong… by JameK PermalinkHello JameK, It all depends on what you mean by the word 'specific'. From the perspective of explanations of articles in English, you're not speaking about specific lessons here. You're not talking about the lesson you had last week or the one in which you practised a particular grammar point (these are indeed specific lessons). Instead you're talking about these lessons in general -- you mean all of them. We don't generally use definite articles to talk about things in general. All the best,
Submitted by JameK on Sat, 22/10/2022 - 04:52 In reply to Hello JameK, It all depends… by Kirk Thank you Sir. It is a helpful explanation. Thank for your time and help. Submitted by JameK on Thu, 13/10/2022 - 11:13 PermalinkIn the definite article with names 3, the sentence, (It has borders with -the- English Channel.)Why is the article used? This book has won (the) Booker price.In this sentence, why article is used? Sir, please explain me.I would like to know your way of thinking.
Submitted by Kirk on Thu, 13/10/2022 - 14:29 In reply to In the definite article with… by JameK PermalinkHello JameK, The English Channel is the name of a body of water, which is similar to a sea, ocean or canal. We normally use 'the' with such place names. The Booker Prize is named after a company (Booker, McConnell Ltd), and this company was named after two men, George and Richard Booker. So in a way it's like referring to a family. Most prizes that are named after the people who started them (e.g. the Booker Prize, the Nobel Prize, the Pulitzer Prize, the Hugo Awards, etc.) are preceded by 'the'. All the best,
Submitted by JameK on Fri, 14/10/2022 - 07:39 In reply to Hello JameK, The English… by Kirk Thank you so much, Sir.It helps me a lot. (A ) teacher is an important person in everyone's life. In the above sentences, I think it is our concept to teacher. Am I in the wrong understanding, Sir? Please, explain me, Sir. Submitted by Jonathan R on Fri, 14/10/2022 - 15:13 In reply to Thank you so much, Sir.It… by JameK PermalinkHi JameK, I'm not sure if I've understood your question correctly. But in this sentence, "a teacher" does not mean a specific teacher. The idea is "any teacher" or "a teacher in general". We could also say "The teacher is an important person ...". Here, the we understand "the teacher" as a typical example or a representative of all teachers. See the page above from more examples of this (in the section "to say something about all the things referred to by a noun"). In effect, it's similar to the meaning of "a teacher". I hope that helps. Jonathan The LearnEnglish Team
Submitted by JameK on Mon, 17/10/2022 - 06:17 In reply to Hi JameK, I'm not sure if I… by Jonathan R Thank you Sir. Then, I can use both to say something about all the things referred to by a noun.no difference I am fond of classical music.In this sentence, only no article is used.(the) can't use because there are several types of classical music.Can't be specific.Is that way of thinking right Sir? Submitted by Kirk on Mon, 17/10/2022 - 12:21 In reply to Thank you Sir. Then, I can… by JameK PermalinkHello JameK, Even if there are different kinds of classical music, in saying 'I like classical music', we're referring to it in general. It sounds to me as if this is what you are saying and if so, that's correct. Jonathan didn't say there is no difference; he said they are very similar. Using 'a' or 'the' can show a difference in the way the speaker is conceiving of whatever they are talking about. As always with articles, it's difficult to make general statements because it depends on the situation and the speaker's view of it. All the best,
Submitted by JameK on Tue, 18/10/2022 - 07:16 In reply to Hello JameK, Even if there… by Kirk Thank you Sir. Submitted by JoelleCarrier on Mon, 26/09/2022 - 21:29 PermalinkHello, Quick question about "the" article.
Submitted by Kirk on Tue, 27/09/2022 - 07:40 In reply to Hello, Quick question about … by JoelleCarrier PermalinkHello JoelleCarrier, When we use articles or not is highly dependent on the context and there are so many possible contexts (certainly more than I can think of!) that it's really hard for me to say for sure without knowing more. If you'd like to provide a context, please feel free to write back. All the best,
Submitted by Sajatadib on Sat, 17/09/2022 - 07:36 PermalinkHello, I know it's not the right place to ask,but couldn't find the right one.
Submitted by Jonathan R on Sat, 17/09/2022 - 11:56 In reply to Hello, I know it's not the… by Sajatadib PermalinkHi Sajatadib, It's also fine to say "the Ukrainian president" or "the president of Ukraine". They mean the same thing and they are also commonly used. "The" is needed in both of those phrases. Jonathan The LearnEnglish Team
Submitted by Yv Lamar on Sun, 04/09/2022 - 15:50 PermalinkDear Team, While my professional writing, I’ve got an issue on how the definite article is to be used in case of nouns with abstract meanings. The main question is whether an abstract word should be narrowed down to the last technically possible extent or any characteristic is ok to consider it specified and use “the”? I've found some examples of the definite article usage with such words. Could you, please, reply to my questions below? I’ve really got confused. I’ve passed IELTS Academic once (for 7.5), so I’ve tried to learn it from my IELTS books but there is nothing there on such cases. I’ve also looked it up in the Wallwork’s book of English for academic research and it tells us that “the normal rules of the use of articles in English have apparently been broken but are nevertheless frequently found in research papers written by native speakers” which got me even more confused cos’ it’s scientifically proved the English language is an analytic language and categories (instead of holistic connections) and inconsistency avoidance are essential. Here are the examples. 1. Both the phrases have a context as well as a reference (an implied connection to the company is clear to the target audience) by “of” phrases. Why "the" is preceding the word "elimination" but not "production" here? 1.1. We want to stop producing defective parts in our manufacturing - the elimination of variation is our goal (Cambridge Dictionary) I know “elimination of variation “ is a well-established term and I guess that’s why the zero article is preceding “variation” and the definite article is preceding only “elimination” here. It’s clearly obvious it’s about the variation in the production of a known to the target audience company. Am I right? 1.2. Production of the new aircraft will start next year (Oxford Dictionary) I guess “the new aircraft” has already been mentioned or implied in the context from which the phrase has been taken. Furthermore, before a decision to produce sth is finally made, a prototype of a new product is always constructed, I mean the way&details of any production process are always known before it actually starts (I know it from my work experience). Is “the” not preceding “production” here cos’ it’s implied the production details are not known to the target audience (the audience consists of people outside the company)? Or is it the concept that a future production can’t be definite as it’s not happened yet? 2. Why is there no definite article before "production" in the example below? We need to increase production by 20%. (Cambridge Dictionary) - It's obvious not all production of the globe is going to be increased by 20% in the example but the production of the company whose managers are talking about it. Even if there are several production lines there, they still belong to this specific company implied by the speaker (and it’s clear for a listener). Thus, it can’t be interpreted as a generic reference (“all of them anywhere” as in “Money makes the world go around”). If a specification (even of an uncountable noun) is implied by the situation, the definite article is required accordingly to the rule. I guess there is no point in giving impracticable examples to English learners. The production of the company = all the production lines of all types of the company, not “all of them everywhere in the globe” There is another example of an uncountable noun as well as of a group which can be further divided into (protein) types but specified only to the exact organism type (the main entity): At present, the annotation of the proteins of A. gambiae is preliminary. (A. Wallwork. English for Academic Research: Grammar, Usage and Style, p. 32). 3. While completing capital build and loss elimination looks wholly achievable, the bank needs some time to finish these tasks. (BBC website) Here “loss elimination” is also specified as connected to the exact bank about which the article is. Is there no definite article just because “elimination” doesn’t have grammatically connected “of” here? 4. 4.1.Would it be right to say “the elimination of losses” or “elimination of losses”? Or should “loss” be used instead of “losses”? the elimination of disease/poverty/crime (Oxford Dictionary) Here “elimination” is specified (narrowed down) by the “of” construction. “disease/poverty/crime” is a generic reference to uncountable nouns = all of them everywhere 4.2. The hypothesis about the partial elimination of the financial losses and financial risk elimination of the PUs has been supplied by our simulations. (EURASIP Journal on Wireless Communications and Networking) Here losses are narrowed down to the finance field. So, it’s a specific reference. I guess we can say here either “the financial losses” or “finance loss” or “the loss of finances”? I guess it’s right to say “the financial risk elimination of the PUs” but “financial risk elimination” without “of” structure. Am I right or not? 5. “Lack” is marked as “[uncountable, singular]” (Cambridge Dictionary) And then one of examples is the following. He was suffering from a complete lack of confidence. It’s commonly known that indefinite article can’t be used with uncountable nouns. Furthermore, when a noun can be both uncountable and countable (in a bit different meanings), it’s always marked in a dictionary as "countable, uncountable". Where is a mistake here? I would really appreciate it if you help me. Kind regards,
Submitted by Peter M. on Sun, 11/09/2022 - 08:50 In reply to Dear Team, While my… by Yv Lamar PermalinkHello Yv Lamar, I appreciate the effort you've gone to to post your query in such detail! However, I have to say that this rather goes beyond the scope of our site here. We provide what help we can for learners who have questions but we are a small team and there is a difference between answering single questions and providing what would effectively be a long essay covering a wide range of issues. This is really an issue for discussion one-to-one with a teacher or colleague rather than a brief interaction in the comments section. What I will say in general is that article choice is very much dependent on the context in which the language is used and the perspective of the speaker; there is often a choice of correct articles depending on these factors rather than a single correct option. I'll try to demonstrate with one of your examples. Your question was "Why "the" is preceding the word "elimination" but not "production" here?"
All of the following examples are grammatically possible here:
The choice depends on the speaker. If the speaker sees or wishes to present, for example, elimination as a general concept then they will use the zero article. If, on the other hand, they see this as one specific act of elimination and perceive it as being one amongst a number of act of elimination then they will use the definite article. It's really not a question of grammar so much as one of personal choice/perspective/style. It may well also be influenced by collocational aspects - the speaker may be unconsciously choosing a particular form because they have seen, heard or read it before and see it as a likely chunk. In other words, it just sounds right to them in the same way that 'salt and pepper' sounds right and 'pepper and salt' does not.
I hope that helps somewhat. I think you might find stackexchange useful for these kinds of discussions - it's really what that site was intended for and there are a lot of knowledgeable posters there: https://english.stackexchange.com/
Peter The LearnEnglish Team
Submitted by Suleman Mohalab on Sat, 03/09/2022 - 10:56 PermalinkHello,
Submitted by Kirk on Sat, 03/09/2022 - 14:16 In reply to Hello, In these sentences,… by Suleman Mohalab PermalinkHello Suleman Mohalab, In 1, yes, you should use 'the' because there is only one machine industry -- there may be different specialised types, but they can all be grouped into this one category. In 2, no, you should not use 'the' because it's a statement about that kind of jazz in general. Hope this helps. All the best,
Submitted by Suleman Mohalab on Tue, 06/09/2022 - 13:30 In reply to Hello Suleman Mohalab, In 1… by Kirk Hello Mr.Kirk, Submitted by Kirk on Wed, 07/09/2022 - 06:36 In reply to Hello Mr.Kirk, First thank… by Suleman Mohalab PermalinkHello Suleman Mohalab, You're welcome! I'm sorry my explanation of 2 wasn't clear. When we make a general statement about something (e.g. 'Family is more important than money' or 'Kittens are cute' or 'I like Cuban music'), we don't normally use a definite article. This is why we would say 'I like old-fashioned jazz' (without 'the') -- it's a general statement about something. This doesn't mean that 'old-fashioned jazz' is general; as you observe, it is a specific kind of jazz. But my statement about it is general. Does that make sense? All the best,
Submitted by Suleman Mohalab on Tue, 06/09/2022 - 13:30 In reply to Hello Suleman Mohalab, In 1… by Kirk PermalinkHello Mr.Kirk,
Submitted by knownman on Sat, 06/08/2022 - 18:05 PermalinkHello guys, The fact is that the cooking wasn't complete so they didn't have anything to eat so that means that while the past continuous shows us a long continuing action that is in progress at a specific moment IN THE PAST, the past perfect continuous shows us a long continuing action that isn't necessarily in progress at a specific moment IN PAST. My question is that, why is there an article "the" in one of the phrase as there is no in the other one? I have difficulties of understanding of the article 'the'. Thanks for the answer.
Submitted by Jonathan R on Sat, 06/08/2022 - 18:28 In reply to Hello guys, I would like to… by knownman PermalinkHi knownman, Do you mean "IN THE PAST" and "IN PAST"? It must be a typing error. "In the past" is the correct version. :) Jonathan The LearnEnglish Team
Submitted by knownman on Sun, 07/08/2022 - 13:01 In reply to Hi knownman, Do you mean … by Jonathan R Hi Jonathan, What is the situation of native speakers using the article the? Do they underestimate of using it? Take care. Submitted by Kirk on Sun, 07/08/2022 - 15:43 In reply to Hi Jonathan, Thanks for the… by knownman PermalinkHello knownman, I agree with Jonathan: surely the writer meant 'in the past' (which would be correct). 'in past' is not correct there, though it is possible when 'past' is an adjective (e.g. 'They were successful on past attempts'). Ultimately we can't explain another person's writing, but I strongly suspect the writer unintentionally left out a word here. It's very common for anyone to leave out a word or misspell it when writing. I myself have done this many times; sometimes I catch the mistakes and correct them, but sometimes I don't. I expect that's what happened here. In general, native speakers don't make mistakes with 'the'. I can certainly understand how native speaker usage of the definite article can seem inconsistent, but I'd say that in 99% of cases it is not. I think the best thing you can do as a learner is to read lots of texts and study instances that you have a hard time making sense of. You could also read through comments others have made on this page and our responses to them. And be sure to patient! It really does take most people quite some time to feel more confident about them, and it's unusual never to make a mistake with them as a non-native. What kind of word is the?In the English language the word the is classified as an article, which is a word used to define a noun.
Where is the used?The is used to describe a specific noun, whereas a/an is used to describe a more general noun. For this reason, the is also referred to as a definite article, and a/an is referred to as an indefinite article. The definite article, the, is used before both singular and plural nouns when the noun is specific.
What is in English the?It is the definite article in English.
What language is the the?ISO Language Code Table. |
