Article: definite

 

We use the definite article ‘the’ in front of countable and uncountable nouns to talk about specific things, the only one of its kind, things everyone knows about, or, to refer back to something that’s already been mentioned.

•  The window in my room is open. (specific window “in my room”)
•  Did you buy your notebook in the shop near our college?  
•  I love this cafe; the croissants here are delicious. (refers to specific croissants of this cafe)

 

We can use ‘the’ in the following ways:

 

1. to refer back to a person or thing that has already been mentioned earlier or that is known from the context:

• There is an early train to London, so I suggest that we take the train. (refers back to ‘an early train’)
•  This is a cat. The cat is grey, and its paws are white. (refers back to ‘a cat’)
• There are an apple and a pear on a plate. I will take the apple.

 

2. before superlative forms:

•  This is the best restaurant in the city.
•  Michael prefers only the oldest artifacts for his collection.
•  What is the biggest lake in the world?

 

3. before ordinal numbers and the words ‘first’, ‘last’, ‘right’, ‘wrong’, ‘only’:

•  This is the first time I’ve been here.
•  You are the best!
•  She is the only woman I love.

 

4. with common expressions such as: in the morning; in the evening; in the afternoon; to/at the cinema/theater/movies; to/at the shop/market/store:

•  Let’s go to the theater tonight.
•  They came in the evening and stayed for half an hour.
•  I’m running to the store. Do you need anything?

 

More common expressions that use ‘the’: ●  all the same ●  by the way ●  in the afternoon/night ●  on the one hand/on the other hand ●  on the right/on the left ●  on the whole ●  the day after tomorrow ●  the day before yesterday ●  (one or) the other ●  play the (piano/violin) ●  to tell the truth

 

5. before one of a kind or unique things (names of places, planets, unique titles, etc.):

•  Look at the moon; it’s so beautiful tonight.
•  Tim is traveling across the Atlantic Ocean.
•  The Pope is visiting Brazil next month.

 

6. to refer to specific things that are defined by a phrase, (often a relative clause), immediately following the noun:

•  The novel I read yesterday was pretty interesting. (not any novel, but the one I read yesterday)
• The movie that I saw earlier will be on TV next week.
•  The muffins that they sell here are absolutely delicious.

 

7. with adjectives that act as nouns to describe a whole class or group of people or things:

• These luxurious estates are owned by the rich.
• People in our town always help the poor.
• The elderly always try to teach the young.

 

Note: We use the indefinite articles ‘a’ and ‘an’ when the noun is not specific, known, or in any other case not mentioned above. But, sometimes we do not use an article at all. For certain uncountable nouns or when a noun is used to refer to a whole group or category, we do not use an article. We call this the zero article.