The definite article: 'the'

Level: beginner

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 listener/reader knows exactly what we are referring to:

because there is only one:

The Pope is visiting Russia.
The moon is very bright tonight.
Who is the president of France?

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 context:

We live in a small house 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 grandmother’s house, we went to the beach every day. (= the beach near my grandmother’s house)
Look at the boy over there. (= the boy I am pointing at)

because we have already mentioned it:

A young man got a nasty shock when he tried to rob a jewellery shop in Richmond. The man used a heavy hammer to smash the windows in the shop.

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.
She is learning the 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.

The definite article the 1: Matching_MTU3MDQ
The definite article the 2: GapFillDragAndDrop_MTU3MDU
The definite article the 3: GapFillTyping_MTU3MDY

Level: intermediate

We can also use the definite article with adjectives like rich, poor, elderly and 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 elderly.

Level: beginner

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 Bhutan
the United States	the People's Republic of China

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 (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

organisations:

the United Nations

the Seamen's Union

hotels, pubs and restaurants:

the Ritz

the Ritz Hotel

the King's Head

the Déjà Vu

But note that we do not use the definite article if the name of the hotel or restaurant is the name of the owner:

Brown's

Brown's Hotel

Morel's

Morel's Restaurant

families:

the Obamas

the Jacksons

The definite article with names 1: Grouping_MTU3MDc=
The definite article with names 2: GapFillTyping_MTU3MDg=
The definite article with names 3: GapFillTyping_MTU3MDk=
The definite article with names 4: GapFillTyping_MTU3MTA=

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Hello Sir , In which tense is this verb : was deposed. Best wishes.

Hello Momocompanyman,

The tense here is past simple and it is a passive form (passive voice), so the verb form is past simple passive.

Peter

The LearnEnglish Team

Thanks a lot

If I were to say that my uncle is a policeman, what would I have said: My uncle is a policeman. My uncle works as a policeman. My uncle works in the police.

Hello Ritwika Chatterjee,

All of those are perfectly fine apart from the last one, which I think should say for the police rather than in the police.

Peter

The LearnEnglish Team

In 1997 , Canada was the main source of fish imported to US. Is this sentence is grammatically correct or not as I used was and not used ing and third form of verb , my friend said that it is wrong but I think it is right.

Hi Urs Garry,

The verb forms are fine in your sentence, though you should say 'the US' instead of 'US'.

All the best,
Kirk
The LearnEnglish Team

Hello Sir I went through your website - articles under 'basis grammar' I understood one does not use an article with plural nouns. Let me know it is wrong to say: The cow is a useful animal or it is not wrong. For e.g. Cows are useful animals. Elephants are herbivorous animals but better not' the elephants are herbivorous animals' etc. Please let me know. Thank you. Regards Lal

Hi Lal,

That's correct -- it sounds as if you've understood this very well. Well done!

Best wishes,
Kirk
The LearnEnglish Team

Which is much more correct ? However, the power, the reflexes, and the sensation were normal. Or However, the power, reflexes and sensation were normal.

Hello Khalid2012,

Both are perfectly fine. The second is more likely as we usually avoid repeating the article in lists like this. However, the first could have more rhetorical power in certain contexts, such as when making an argument in a discussion or debate, for example.

Peter

The LearnEnglish Team

Hello dear team, What is your job (at/ in) this school? Which one is true (in or at)? Thanks a lot.

Hello Hosseinpour,

I have heard both prepositions used and I think it may depend upon a person's dialect. Personally, I would use 'at', but I would not consider 'in' to be wrong.

Peter

The LearnEnglish Team

Hello dear Peter, Thank you. Thanks a lot.

I have seen the below examples on a website but I have not understood the difference: -The English language is spoken in the United Kingdom. -English is spoken in the United Kingdom. In this example, do they mean English is spoken in general? Is this why, the article 'the' is omitted? and what is the difference compare to the first example?

Hello Muratt,

There is no difference in meaning.

You can use the name of the language without an article: Russian, Polish, Spanish, Arabic, Chinese etc.

You can use an adjective before the word 'language' with a definite article: the Russian language, the Polish language, the Spanish language, the Arabic language, the Chinese language etc.

Peter

The LearnEnglish Team

Dear Sir, What is the logic or rule behind the use of the definite article when an adjective is used? Why the Russian language or the Polish language? Does the use of an adjective make an abstract noun concrete and definite? Thanks.

Hello cbenglish It's very difficult, if not impossible, to state rules about the use of articles that apply in all situations, as in many cases their use depends on context and the speaker's viewpoint. For example, in 'The book on the table is the one I want you to read' and 'The green book on the table is the one I want you to read', the adjective 'green' has no impact on my choice to use 'the' here. There are many reasons I could use 'the' in this case: it could be that we can both see the book, it could be that there is only one book on the table, or it could be there is a green book on the table and another green book on the bookshelf. In all these cases, my view as the speaker is that the book has already been mentioned or is in our shared experience in some way. When we speak about 'the Polish language', we are generally speaking about just one language and this is why 'the' is used in many cases. We couldn't properly say, for example, 'the Indian language', because of course there are very many, but we could say 'the Marathi language', though most of the time we just say 'Marathi', 'Urdu', 'Tamil', 'Bengali' or whatever. I hope that helps clear it up for you a little. Learning to use articles in English takes a bit of practice. Good luck! All the best Kirk The LearnEnglish Team

Hi! I'm sorry if someone's asked already, but I've never managed to find this matter anywhere. Do I need to put the article before the full name of a legal entity (as per the articles of association)? Example: The plan was to discuss (_/the) Omega JSC's operations? Thank you in advance, Sergey

Hi freond,

The answer is that it depends on the nature of the name, I'm afraid. If the name is simply a proper name, such as 'Omega JSC' then no article is used. However, if the name is a name with a descriptive meaning then a definite article is used.

Thus we say

HSBC Bank

ExxonMobil

BP / British Petroleum

but we say

the Bank of England

The Federal Reserve

The London Stock Exchange

Peter

The LearnEnglish Team

Understood, no article in my case. In your second case includes common names: Bank, Reserve, Exchange. And in my case, there is no common name. Thank you, Peter.

Hello Sir Please let me know where one use 'the' and don't Every Sunday he goes to church to pray. Yesterday he went to the church to meet the father. I think the above are correct. But which one is correct 'with 'the or without the' in the following. Every Friday I go to market to buy fresh vegetables/ Every Friday I go to the market to buy vegetables. My mother has gone to the bank to deposit money./My mother has gone to bank.to deposit money. Please let me know. Regards Lal

Hi Lal,

Yes, the first two sentences are correct. In the second one, you could also just say 'to church' if he went there for mass, but it's probably more common to say 'to the church' there.

In the second, 'go to the market' is the correct option. 'go to market' is used in some business contexts, but in the context of vegetables, 'the market' is used.

The same is true in the third case: 'to the bank', not 'to bank'.

All the best,
Kirk
The LearnEnglish Team

These examples depend on whether the nouns are countable, non-countable, or variable (meaning they can be either one.) In your first two sentences, "church" can be used as a countable noun (for example, when you are referring to an actual, physical church), or as a non-countable noun (for example, the religious services held in a physical church.) You can count physical churches (so it will have a/the before it), but you cannot count the idea of the services that take place there (which would not have a/the before it). This Learners' Dictionary identifies if a noun is countable or not and gives example sentences. For example, http://www.learnersdictionary.com/definition/church shows the countable examples in definition 1a and non-countable in 1b. Your examples are both correct. The first sentence uses church as a reference to something that can happen, and be a part of the experience that happens in a physical church: prayer. It does not refer to a real, physical church, and therefore does not have "the". The second sentence implies going to a physical church building in order to meet "the father" of/at that specific church, and therefore needs "the". In the next set of sentences, it sounds best to say "...go to the market..." A market is a physical (and countable) thing you will be going to. You will sometimes see or hear the phrase "go to market" but that is generally used as in idiom in business and commerce to indicate you are offering a product up for sale for the first time. ("Next year we will go to market with the next version of the software.") "Bank" is only a countable noun and therefore needs a/the in front. There are lots of other cases that can get confusing, but here are some phrases you can look up for more information: zero article (https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zero-marking_in_English#Zero_article) countable nouns uncountable nouns collective nouns mass nouns I hope this post is somewhat comprehendable.

In the previous article, you described the case when we must `use a/an with a singular noun to say something about all things of that kind`, but in this article, you say `We also use the definite article: to say something about all the things referred to by a noun:`. Which of these is true?

Hello nurlybekovnt,

Both of these statements are true. Please see Peter's response to EnglishZenon for more information about these two forms. If you have any further questions, you are welcome to ask them, but please ask them in the same thread if possible.

All the best,
Kirk
The LearnEnglish Team

Hello dear Peter, Thank you for the feedback, duly noted. Thank you.

Hello dear team, In the following sentence if we place (poorly) after (designed) will the meaning be different, if yes, how? (Many of these buildings were poorly designed and constructed and have since been demolished.) Thank you.

Hello Hosseinpour,

In this sentence there is no difference in meaning between 'poorly designed' and 'designed poorly'.

It is helpful to other users if questions are posted on relevant pages. This is a page about the definite article while your question is related to adverbs. It would be helpful to other users if you could post future questions on relevant pages rather than unrelated ones.

Peter

The LearnEnglish Team

Hello Sir! "Division of men on the basis of caste is rejected now." Shall we use 'the' before 'division'? Many times, people omit 'the' in the phrases which have 'of' in them like 'division of men'. On the other hand, some people always use 'the' before a noun when it is followed by 'of'. For example, 'the division of men' or 'the shirt of Ram'. Is there any specific rule with regard to it? I am really confused.

Hello raj.kumar123,

We use the definite article when the item or items referred to are specified and are known to both the speaker and the listener. In other words, when we are not talking about something in general or talking about any example of something, but we are talking about specific and identifable examples. If I say 'a cat' then I am talking about any cat; if I say 'the cat' then both you and I must know which animal I mean.

Usually, phrases with 'of' tell us which item or items we mean and so the definite article is needed. In your example, you are not talking about any division, but a specific kind of division: the division of men on the basis of caste. Therefore, the definite article is needed.

Peter

The LearnEnglish Team

i just want to know if i will use a or an in a clause i will do that even i identified or mentioned what i'am talking about or not ? for example "a man like you " or " man like you " ?

Hello omarmohamed99,

The correct phrase here would be either a man like you or men like you. The indefinite article is used because you are not talking about a particular man, but rather 'any man who is similar to you'.

Peter

The LearnEnglish Team

Hello everyone :-)! Could you please tell me in the following sentence why we used an article A (city) and THE (country) - Do you live in a city or in the country? Thank you in advance :-)! Have a wonderful day :-)!!!

Hello Nerio024,

When we use the word 'country' as a noun to refer to natural, rural land (as in the sentence you ask about), we use 'the' with it. It's as if we conceive of it as a geographical feature, though I'm not sure that's the actual reason we use 'the' in this case -- it might be best to just think of it as an expression. If you follow the link and read the example sentences there, I think you'll see what I mean. Note that when it's used as an adjective (e.g. 'a country road' or 'a country home'), 'the' is not used before it.

All the best,
Kirk
The LearnEnglish Team

Dear Sir, Hello. Please read the following sentence: "If you set two or more question papers with the same/similar questions, kindly ensure that these papers are scheduled to be held in the same time slot." When we use 'Same' in general sense, are we required to use 'the' before it? Thanks.

Hello raj.kumar,

I'm not sure what you mean by 'general sense' here. 'Same is used very rarely without a determiner. This is almost always 'the' but could also be 'this', 'that', 'these' and 'those'. There is also a fixed expression with 'same' alone ('same difference') used in informal speech.

In your example 'the' is necessary in both positions. However, if 'similar' is used then no article is required as the noun is plural.

Best wishes,

Peter

The LearnEnglish Team

Hello! I have a question on the use of the article "the". I want to post some pictures on my Instagram, but I'm not sure which of the captions below would be correct: Artworks by Brazilian artist Ana Horta. Artworks by the Brazilian artist Ana Horta. Are both okay? Is there any difference in meaning between the first option and the second? Thank you in advance! Karla.

Hello kimota,

Both forms are fine. In the first sentence (without 'the') the words 'Brazilian artist' functions effectively as a title, while in the second sentence it is simply a descriptive adjectival phrase.

I think in terms of usage, the first one would be more common on your own website, while the second would be more likely to be used in a magazine article about you.

Best wishes,

Peter

The LearnEnglish Team

I just joined this great web site and it is impressive how efficient this source is, besides The LearnEnglish Team seems to be working in a very professional and timely manner. So gratified!

Hello RamMin,

Welcome to LearnEnglish! Please take a look at our Getting Started section for information on how best to use the site, and be sure to read our Frequently Asked Questions page for tips and suggestions on various aspects of learning English.

Best wishes,

Peter

The LearnEnglish Team

Hello dear team, Please help me with the following question: In translating a book, at the end of one chapter, when marking the source of the text, should I put in this way: 1. Adapted from "Biography of Lou Hu" in History of the Former Han [Note: The Book Name of "History of the Former Han "Italicized] Q1: Should I use the quotation marks "" or just italicize the chapter name and book name? or in this way: Adapted from the Biography of Lou Hu in History of the Former Han [Note: The Book Names of " Biography of Lou Hu " & "History of the Former Han " both Italicized] Q2: Should I add "the" before Biography? or should I also add "the" before "History" like this: Adapted from the Biography of Lou Hu in the History of the Former Han Looking forward to your reply. Thank you very much, Yaoyun

Hello dear team, Two old friends having this conversation in front of a shop: "Say, some of the guys are getting together later down at Duke's for a bear. Why don't you come along?" What does 'down' mean? Does it refer to a lower position, direction? By the way, during this part of conversation, they didn't use any sort of body gesture. Thank you.

Hello Hosseinpour,

We use 'down' in this way in informal speech. It does not carry any directional sense but is simply a less formal way to describe some locations:

The station is (down) at the end of the road.

Let's meet (down) at the bar.

He went (down) to the university last week to discuss this.

Best wishes,

Peter

The LearnEnglish Team

Hello dear Peter, Thank you. Thanks a lot.

I have a question : Do we use "the" before titles like prime minister? The prime minister or prime minister ???

Hello capricorn89,

When we are talking about the position we use 'the':

The Prime Minister left Downing Street at 8.00 this morning.

I sent a letter to the Prime Minister a week ago.

When we use titles before a name we do not use an article:

Prime Minister May left Downing Street at 8.00 this morning.

Best wishes,

Peter

The LearnEnglish Team

Thank you Dear Peter for the answer and thanks to the British Council for such a wonderful website

Hello dear Peter, Thank you for the help. Thank you.

Hello dear team, In the following sentences, how does 'though' help the meaning get across. I have read the rules, but still can't feel the meaning. This sentence is from 'Longman dictionary':(George did say one nice thing, though.) I watched a video in which, the host wanted to give the guest, a celebrity, a mouth organ to play, then the host said ( I have used it, though) and he didn't give it to the guest. How does using 'though' help the other side understand the meaning, if we use the same sentence without 'though', how will be the meaning? Thank you.