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
- The definite article the 2
- The definite article the 3
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
- The definite article with names 2
- The definite article with names 3
- The definite article with names 4
Hello Lal,
You can say
I saw it on TV or I saw it on the TV
However, when we refer to the TV as a machine we need to use an article. This is generally the definite article because we are talking about a particular TV (our own or the one in the room).
I turned the TV off.
Peter
The LearnEnglish Team
Hello Hari4171,
We can use the indefinite article, the definite article and the zero article for general meaning, but there are some differences between them. I'll explain this first, and then addess your particular example.
a + singular countable noun
we can use this with general meaning when we are talking about something which defines the group. For example:
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:
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:
Here we are talking about the average height of Swedes, not any particular person or concept.
The distinctions are subtle but sometimes 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.
With regard to your example, I think certainly the wolf and wolves are possible forms. The indefinite article depends upon the point of view of the speaker. If you consider non-dangerous behaviour to be part of what it is to be a wolf then a wolf is also possible.
I hope that helps to clarify it for you. It is a complex area.
Peter
The LearnEnglish Team
Hello adelina,
Buckingham Palace is a proper name and so there is no article used before it.
Peter
The LearnEnglish Team
Hello Sideout02,
The definite article is required. The noun is grammar skills and the phrase of a child defines which grammar skills, so a definite article is required.
If the defining phrase is omitted then we are talking about grammar skills in general and no article is needed:
Peter
The LearnEnglish Team
Hello Devesh Raj
Peter wrote a lengthy explanation of this in another comment -- please follow the link to see his explanation there.
All the best
Kirk
The LearnEnglish Team
Hi sam61
Presumably here there is one specific way they celebrate their festival (the second bullet point above), though I'd need to know the full context to be completely sure. I expect it's for the reason I've mentioned, though.
All the best
Kirk
The LearnEnglish Team
Hello sam61,
I don't think we would use the first example (with 'a'). The second example (with 'the') is the standard form, in my view.
Peter
The LearnEnglish Team
Hello agie,
No article is needed before 'Social media' but the sentence does not need an article elsewhere:
Anyone who does not use Social media nowadays is behind the times and needs to catch up.
The sentence is not impolite in terms of the language but it is quite a strong opinion to hold and express. You could make it less direct by making it clear you are expressing an opinion:
I feel that anyone...
I think that anyone...
Peter
The LearnEnglish Team
Hello sam61
The speaker chooses 'a' or 'the' depending on whether they have already mentioned this fraudulent person to the listener or not. If the speaker has already spoken about this person, then 'the' is the best option. If not, 'a' is the best choice.
All the best
Kirk
The LearnEnglish Team
Hello Muratt,
These sentences are examples of the definite article for general meaning.
All articles can be used for general meaning, but there are subtle differences between them. I wrote quite a long answer on this topic for another user so I'll link to that below. I think it will answer your questions. There are also some further explanations in the following comments:
https://learnenglish.britishcouncil.org/comment/129066#comment-129066
Peter
The LearnEnglish Team
Hi Stefan xy
Both 'at' and 'in' can be used here. This Cambridge Dictionary page explains the different ways these two prepositions are used. I think that should answer your question, but please let us know if not.
All the best
Kirk
The LearnEnglish Team
Hello Giada,
The convention is to name articles as follows:
the definite article / the indefinite article / the zero article
In each case we are not talking about articles in general, but rather a specific kind of article.
Peter
The LearnEnglish Team
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
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
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
Hi Lal,
That's correct -- it sounds as if you've understood this very well. Well done!
Best wishes,
Kirk
The LearnEnglish Team
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 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 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
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
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