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 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
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 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 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