The definite article – the
The definite article the is the same for all genders in singular and in plural.
- the boy
- the girl
- the cat
- the computers
If the following word begins with a consonant, we speak [ðə], if the following word begins with a vowel, we speak [ði:].
|
[ðə]
|
[ði:]
|
|
the following word starts with a
spoken consonant
·
the girl
·
the book
·
the school
|
the
following word starts with a spoken vowel
·
the English girl
·
the orange book
·
the old school
|
|
Compare
the following words:
|
|
|
Here
[j] is pronounced at
the beginning of the word → theunit
|
Here
[ʌ] is pronounced at the beginning
of the word → theuncle
|
We have listed some
examples in the following table. There you can see when we use the definite
article and when we don't.
|
without the
definite article
|
with the definite
article – the
|
|
general words (indefinite)
·
Life is
too short.
·
I like
flowers.
|
general
words (definite)
·
I've read
a book on the life of Bill Clinton.
·
I
like the flowers in your garden.
|
|
names
of persons on the singular, relatives
·
Peter and
John live in London.
·
Aunt Mary
lives in Los Angeles.
|
family
names in the plural
·
The Smiths
live in Chicago.
|
|
public
buildings, institutions, means of transport (indefinite)
·
Mandy
doesn't like school.
·
We go to
school by bus.
·
Some
people go to church on Sundays.
|
public
buildings, institutions, means of transport (definite)
·
The school
that Mandy goes to is old.
·
The bus
to Dresden leaves at 7.40.
·
The round
church in Klingenthal is famous.
|
|
names
of countries in the singular, summits of mountains, continents, towns
·
Germany
·
France
·
Mount
Whitney
·
Mount
McKinley
·
Africa
·
Europe
·
Cairo
·
New York
|
names
of countries in the plural, mountain ranges, regions
·
the United
States of America
·
the Netherlands
·
the Highlands
·
the Rocky
Mountains
·
the Alps
·
the Middle
East
·
the west
of Australia
|
|
single
islands
·
Corfu
·
Bermuda
·
Sicily
|
groups
of islands
·
the Bahamas
·
the British
Isles
·
the Canaries
|
|
parks,
lakes, streets
·
Central
Park
·
Hyde Park
·
Lake
Michigan
·
Loch Ness
·
42nd
Street
·
Oxford
Street
|
names
with of-phrase, names in plural, well-known buildings, oceans, seas, rivers,
musical instruments, newspapers
·
the Statue
of Liberty
·
the Tower
(of London)
·
the Great
Lakes
·
the Empire
State Building
·
the Isle
of Wight
·
the Atlantic
(Ocean)
·
the Mediterranean
(Sea)
·
the Nile
·
the Rhine
·
the Suez
Canal
·
the piano
·
the Times
|
|
months,
days of the week (indefinite)
·
The
weekend is over on Monday morning.
·
July and
August are the most popular months for holidays.
|
months,
days of the week (definite)
·
I always
remember the Monday when I had an accident.
·
The August
of 2001 was hot and dry.
|
We use the seasons of the
year (spring, summer, autumn, winter) with or without the
definite article.
·
in summer
·
in the summer
The American English
word fall is always used with the definite
article the.
Sometimes we use the
article and sometimes we do not. It often depends on the context. Watch the
following example:
1.
The student goes to school.
2.
The mother is going
to the school.
In the first sentence we do
not use the definite article, in the second we do. The student goes to school
for its primary purpose, so we do not use the article.
The mother might talk to a
teacher, for example. She visits the school for a different reason. That's why
we use the definite article thein the second sentence.
Thanks to Erik.
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