Uses of "The" definite article
Uses of "The" definite article (part I)
‘The’ is one of the most commonly used words in English Grammar. It is an only definite article. Specific nouns in English are preceded by the definite article. It is used when the speaker believes that the listener already knows what he is referring to. The speaker may believe for many different reasons which are mention below.
When to use "the"
"The" is used to refer a particular or specific person or things in the sentence.
Example "The car you want is not available in the market".
# here a specific car is referred so the definite article 'the' is used'
cars you want are not available in the market.
# here specific car is not mentioned so definite article is not used.
Example: Call the Doctor.
# here only the family doctor is referred, so definite article 'the' is used.
Call a doctor.
# here specific doctor is not referred, so definite article is not used.
When to use "the"
“The” is used to refer some specific things, river, mountain, island, continent, star, planets, railway, and ocean etc.
Example : The Indian pineapple is very sweet.
# here The refers to a specific things in the world "Indian pineapple".
Example : The Ganga is holy river of India.
# here The refers to a specific river in the world "Ganga river".
Example: The Himalaya is the highest mountain in the world.
# here The refers to a specific mountain in the world "Himalaya".
Example: The Andaman islands belong to Indian jurisdiction.
# here The refers to a specific island in the world "Andaman".
Example: The Sun is the brightest star in the universe.
# here The refers to a specific star in the world "Sun".
Example: The Jupiter is the important planet in the universe.
# here The refers to a specific planet in the world "Jupiter".
Example: The Indian Railway is the largest railway system in the world.
# here The refers to a specific railway in the world "Indian Railway".
Example: The Pacific Ocean is an important ocean in the world.
# here refers to a specific ocean "Pacific ocean"
When to use "the"
“The” is used to refer some specific buildings, incidences, and battles etc.
Example: The French Revolution occurred in 1789.
# here the refers to a specific incidence "French Revolution"
Example: The Lal Qila is the famous building in India.
# here the refers to a specific building "Lal Qila"
Example: The battle of Panipat was decisive in Indian politics. .
# here the refers to a specific battle "Panipat"
When to use "the"
“The” is used before names of some united countries.
Example: The USA is a powerful country.
# here the refers to a united country.
Example: The Soviet Union
# here the refers to a united country.
When to use "the"
“The” is used to refer specific communities.
Example: The Hindu is a majority community in India.
# here the refers to a specific community.
Example: The Muslim is the largest community in the world.
# here the refers to a specific community.
Example: The Christian is the largest community in the world.
# here the refers to a specific community.
When to use "the"
“The” is used before superlatives of adjectives.
Example: Taj Mahal is the most beautiful tomb.
# here the is used before superlative “most beautiful”.
Example: Burj Khalifa is the tallest building in the world.
# here the is used before superlative “tallest”..
When to use "the"
“The” before a common noun but that must be followed by a proper noun.
Example: This book is written by the writer Jawaharlal Nehru.
# here the is used before a common noun “writer” but followed by a proper noun “Jawaharlal Nehru”.
Example: This highway is constructed by the government of India.
# here the is used before a common noun “government” but followed by a proper noun “India”.
When to use "the"
“The” is used before an ordinal (word expressing position).
Example: Kamran is the first boy in the class.
# here the is used refer an ordinal “first”.
Example: Amna came second in the race.
# here the is used refer an ordinal “second”.
Example: Akram will get the last chance.
# here the is used refer an ordinal “last”.
When to use "the"
“The” is used before an adjective but that adjective must be used as a noun or referring to a community in the sentence.
Example: The poor community is deprived of their rights.
# here the is used before an adjective ‘poor’ which is referring to a community.
Example: The rich should help other in the society.
# here the is used before an adjective ‘rich’ which is referring to a community.
To Read more about uses of The Click here
Example "The car you want is not available in the market".
# here a specific car is referred so the definite article 'the' is used'
cars you want are not available in the market.
# here specific car is not mentioned so definite article is not used.
Example: Call the Doctor.
# here only the family doctor is referred, so definite article 'the' is used.
Call a doctor.
# here specific doctor is not referred, so definite article is not used.
Example : The Indian pineapple is very sweet.
# here The refers to a specific things in the world "Indian pineapple".
Example : The Ganga is holy river of India.
# here The refers to a specific river in the world "Ganga river".
Example: The Himalaya is the highest mountain in the world.
# here The refers to a specific mountain in the world "Himalaya".
Example: The Andaman islands belong to Indian jurisdiction.
# here The refers to a specific island in the world "Andaman".
Example: The Sun is the brightest star in the universe.
# here The refers to a specific star in the world "Sun".
Example: The Jupiter is the important planet in the universe.
# here The refers to a specific planet in the world "Jupiter".
Example: The Indian Railway is the largest railway system in the world.
# here The refers to a specific railway in the world "Indian Railway".
Example: The Pacific Ocean is an important ocean in the world.
# here refers to a specific ocean "Pacific ocean"
" Example: The French Revolution occurred in 1789.
# here the refers to a specific incidence "French Revolution"
Example: The Lal Qila is the famous building in India.
# here the refers to a specific building "Lal Qila"
Example: The battle of Panipat was decisive in Indian politics. .
# here the refers to a specific battle "Panipat".