Main Cases of the use of the Definite Article

The Definite article has the meaning of definiteness = specifying meaning. It arises from the previous mention of the noun in the context. eg. We have a house in the country. The house is small.

The Definite Article is used:

1. when the situation makes the object definite, when the speaker and listener know what particular object is meant: eg. Open the door, please.

2. when the speaker uses an attribute pointing out particular objects (a particularizing attribute): eg. This is the flat I live in.

3. with nouns in word-groups the first element of which is SOME, NONE, MOST, MANY and the second noun with the preposition OF:

eg. Most of the ladies looked pleased.

4. with nouns denoting unique things: eg. The sun was bright.

5. to denote something which is unique in some way:

e.g. Which is the tallest building in the world?

6. with nouns modified by adjectives in the superlative degree:

eg. This is the shortest story.

7. with nouns modified by the pronoun SAME, NEXT, WRONG, RIGHT, VERY, ONLY, LAST: eg. He asked the same question.

8. with nouns modified by the ordinal numeral: eg. I’m reading the first chapter.

9. the definite article has a generic meaning when the noun is used in a general sense and denotes the whole class: eg. The telephone was invented in the 19^th century.

When the noun MAN is used in a general sense no article is used:

eg. Woman is man’s helpmate.

10. with the name of a group of mountains: the Alps, the Himalayas

11. with the name of a canal, river, sea ocean: the Atlantic, the Mississippi

12. with the names of certain countries: e.g. the United States; the Lebanon

13. with the name of hotels, theatres, museums/galleries, cinemas, restaurants/pubs, newspapers, ships (+ the names with of):

e.g. the Hilton / the Sheraton / the British Museum / the Tower of London

14. to denote somebody we visit regularly: She has gone to the doctor/dentist.

15. with an adjective used as a noun referring to a group of people:

e.g. the sick / the injured / the rich / the young

16. with an adjective used as a noun describing a nationality:

e.g. the Japanese / the Asians

17. with the names denoting the whole family: e.g. the Simons

18. with the date (in speech): e.g. March the twenty-fifth

19. to denote somebody in an official position: e.g. the Pope / the President / the Queen

The Definite Article is used in some set expressions:

The Article

We do not use an article before:

1. the plural form of a countable noun when it is used in a general sense:

e.g. I buy magazines about computers. I like music.

1. an uncountable noun when it is used in a general sense:

e.g. She hates dishonesty. Many people are afraid of death.

1. the name of a language: e.g. She speak fluent German.
2. an adjective, unless the adjective is followed by a noun:

e.g. Her husband is tall. (She is married to a tall man.)

5. an airport or train station: e.g. Gatwick Airport / Charing Cross Station

6. a university: e.g. London University

7. a shop or bank named after people: e.g. Barclays Bank / McDonald’s

8. a church or cathedral: e.g. St. Martin’s Church / St. Paul’s Cathedral

9. a meal: e.g. have lunch / dinner

10. a disease or illness: e.g. Cancer causes a lot of suffering.

11. a street or road: e.g. Oxford Street / Fifth Avenue

12. a mountain or continent: e.g. Mount Everest; Europe / Asia

13. a country, country, state, etc.: e.g. Holland / Brixton / Texas

14. a lake: Lake Geneva / Lake Ontario

15. a school, college, church, prison when we are not focusing on the particular one:

e.g. He was sent to prison.

16. a hospital, university, etc. when we think of the purpose of the institution, not the building: e.g. He is in hospital.

17. a way of traveling: e.g. go by car / bus / train

The Zero Article is used in some set expressions:

Date: 2015-01-11; view: 1956