This document provides guidance on using the definite article "the" in English. It explains that "the" is used with specific people or things, names of oceans and rivers, nationality adjectives ending in certain letters, places containing words like republic or kingdom, and more. It compares uses of "the" versus no article, such as with general concepts versus specific instances. Overall, the document offers a comprehensive look at rules and examples for determining when to use "the" in different contexts in English.

1. Using The

2. THE
• When there is only one of something
 What is the longest river in the world?
 The earth goes round the sun and the moon goes round the
earth.
 Have you ever crossed the equator?
 I’m going away at the end of this month.
 Paris is the capital of France.
• Compare the and a/an:
 The sun is a star.
 The hotel we stayed at was a very nice hotel.
*Thus, we use a/an to say what kind of thing something is.

3. THE
• The sky
• The sea
• The ground
• The country (= not in a town)
• The environment
 We looked up at all the stars in the sky.
 Would you like to live in the country?
 We must do more to protect the environment.
• Compare the following uses of space:
 There are millions of stars in space.
 I tried to park my car, but the space was too small.
*Thus, we say space (without the) when we mean ‘space in the universe’.

4. THE
• The same
 Your jacket is the same as mine.
 Are these envelopes the same?
• The cinema, the theater
 I go to the cinema a lot, but I haven’t been to the theater for
ages.
*When we say the cinema/the theater, we do not necessarily
mean a specific cinema/theater.

5. THE
• The radio, the Internet
 We heard the news on the radio.
 Do you believe everything you read on the Internet?
• Compare the following uses of television:
 I watch television a lot.
 Can you turn off the television, please??
*Thus, we say the television when we mean ‘television set’.

6. THE
• Compare these sentences with the ones in the previous
slide:
 School begins at 9 A.M. and ends at 3 P.M.
 Ken’s brother is in prison for robbery.
 Joe had an accident last week. He’s in hospital now.
 What course are you taking at university?
 Sally’s father is a devout Catholic. He goes to church every day.
*Thus, we DON’T use the when we are thinking of the general idea
of places and what they are used for.

7. THE
Specific People or Things
 We took the children to the
zoo.
 The film wasn’t very good, but
I liked the music.
 All the cars in the car park
belong to people who work
here.
 Can you pass the sugar,
please? (= sugar on the table)
 The English people I know
drink a lot of tea.
General People or Things
 Children learn from playing.
 I enjoy listening to music.
 All cars have wheels.
 Sugar is bad for your health.
 English people drink a lot of
tea.
•For specific people or things

8. THE
• For a specific type of animal
 The giraffe is the tallest of all animals.
 The monkey-eating eagle can be found in the Philippines.
*Compare the and a/an:
 The giraffe is my favorite animal.
 We saw a giraffe at the zoo.

9. THE
• For a specific type of musical instrument
 Can you play the guitar?
 Sherry learned to play the piano at 11.
*Compare the and a/an:
 I can play the piano well.
 I’d like to have a piano.

10. THE
• The + adjective for groups of people
*The rich = rich people, the homeless = homeless people
 Do you think the rich should pay higher taxes?
 The government has promised to provide more money to help
the homeless.

11. THE
• For nationality adjectives ending in:
*-ch or –sh
The French are famous for their food.
The English like to drink tea.
The Spanish love bullfighting.
*-ese
The Chinese invented printing.
The Japanese have long life spans.

12. THE
• For names of places with Republic, Kingdom,
and States
the Czech Republic
the United Kingdom (the UK)
the United States of America (the USA)
• For plural names of people and places

13. THE
• For the names of oceans, seas, rivers, and canals
 the Atlantic (Ocean)
 the Indian Ocean
 the Mediterranean (Ocean)
 the Red Sea
 the Amazon
 the Nile
 the Suez Canal
• For the names of deserts
 the Sahara (Desert)
 the Gobi Desert

14. THE
With the
 the north of Brazil
 the southeast of Italy
 the Middle East, the Far East
Without the
 northern Brazil
 southeastern Italy
 North America, South Africa,
etc.
•For compass points/regions
Compare the following:

15. THE
• For most buildings
*We often leave out the noun:
 the Sheraton (Hotel)
 the Place (Theatre)
 the Guggenheim (Museum)
*Some names are only the + noun:
 the Acropolis
 the Kremlin
 the Pentagon

16. THE
• For names with of
 the Bank of England
 the Great Wall of China
 the Museum of Modern Art
 the Tower of London
*Compare the following:
 the University of Cambridge
 Cambridge University
*If the first word is the name of a place (e.g., Manchester) or a person
(e.g., Harvard), we DON’T usually use the.
 Victoria Station
 Buckingham Palace
 Canterbury Cathedral
 Edinburgh Castle
 Sydney Harbour

17. THE
• For most newspapers and many organizations
 Newspapers: the Washington Post, the Financial Times, the Sun
 Organizations: the European Union, the BBC (= British
Broadcasting Corporation, the Red Cross)
*But names of companies, airlines, etc. are usually WITHOUT the.
 Kodak
 Sony
 IBM
 British Airways
 Yale University Press