The definite article – the
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:] |
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the following word starts with a spoken consonant
|
the following word starts with a spoken vowel
|
Compare the following words: | |
Here [j] is pronounced at the beginning of the word → the unit |
Here [ʌ] is pronounced at the beginning of the word → the uncle |
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 |
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general words (indefinite)
|
general words (definite)
|
names of persons on the singular, relatives
|
family names in the plural
|
public buildings, institutions, means of transport (indefinite)
|
public buildings, institutions, means of transport (definite)
|
names of countries in the singular, summits of mountains, continents, towns
|
names of countries in the plural, mountain ranges, regions
|
single islands
|
groups of islands
|
parks, lakes, streets
|
names with of-phrase, names in plural, well-known buildings, oceans, seas, rivers, musical instruments, newspapers
|
months, days of the week (indefinite)
|
months, days of the week (definite)
|
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:
- The student goes to school.
- 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 the in the second sentence.
Thanks to Erik.