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The definite article the is the most frequent word in English.

We use the definite article in front of a when we believe the listener/reader knows exactly what we are referring to:

The Pope is visiting Russia.
The moon is very bright tonight.
Who isthe president of France?

This is why we use the definite article with a superlative adjective:

He is the tallest boy in the class.
It isthe oldest building in the town.

because there is only one in that context:

We live in a small house next to the church. (= the church in our village)
Dad, can I borrow the car?(= the car that belongs to our family)
When we stayed at my grandmother's house, we went to the beach every day. (= the beach near my grandmother's house)
Look at the boy over there. (= the boy I am pointing at)

because we have already mentioned it:

A young man got a nasty shock when he tried to rob a jewellery shop in Richmond. The man used a heavy hammer to smash the windows in the shop.

We also use the definite article:

to say something about all the things referred to by a noun:

The wolf is not really a dangerous animal. (= Wolves are not really dangerous animals.)
The kangaroo is found only in Australia. (= Kangaroos are found only in Australia.)
The heart pumps blood around the body. (= Hearts pump blood around bodies.)

We use the definite article in this way to talk about musical instruments:

Level: intermediate
We can also use the definite article with adjectives like rich, poor, elderly and unemployed to talk about groups of people:

Life can be very hard for the poor.
I thinkthe rich should pay more taxes.
She works for a group to helpthe elderly.
Level: beginner
The definite article with names

We do not normally use the definite article with names:

But we do use the definite article with:

countries which have plural nouns as their names:

geographical features, such as mountain ranges, groups of islands, rivers, seas, oceans and canals:

But note that we do not use the definite article if the name of the hotel or restaurant is the name of the owner:

The definite article with names 1

The definite article with names 2

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The definite article with names 3

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Learn how to use the definite article the and do some exercises to practise using it.

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EXPLANATIONS (the/no article) [British Council]

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EXPLANATIONS (the/no article) [British Council]

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Look at these examples to see when the is and isn't used.

I'm going to bed.
I walk to work.
My children are going to start school.
I visited the school yesterday.
Mount Everest is in the Himalayas.

Try this exercise to test your grammar.

Grammar explanation

Here are some ways we use articles in common phrases and place names.

Common phrases

We don't usually use an article in expressions with bed, work and home.

go to bed / be in bed
go to work / be at work / start work / finish work
go home / be at home / get home / stay at home

We also don't normally use an article in expressions with school, university, prison and hospital.

start school / go to school / be at school
go to university / be at university
be sent to prison / go to prison / be in prison
go to hospital / be in hospital

But we usually use the if someone is just visiting the place, and not there as a student/prisoner/patient, etc.

My son has started school now. I went to the school to meet his teacher.
I went tothe prison a lot when I was a social worker.
I'm atthe hospital. My sister has just had a baby.

Place names

We don't normally use an article for continents, most countries, cities, towns, lakes, mountains or universities. So, we say:

Africa, Asia, Europe
India, Ghana, Peru, Denmark
Addis Ababa, Hanoi, New York, Moscow
Lake Victoria, Lake Superior, Lake Tanganyika
Mount Everest, Mount Kilimanjaro, Mount Elbrus
Cardiff University, Harvard University, Manchester University

Some countries are different. Country names with United have the. There are other countries which are exceptions too. So, we say:

the United Arab Emirates, the United Kingdom, the United States of America
the Bahamas, the Gambia

Seas and oceans, mountain ranges and rivers have the:

the Atlantic, the Pacific, the Mediterranean
the Andes, the Himalayas, the Alps
the Nile, the Amazon, the Yangtze

Universities with of in the title also have the:

the University of Cape Town, the University of Delhi, the University of Tokyo

Do this exercise to test your grammar again.

Language level

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Do you know when you need to use the in common phrases and place names? Test what you know with interactive exercises and read the explanation to help you.

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The definite article - the

The definite article the is the same for all genders in singular and in plural.

If the following word begins with a consonant, we speak [ðə], if the following word begins with a vowel, we speak [ði:].

We have listed some examples in the following table. There you can see when we use the definite article and when we don't.

We use the seasons of the year (spring, summer, autumn, winter) with or without the definite article.

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:

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.

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When do we use the article the and when is it left out

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Los artículos definen a un nombre y siempre están situados delante del nombre. En inglés, a diferencia del castellano, no tienen género ni forma plural. En castellano decimos " el coche" (género masculino, singular) o " las casas" (género femenino, plural) y en inglés es " car" y " the houses". " The " corresponde a los siguientes artículos en español: el, la, los, las.

Ejemplos:

Masculino/singular

Masculino/plural

Femenino/singular

Femenino/plural

Este artículo puede ir precedido de las preposiciones " of" o " to". En inglés no hay contracción de preposición y artículo ("Del" = " of the" y "al" = " to the ").

Ejemplos:

Uses Of The Definite Article (Usos del artículo determinado)

1. Cuando sabemos de quién o de qué estamos hablando. Utilizamos "the" para indicar algo o alguien en particular, por ello se llama definido. Hablamos de algo o alguien concreto que tanto el emisor como el receptor del mensaje conocen porque ya ha salido anteriormente en la conversación o porque los dos lo conocen previamente.

Ejemplos:
2. Con los nombres de regiones geológicas, cadenas de montañas, mares, océanos, grupos de islas, ríos y países en plural.
Ejemplos:

3. Para hacer referencia a direcciones (right, left, top, bottom) y a los puntos cardinales (north, south, east, west).

Ejemplos:
4. Con los adjetivos en grado superlativo y números ordinales.
Ejemplos:

When Not To Use The Definite Article (Cuando no usamos el artículo determinado)
1. Cuando hablamos de algo en general.
Ejemplos:
2. Nunca utilizaremos "the" cuando nos referimos a la televisión, las horas de las comidas, los días de la semana, la hora, los meses del año, las estaciones o los años.
Ejemplos:
3. Con instituciones y modos de transporte, cuando estamos hablando en general.
Ejemplos:

4. No se utiliza el artículo con nombres de ciudades ni nombres de lugares en general, aunque hay algunas excepciones como hemos visto en el apartado anterior. Además, no se utiliza el artículo con lagos o calles.

Ejemplos:

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The Definite Article, Lección del curso The Definite Article

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Adjective and Adverbs - Downloadable PDF Worksheets for English Language Learners - Intermediate Level (B1)

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A/an, the, no article - grammar chart

Use a/an

First mention

We use a/an when we mention something for the first time.

Jobs and descriptions

We use a/an to talk about people's jobs or to say what kind of person or thing something/somebody is.

Note that you cannot use singular countable nouns alone (without a, the, my etc.)

Use the

Second mention

We use the when we mention something for the second time.

Specific things

We use the to talk about specific things or people; when it's clear which things or people we are talking about.

There is only one

We use the when there's only one of something.

Common places in town

With places in a town where we commonly go ( the park, the cinema, the doctor, etc.)

Superlatives

We use the before superlative adjectives.

Musical instruments

We use the before names of musical instruments.

Use no article

General meaning

We do not use an article before plural or uncountable nouns to talk about something in general.

Compare:

Meals

Years, months and days

We do not use an article before names of years, months and days of the week.

TV

We do not use an article with TV (when used as a broadcasting service, NOT as an appliance)

Names of languages and school subjects

We do not use an article before names of languages and school subjects.

Next, last

We do not use an article before next and last + time expression (when they mean before or after now).

Last year we spent one week in London (Last year= the year before now).

We really loved London. The last day we were really sad. (The last day= the last day of that trip. NOT the day before now)

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A/an, the, no article - the use of articles in English - Test-English

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A/an, the, no article - articles. I have a car, I like cars, I like the car. A1 - Elementary English grammar and exercises.