The definite article – the

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The definite article – the

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

the boy

boy the girl

girl the cat

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:] the following word starts with a spoken consonant the g irl

irl the b ook

ook the s chool the following word starts with a spoken vowel the E nglish girl

nglish girl the o range book

range book the o ld school 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 general words (indefinite) Life is too short.

I like flowers. general words (definite) I've read a book on the life of Bill Clinton.

life of Bill Clinton. I like the flowers in your garden. names of persons on the singular, relatives Peter and John live in London.

Aunt Mary lives in Los Angeles. family names in the plural The Smiths live in Chicago. public buildings, institutions, means of transport (indefinite) Mandy doesn't like school.

We go to school by bus.

Some people go to church on Sundays. public buildings, institutions, means of transport (definite) The school that Mandy goes to is old.

school that Mandy goes to is old. The bus to Dresden leaves at 7.40.

bus to Dresden leaves at 7.40. The round church in Klingenthal is famous. names of countries in the singular, summits of mountains, continents, towns Germany

France

Mount Whitney

Mount McKinley

Africa

Europe

Cairo

New York names of countries in the plural, mountain ranges, regions the United States of America

United States of America the Netherlands

Netherlands the Highlands

Highlands the Rocky Mountains

Rocky Mountains the Alps

Alps the Middle East

Middle East the west of Australia single islands Corfu

Bermuda

Sicily groups of islands the Bahamas

Bahamas the British Isles

British Isles the Canaries parks, lakes, streets Central Park

Hyde Park

Lake Michigan

Loch Ness

42nd Street

Oxford Street names with of-phrase, names in plural, well-known buildings, oceans, seas, rivers, musical instruments, newspapers the Statue of Liberty

Statue of Liberty the Tower (of London)

Tower (of London) the Great Lakes

Great Lakes the Empire State Building

Empire State Building the Isle of Wight

Isle of Wight the Atlantic (Ocean)

Atlantic (Ocean) the Mediterranean (Sea)

Mediterranean (Sea) the Nile

Nile the Rhine

Rhine the Suez Canal

Suez Canal the piano

piano the Times months, days of the week (indefinite) The weekend is over on Monday morning.

July and August are the most popular months for holidays. months, days of the week (definite) I always remember the Monday when I had an accident.

Monday when I had an accident. The August of 2001 was hot and dry.

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.

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