Contents
Use of “the” in article is not going to be difficult once you understand the complete concepts carefully and apply the concepts while speaking and writing the English language in the best possible manner.
Why should we know about the use of the definite article?
The use of “the” or “definite article” in Grammar has been such that hardly any passage, a story, a poem, or any text related to anything is complete unless there is a use of the definite article in them. But the use of “the” has been so widespread that many people become confused about its correct usage, and they end up making mistakes by using it at a place where it may not be necessary and by omitting its use at a place where it becomes mandatory to use it. Therefore, it is imperative for us to know the use of “the” in article part of Grammar.
Rules of the definite article
- The definite article is used to refer to specific nouns to indicate them. And we also use the definite article to refer to a particular noun that has already been introduced. But, it is important to keep in mind that while introducing a particular noun, we have to use an indefinite article.
For example:
There was a king. The king was very gentle. (Observe the difference)
- We also use the definite article before the superlative degree.
For example:
Rahul is the best student of his class.
- When there is a structure of noun + of + noun, then we should use the definite article before the first noun.
For example:
The water of this glass is sweet.
- We should also use the definite article before a particular invention.
For example:
Who invented the television?
- We should also use the definite article before the names of the parts of the body.
For example:
They were wounded in the legs.
- We should use the definite article before the names of the musical instruments.
For example:
Do you know how to play the violin?
- When we use a particular countable noun in the sense of per measurement, then we should use the definite article before that type of measurement.
For example:
Bananas are sold by the dozen.
Rice is sold by the kilo.
- When we use a particular proper noun to describe the quality and the characteristics of another proper noun, then we should use the definite article before that another proper noun.
For example:
Rahul is the Sachin Tendulkar of this team.
Here Rahul is not Sachin Tendulkar, but he plays cricket so well that his quality and characteristics are that of Sachin Tendulkar.
- We should use the definite article before the religious community.
For example:
The Hindus, the Muslims, the Sikhs, the Christians, etc.
- We should use the definite article before the armed forces and before those who enforce the law.
For example:
The Army, the Navy, the Air Force, the Police, etc.
- We should use the definite article before a unique thing in the world.
For example:
The sun, the moon, the earth, etc.
- We should use the definite article before the names of the direction.
For example:
The North, the South, the East, the West.
- We should use the definite article before the religious books or scriptures.
For example:
The Quran, The Geeta, The Bible, The Guru Granth Sahib, The Vedas, etc.
- When we refer to a person by his title or post, then we should use the definite article before that particular title or post.
For example:
The Prime Minister of India, the Director, the Home Minister, the Chairman, etc.
- We should use the definite article before the names of the political parties.
For example:
The Indian National Congress, the Bharatiya Janata Party, The Aam Aadmi Party, etc.
I hope that you have had a good comprehension of the use of “the” in article so far, and you have a clear understanding of all the 15 rules mentioned above. Now let’s learn 10 more rules of the definite article to deeply and comprehensively understand it.
- We should use the definite article before the names of rivers, seas, oceans, group of islands, bays, deserts, canals, hotels, monuments.
For example: (All the examples given below are in order of names given above like rivers, seas….)
The Ganga, the Yamuna etc.
The Caribbean Sea, the Arabian Sea, etc.
The Pacific Ocean, The Atlantic Ocean, etc.
The Andaman and Nicobar Islands, the Lakshadweep, etc.
The Bay of Bengal, The Bay of Fundy, etc.
The Sahara Desert, The Atacama Desert, etc.
The Suez Canal, The Panama Canal, etc.
The Taj Hotel, the Ashoka (Hotel), etc.
The Taj Mahal, the Qutub Minar, etc.
- We should also use the definite article before the names of the newspapers.
For example:
The Times of India, The Hindustan Times, The Indian Express, etc.
- We should use the definite article before the physical positions.
For example:
The center, the outside, the inside, the top, the bottom, the front, etc.
- We should use the definite article before the names of the branches of the government.
For example:
The executive, the judiciary, the legislative, the judicial branch, etc.
- We should use the definite article before the names of the empire, dynasty, historical period, and events.
For example:
The Roman Empire, the Middle Ages, the civil war, etc.
It is crucial to note that we don’t use the definite article before World War 1st and World War 2nd.
- We should use the definite article before the names of the committee, foundation, and clubs.
For example:
The United Nations, The Ford Foundation, the Rotary Club.
- We should use the definite article before the names of trains, airplanes as well as ships.
For example:
The Rajdhani express, the Jet Airways, the Titanic, etc.
- We should use the definite article before the words describing the nationality of citizens of a particular country.
For example:
The Indians, the Pakistanis, the Americans, the Chinese, the Europeans, etc.
- We should use the definite article before the names of mountain ranges.
For example:
The Himalayas, The Alps, The Andes, etc.
- We should use the definite article before the names of the museums.
For example:
The British Museum, the National Museum, etc.
We have understood the use of “the” in article with the rules mentioned above, but there are occasions and situations where we should not use “the”. So, let’s know about all those things to never use “the” if we’re making mistakes in any of those situations.
Where should we not use the definite article?
it is not just about not using “the,” but there are conditions and situations where we should not use even “a/an,” which means we should not use any of the types of articles in the situations mentioned as follows:
- We should not use articles before the names of the languages like Hindi, English, Arabic, etc.
- We should not use articles before the names of months like January, February, March, etc.
- We should not use articles before the names of days like Sunday, Monday, Tuesday, etc.
- We should not use articles before the names of academic subjects like Mathematics, Science, Social Science, etc.
- We should not use articles before the names of meals like lunch, dinner, etc.
- We should not use articles before the names of hobbies like singing, dancing, gardening, etc.
- We should not use articles before the names of games like cricket, football, basketball, etc.
- We should not use articles before words like nature, science, life, parliament, freedom, death if these words are used in the general sense.
- Generally, we should not use articles before the names of a person, city, village, state, country.
But there are some countries before which “the” is used. For example, the United States of America, the United Kingdom, the United Arab Emirates, the Netherlands, and the Congo. When words like Kingdom, Union, United, Republic, People’s Republic come before the names of a particular country, “the” is used before such words. In India, Punjab is the only state before which “the” is used, and we can consider it to be an exception among all the states of India.
- Generally, “the” is also not used before headlines, telegrams, notices, lists, and outlines.
Final Point
You all must have understood all the points of use of “the” in article. There are other additional rules of articles, and some of those also have chances of arguments as to whether articles should be applied or not, so we will not go through all those kinds of arguments, but we will memorize whatever we have learned in this lesson of the definite article. I hope that all the rules of “the” mentioned above should be enough for your detailed and in-depth understanding of it, and now you should not have the fear about where to use and where not to use the definite article.
Read part l of article lesson – What Are Articles In Grammar Part I
I’m Mohammad Zahid Hussain, a Content Writer, Spoken English, IELTS and PTE Trainer. I’m also a Professional English-Hindi and Hindi-English Translator, Editor and Proofreader. I’m a graduate from Jamia Millia Islamia University, and I’m here to share my articles on a wide range of topics to help you enhance your insights into various things to provide you with factual information and creative analysis.
