6th Class English Articles Definite Article 'the'

     Definite Article 'the'

Definite Article: Definite Article (the) points out a particular person, animal, thing or Place. The is used before a noun beginning with a consonant or a vowel sound. Definite Article 'the': You use the when you know that the listener knows or can work out what particular person/thing you are talking about.  

"The apple you ate was rotten."

"Did you lock the car?"

The is used when you have already mentioned the thing you are talking about.  

Ashoka was a king. The king was great.

We use the to talk about geographical points on the globe.  

The North Pole, the equator

We also use the before certain nouns when we know there is only one of a particular thing.  

The rain, the sun, the wind, the world, the earth, the White House etc.

However if you want to describe a particular instance of these you should use a/an.  

"I could hear the wind." / "There's a cold wind blowing."

"What are your plans for the future?"/ "She has a promising future ahead of her."  

The is also used to say that a particular person or thing being mentioned is the best, most famous, etc. In this use, 'the' is usually given strong pronunciation:  

"Harry's Bar is the place to go."

"You don't mean you met the Tony Blair, do you?"    

     The is Also Used Before the Following:

• A class of noun. For example: The dog is a faithful animal.
• The superlative Degrees of Adjective. For example: The best
• The names of national, religion and caste. For example: The Hindu, The Indian.
• The names of famous buildings For example: The Red Fort.
• The names of sea, river or valley. For example: The Pacific, The Ganga, The Bay of Bengal
• The names of few countries. For example: The U.S.A., The UK
• The names of Religious Book For example: The Bible.
• The names of heavenly bodies. For example: The sun
• The names of mountains and peaks. For example: The Alps, the Mt. Everest
• The names of plain, plateau, deserts. For example: The northern plain, the Deccan plateau, the Thardesert.  

     When Articles are not Used

1.      We use no article when we are talking about people or things in general.

Carrots are good for you. (carrots in general)

The carrots growing in my garden are almost ready to eat. (specific carrots)

English people drink a lot of tea. (English people in general)

The English people in this hotel are very nice. (specific English people).

2.       With school, university, prison, hospital, church, bed, work and home we use the when we are talking about a particular one, and no article when we are talking about the idea of school, university.

The temple on our street was built in during Mughal Period (a particular temple)

I go to temple during holidays. (the idea of temple, not a particular building)

My friend works at the Levis showroom near Connaught Place.

My friend is in Levis showroom. The work isn't finished yet.

I was feeling sick yesterday so 1 didn't go to work.

The new bed is bigger than the old one.

I put my children to bed at 8 pm.

3.       We use no article with continents, countries, regions, cities, streets, mountains, lakes and parks.

Asia, Italy, California, Bristol, Main St., Lake Superior, Central Park.  

• 'A' is used before a noun beginning with a consonant sound.
• 'An' is used before a noun beginning with a vowel sound.
• 'The' is used before a noun beginning with a consonant or a vowel sound but these nouns
• Refer to definite or particular nouns;
• The is used before the names of holy books, rivers, oceans, mountains, monuments, newspapers, heavenly bodies, etc.
• Indefinite Articles are not used with uncountable nouns.
• Article is not used before the name of games.
• Article is not used before some diseases like cholera, malaria, fever and typhoid, etc.
• Article is not used before the name of festivals.
• Article is not used before plural Countable Nouns when they indicate a class.
• No article is used before the names of language.
• No article is used before Proper Noun, Material Noun and Abstract Nouns.