Teaching Tips & Ideas

THE DEFINITE ARTICLE “THE” - PART I

The study of the DEFINITE ARTICLE “THE” is quite simple as far as the English language is concerned. There’s only one form of THE for masculine and feminine, singular and plural. And neuter.

The boy - The boys - The Girl - The girls - The table - The tables (neuter).

The Definite Article THE is generally used to define, determine, qualify a thing (things) or a person (persons). Therefore, the use of the Article in English differs from most languages where it is sometimes used unecessarily.

(English) BOOKS ARE MY BEST FRIENDS - (books in general).
(Portuguese) OS LIVROS SÃO OS MEUS MELHORES AMIGOS.
THE BOOKS WHICH YOU BROUGHT ME ARE QUITE INTERESTING.
THE books, because they are determined, defined.

DO NOT use the Article THE before most proper nouns of:

Persons, Streets, Roads, States, Countries, Parks, etc.
Linda comes from Spain - He lives on Sunset Street.
I once walked in Central Park - Do you know Lincoln Road?

Before Possessives:
My car ran out of gas last night.
His house is near the beach.
Our grass is greener than theirs.
Sam’s computer is brand new.

Before nouns which refer to idioms:
She speaks both English and French.
Japanese is a very difficult language.
English is easier than Portuguese.

But...

THE French spoken in Saint Martin is quite difficult to understand.
THE Portuguese spoken in Brazil differs from that spoken in Portugal.

Before Titles when the name of the person is mentioned:
Queen Elizabeth II is in London presently.
King Henry VIII was a great monarch.
President Clinton won the elections once again.

But…

The Queen and the King are on travel.
The Secretary of State resigned last week.
The President has just arrived from another business trip in Europe
The Duke of Windsor died many years ago.

Before certain names of Mounts, Mountains, Lakes, and Capes.

Mount Everest is the highest mountain in the world.
Lake Ontario is between Canada and The United States.
Cape Horn is miles away from here.
Lake Victoria is quite deep
Cape of Good Hope is located in South Africa.

But...

Names of mounts and mountains when not preceded by the word Mount or
Mountain TAKE the definite article THE:
The Everest – The Aconcagua – The Sugar Loaf – The Kilimanjaro
Also with the names of Volcanoes
The Etna – The Vesuvius

Before plural nouns used in a general sense:
Books are my best friends.
Working with the computer is his favorite entertainment.
Teachers must be patient.
Dogs are faithful,

But THE books you lent me are quite interesting.
THE records that are in the shelf are not mine.
THE teachers of this school are all native speakers.

Before Abstract Nouns used in a general sense:
Life is very hard for the people of Somalia.
Give me freedom or give me death!
Faith is a theological virtue.
Greed is one of the worst sins.

But, it is used with Abstract Nouns that are limited or qualified:

THE life they live there in Iraq is beyond imagination.
THE work that we do here is monotonous.
THE freedom of the seas....
THE faith of the Islamic people.....
THE greed that he has shown.....