The Definite Article

the
We use the:

 with nouns when we talk

about sth specific,
mentioned for a second time
or already known,
e.g., She bought a shirt and a
dress. The dress is green and
the shirt is yellow.
We use the:
 with nouns which are unique,
e.g. the S-sun, the Eiffel Tower;

 with the names of musical

instruments and dances,
e.g. the piano, the tango;
We use the with the names of:
 cinemas (the Rex)
 hotels (the Carlton)
 theatres (the Globe)
 museums (the British Museum)
We use the with the names of:
 ships (the Mary Rose)
 organizations (the EU)
 galleries (the Tate Gallery)
 newspapers/magazines
(the Times)
But: Time Magazine
We use the with the names of:
 rivers (the Nile)
 seas (the Baltic Sea)
 groups of islands (the Canary Islands)
 mountain ranges (the Alps)
We use the with the names of:
 deserts (the Sahara Desert)
 oceans (the Atlantic)

 canals (the Panama)

 countries + state, Kingdom,

republic (the United Kingdom)
Note: the south/west/north/east of…,
the equator, the South/ North Pole
We use the before
 adjectives east/ north/ west
etc. in certain names,
e.g. the South/ North Pole, the West
End
 east/ west etc. when these are
nouns
e.g. the east of Spain, the Middle
East; He lives in the north.
We use the with
 the names of families (the Browns)
 titles (the King, the President)
 nationalities ending in –sh,

-che, -ese (the Japanese)

We use the before
 names consisting of noun+ of
+ noun
e.g. The Bay of Biscay, the Gulf of
Mexico
 names choirs, orchestras, pop
groups,
e.g. the Beatles, the Philadelphia
orchestra.
We use the with
 adjectives and adverbs in the
superlative form,
e.g. He is the most respected
man in the firm.

But: Most children like cartoons.

We use the with
 the words morning,
afternoon, evening, night,
e.g. We eat dinner in the evening.

But: at night, at noon, at midday,

by day/night, at 4 o’clock
We use the with
 historical periods and events,
e.g. the Middle Ages, the Crimean
War
But: World War II
 with the words only, last, first
(used as adjectives),
 e.g. He was the first person to
arrive.
We use the with
 adjectives that represent a class of
persons,
e.g. the old= old people in general