The definite article - the
The definite article the is the same for all genders in singular and in plural.
the boy, the girl, the cat, the computers
If the following word begins with a vowel, we speak [
consonant, we speak [ ].
[ ]
the following word starts with a spoken
consonant
the girl
the book
the school
the unit
Here a [ ] is pronounced at the beginning of
the word.
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
general words (indefinite)
Life is too short.
I like flowers.
names of persons on the singular, relatives
Peter and John live in London.
Aunt Mary lives in Los Angeles.
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.
names of countries in the singular; summits
of mountains; continents; towns
Germany, France;
Mount Whitney, Mount McKinley;
Africa, Europe;
Cairo, New York
single islands
], if the following word begins with a
[ ]
the following word starts with a spoken vowel
the English girl
the blue book
the old school
the uncle
Here a [ ] is pronounced at the beginning of
the word.
with the definite article
general words (definite)
I've read a book on the life of Bill Clinton.
I like the flowers in your garden.
family names in the plural
The Smiths live in Chicago.
public buildings, institutions, means of
transport (definite)
The school that Mandy goes to is old.
The bus to Dresden leaves at 7.40.
The round church in Klingenthal is famous.
names of countries in the plural; mountain
ranges; regions
the United States of America, the Netherlands;
the Highlands, the Rocky Mountains, the Alps;
the Middle East, the west of Australia
groups of islands
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Corfu, Bermuda, Sicily
the Bahamas, the British Isles, the Canaries
parks; lakes; streets name with of-phrase; oceans; seas; rivers
the Statue of Liberty, the Tower (of London),
the Isle of Wight;
Central Park, Hyde Park; the Atlantic (Ocean);
Lake Michigan, Loch Ness; the Mediterranean (Sea);
42nd Street, Oxford Street the Nile, the Rhine, the Suez Canal

months, days of the week (indefinite) months, days of the week (definite)
I always remember the Monday when I had an
The weekend is over on Monday morning.
accident.
July and August are the most popular months
The August of 2001 was hot and dry.
for holidays.

We use the seasons of the year (spring, summer, autumn, winter) with or without the definite
article.

in summer or in the summer

The American English word for autumn >fall< is always used with the definite article.

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 goes 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 in the second sentence.

Other uses of  “the”

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  before ordinal numbers

the first, the fifth, the tenth…

 with superlatives of adjectives

the nicest, the most important…

She is the most beautiful of all.

 in some time expressions

the beginning, the past, the future, the present…

In the future there will be less poverty in the world.

 in the times  of a day

in the morning, in the evening, in the afternoon…

We played tennis in the morning.

 in dates when we say it but not in written form

We should meet on June 12th. (when speaking: June the 12th)

 in some expressions

all the while, at the moment, at the beginning of, for the time being…

I am sorry I cannot speak to you at the moment.

 in the form “the” + noun + of

There are many interesting places in the countries of Central Europe.

Ancient Greeks believed in the healing power of honey.

No article is needed before bed, church, court, hospital, prison, school, college, university,
etc. when these are used for their primary purpose.

 She stayed in bed on Sunday instead of

going to church. 

The dissatisfied customer threatened to

take him to court. 

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The dissident was released from prison. 

After graduating from high school he went

to university

If, however, they are used for any other purposes,

the is required.. 

Compare: 

She sat on the bed while she changed her socks.

He entered the church to photograph its interior. 

The decorators forgot a ladder in the prison and the place was empty when they came back
for it.

Articles are not needed in more abstract expressions of situation like to/at sea, to/at/out of
work, in/out of town, in/out of office, etc.

My uncle first went to sea at the age of 15. He used to spend months at sea. 

I go to work every day. I was at work yesterday. 

Jack's been out of work for almost a year.

What's on in town (= my local town) this weekend? 

Julie's out of town (= the town she lives in) until Thursday. 

This government has been in office for about a year now. The opposition parties would
dearly love to vote them out of office.

If, however, you start talking about somewhere concrete or some place in particular, then the
definite article the is required.

Compare: 

I went to the sea/seaside to swim. 

I stayed by the sea/seaside all day. 

What's on in the town (= a particular town, not necessarily my own) this weekend?

How do I get out of the town? 

Sally spent all day in the office (= her workplace). She didn't get out of the office much
before 7 o'clock.

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