Englisch-hilfen.

de/

The definite article – the

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 consonant, we speak [ðǝ], if the following word begins
with a vowel, we speak [ði:].

[ðǝ] [ði:]

the following word starts with a spoken

the following word starts with a spoken
vowel
consonant
• the English girl
• the girl
• the orange book
• the book • the old school

• the school

Compare the following words:

Here [j] is pronounced at the beginning of Here [ʌ] is pronounced at the beginning of
the word → the unit the word → the uncle

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 with the definite article – the

general words (indefinite) general words (definite)

• Life is too short. • I've read a book on the life of Bill Clinton.

• I like flowers. • I like the flowers in your garden.

names of persons on the singu-

lar, relatives family names in the plural
• Peter and John live in London. • The Smiths live in Chicago.
• Aunt Mary lives in Los Angeles.

public buildings, institutions,

public buildings, institutions, means of transport
means of transport (indefinite)
(definite)
• Mandy doesn't like school.
• The school that Mandy goes to is old.
• We go to school by bus.
• The bus to Dresden leaves at 7.40.
• Some people go to church on
• The round church in Klingenthal is famous.
Sundays.

names of countries in the singu-

lar, summits of mountains, conti- names of countries in the plural, mountain ranges,
nents, towns regions
• Germany • the United States of America
• France • the Netherlands
• Mount Whitney • the Highlands
• Mount McKinley • the Rocky Mountains
• Africa • the Alps
• Europe • the Middle East
• Cairo • the west of Australia
• New York

single islands groups of islands

• Corfu • the Bahamas

• Bermuda • the British Isles

• Sicily • the Canaries

names with of-phrase, names in plural, well-known

buildings, oceans, seas, rivers, musical instruments,
newspapers
• the Statue of Liberty
• the Tower (of London)
parks, lakes, streets • the Great Lakes
• Central Park
• the Empire State Building
• Hyde Park
• the Isle of Wight
• Lake Michigan
• the Atlantic (Ocean)
• Loch Ness
• the Mediterranean (Sea)
• 42nd Street
• the Nile
• Oxford Street
• the Rhine
• the Suez Canal
• the piano
• the Times

months, days of the week (indef-

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

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

in summer
in the summer

The American English word fall is always used with the definite article the.

Sometimes we use the article and sometimes we do not. It often depends on the context.
Watch the following example:
1. The student goes to school.
2. The mother is going 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 the in the second sentence.

Thanks to Erik.

Explanation
The definite article – the
The indefinite article – a/an