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The Definite Article |
Need help deciding which ariticle to use? Try this. |
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The definite article the is used in the following situations: |
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1. The universe 2. The world 3. The sun, the moon, the stars, the sky 4. To generalize plants and animals (the + singular noun) 5. A calendar name modifying a noun 6. The plural form of lakes--but the Great Salt Lake, the Lake of Lucerne and the Lake of Constance 7. The Hague 8. Nouns known both to the speaker and to the listener 9. Countries that contain the words ''Union, United, Republic, Kingdom, and Commonwealth--but the Philippines, the Congo, the Sudan, the Netherlands and the Vatican 10. Mountain ranges 11. Groups of islands 12. Names of places and titles of people containing of 13. Gulfs, canals and capes 14 Rivers 15. Oceans, seas and bays 16. Peninsulas 17. Deserts and forests 18. Museums and galleries 19. Hotels 20. Historical documents 21. Ordinal numbers 22. The+adjective=adjective+people 23. Nationalities that end in -ese, -ish and - ch when used as plural nouns 24. Superlatives 25. Wars--but World War One, World War Two 26. Buildings 27. Libraries 28. Bridges, tunnels and towers 39. Names of newspapers 30. Musical instruments 31. Names of languages followed by the word language 32. Points of time and place (beginning, middle and end), parts of the day preceded by the prepositions in and on and seasons 33. Names of political parties followed by the word party and the plural form of the name of the party 34. Branches of government 35. Regions of the world (the Baltics, the Balkans, the Far East, the Middle East) 36. The plural of family names to mean members of that family 37. Awards and prizes 38. Ships and trains 39. Zones and poles 40. Universities, colleges, and institutes followed by of. 41. Inventions 42. Empires, dynastys and periods in history (the Dark Ages) |
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