Definite of the Article THE

It is the most used word in the English language; Studies and analyzes of texts have found that they represent seven percent of all printed words in the English language.

How to use the article THE

 

We use the article "the" with the singular and plural and identifies the thing you are talking about and is something known to the recipient. 

For example, "the cat is black" he saw the cat or it was mentioned to him before, so he said the cat with the. Other examples:

• Water is good for you. (Water is generally good for you)
• The water in this glass is good for you. (Only the water in the bottle is good for you)

Rules of uses the article THE

 

1. It is not valid to use "the" in front of place names unless the place name is used as an adjective, for example:

• London is a great city.
• The London skyline is beautiful at night.

2. Do not use "the" with possessive nouns or pronouns, for example:

• This is Sam's website. 
• This is the Sam's website.

 

See: All Prepositions with Meanings and Examples

3. Used before nouns to refer to particular things or people that have already been talked about or are already known or that are in a situation where it is clear what is happening:

• I just bought a new shirt and some new shoes. The shirt was pretty expensive, but the shoes weren't.
• Please would you pass the salt.

4. Used before some nouns that refer to place when you want to mention that type of place, without showing exactly which example of the place you mean:

• We spent all day at the beach.
• Let's go to the movies this evening.

5. Used with countries whose names include words like kingdom, states or republic:

• The United Kingdom
• The United States
• The People's Republic of China

6. Used before noun phrases in which the range of meaning of the noun is limited in some way:

• I really enjoyed the book I've just finished reading.
• Do you like the other kids in your class?

7. Used to refer to things or people when only one exists at any one time:

• What will happen in the future?
• After I leave college, I want to travel around the world.

8. Used before superlatives and other words, such as "first" or "only" or numbers showing something's position in a list, to refer to only one thing or person:

• That was one of the best films I've ever seen.
• What's the highest mountain in Asia?

9. Used to say that the particular person or thing being mentioned is the best, most famous, etc. In this use, "the" is usually given strong pronunciation:

• Harry's Bar is the place to go.
• You don't mean you met the Will Smith (= the film star), do you?

10. used before some adjectives to turn the adjectives into nouns that refer to one particular person or thing described by the adjective:

• It seems that the deceased (= this particular dead person) had no living relatives.
• I suppose we'll just have to wait for the inevitable (= the particular thing that is certain to happen).

 

See: 33 Idioms With Meanings and Examples

11. Used before some adjectives to turn the adjectives into nouns that refer to people or things in general that can be described by the adjective:

• She lives in a special home for the elderly.
• The French were defeated at Waterloo in 1815.

12. used before a singular noun to refer to all the things or people represented by that noun:

• The panda is becoming an increasingly rare animal.
• The car is responsible for causing a lot of damage to our environment.

13. used before a family name to refer to two people who are married or to a whole family:

• The Jacksons are coming to visit on Saturday.

14. Used before some nouns referring to musical instruments or dances to mean the type of instrument or dance in general:

• Nico is learning to play the piano.
• Can you do the waltz?

15. Used before a noun to represent the activity connected with that noun:

• I'm going under the knife (= having a medical operation) next week.
• It's not a good idea to spend more than three hours at the wheel (= driving a vehicle) without a break.

16. Used before numbers that refer to periods of ten years:

• the 60s

17. Used before each of two comparative adjectives or adverbs when you want to show how one amount gets bigger or smaller in relation to the other:

• The sooner I get this piece of work done, the sooner I can go home.

18. Used before comparative adjectives or adverbs when you want to show that someone or something has become more or less of a particular state:

• She doesn't seem to be any the worse for her bad experience.

19. used for emphasis when you are expressing a strong opinion about someone or something:

• André's got a new job, the lucky devil.

See: When to Use the Articles A, AN and THE

How to pronounce THE

It is written "the", but it has two pronunciations, "thē" and "thee". The predominant pronunciation is "thē" if a consonant comes after it. This is often like: 

• Thē book 
• Thē door  
• Thē man
  

But you will pronounce "thee" when a vowel is followed by a vowel (a, e, o, u, i), and any other letter is considered a consonant: 

• Thee apple 
• Thee egg 
• Thee ice-cream 
• Thee orange 
• Thee umbrella

If the vowels are present at the beginning of the silent word, they are pronounced "thē", and vice versa, if the silent consonants are pronounced "thee":

Write	With	Will pronounce
The house	h	Thē house
The hour	h is silent	Thee our

See: All Prepositional Phrases List in the English Language

 

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References

dictionary.cambridge - merriam-webster - britishcouncil - dictionary