Skip to main content

Article: The

Image
By Venugopal Bandlamudi ( Psychologist )





Let’s learn how to use the definite article ‘the’.


Usage of the definite article ( ‘the’ ) :

1. Observe the following paragraph:

One day, I saw a rat in my house. I thought there were many rats living in our house. So, I brought a cat from my friend’s house. I gave the cat all the food it required. It ate well and moved around the house. But a month after bringing the cat, to my surprise, one day I found the cat playing with the same rat. Now, they have become good buddies.

You learn from the above paragraph that when we used ‘rat’ or ‘cat’ and ‘house’ for the first time, we used ‘a’ before them. But, when we used the words for the second or third time, we kept ‘the’ before them.

So, the definite article ‘the’ is used before the persons or things that we already know beforehand.


2. ‘The’ is used with a noun whose identity is clear to the listener and the speaker from the context.

Our classroom is on the second floor. ( the second floor of our school building )

What is the time? ( the time now )

The weather is nice. ( the weather now )

Please turn off the lights before you go out of the room. ( the lights in the room )


3. The definite article is used before a noun which is unique or one of its kind.

the Sun 

the Earth 

the Pacific 

the Antarctic 

the South Pole 

the Universe


4. ‘the’ is also used with adjectives to represent a class of people.

There is a school for the blind at the end of our street.

An ambulance took the injured to hospital.


5. ‘the’ is also used with a noun whose identity is part of our knowledge.

The Prime Minister has started the PLI scheme to give support to industries during the COVID-19 crisis.

The Government is starting a new programme to increase productivity in agriculture sector.


6. ‘the’ is used before the names of some countries.

the USA 

the UK 

the Netherlands


7. ‘the’ is also used before the names of rivers, channels, and canals.

the Amazon 

the Mississippi 

the Nile 

the Ganga 

the English Channel 

the Suez Canal


8. It is used before the names of holy books.

the Mahabharata 

the Bible 

the Koran 

the Ramayana


9. It is also used before the names of inventions.

Thomas Alva Edison invented the bulb.

The Telescope is used to see distant stars.


10. We use ‘the’ before superlative adjectives.

Nirmala is the shortest girl in the school.

Sukanya is the most beautiful girl I have ever seen.


11. ‘the’ is also used with words like ‘top’, ‘first’, ‘end’, ‘next’, ‘centre’ and ‘middle’ etc.

Alekya was the first one to visit the new office.

Janani dropped out in the middle of the semester.





Popular posts from this blog

Prepositions of Agency, Possession, and Reason

By Venugopal Bandlamudi ( Psychologist )
Now, we shall learn the Prepositions  of Agency, Possession, and Reason. * Prepositions of Agency and Instrumentality # by: The thief was arrested by the police. I am going to send the parcel by post tomorrow. Gora was written by Tagore. # with : Mohan has beaten Hemu with a stick. The workers have cut the tree down with an axe. # through : Vinaya heard about the vacancy through a friend. You can achieve success only through hard work. * Prepositions of Possession # to: This house belongs to our MLA. # with: The dog with brown spots is my pet. # of: Ottawa is the capital of Canada. * Prepositions of Reason # for: Ambedkar worked for the upliftment of the disadvantaged. # from: Mitesh is suffering from fever. # of: My grandmother died of Cholera. # because: They didn’t attend the meeting because their car met with an accident. Practice Use appropriate prepositions in the following blanks 1. I entered the hotel and placed an order _________ a plate of Idli.  2. Gopi earned millions
Read more

Articles 'a' or 'an'

By Venugopal Bandlamudi ( Psychologist )
There are two articles in the English Language: 1) the indefinite article ( ‘a’ or ‘an’ ) 2) the definite article ( ‘the’ ) Usage of indefinite article ( ‘a’ or ‘an’ ): 1. The indefinite article is used with a singular countable noun. The article ‘a’ is used before a word that begins with a consonant sound, while ‘an’ is used before a word that begins with a vowel sound. ( There are 20 vowel sounds and 24 consonant sounds in English ) a pen  a choice  a tall building an employee  an oak tree  an interesting story 2. Some words start with a vowel letter ( a, e, i, o, u ), but have a consonant sound. So, ‘a’ is used before them a university  a universal rule  a European woman 3. There are some words which start with a silent ‘h’. In such cases, ‘an’ is used. an hour  an honest man  an honourable teacher  an heir But, when ‘h’ is pronounced, we use ‘a’ a humble man  a hint  a humorous person  a historian 4. ‘An’ is used before abbreviations which begin with A, E, F, H, I, L, M, N, O, R, S
Read more

Phrase

By Venugopal Bandlamudi ( Psychologist )
We shall learn what a phrase is and how many types of phrase are there in English. Phrase : A phrase is a group of words which doesn’t contain a finite verb, but does the work of a single part of speech. Example: Reading novels improves your English. In the above example, the highlighted words act as noun in the sentence. It contains two words which act as a unit. So, we call such words phrases . Types of Phrases : There are at least nine important types of phrases in English. They are: 1. Noun Phrase : This phrase acts as a noun in the sentence, and it also contains other associates to modify it. Examples:  Kavya bought a blue saree . A tall woman came to help him. 2. Prepositional Phrase : It contains a preposition and an object of the preposition. Examples:  The students are looking at the black-board. Jyothi has slept on the sofa . 3. Adjective Phrase : It acts like an adjective in the sentence. Examples:  The man with the white-hair is my father. The chairman is the man of h
Read more

What is a 'clause'?

By Venugopal Bandlamudi ( Psychologist )
Shall we learn what a  clause  is? Clause : A clause is a group of words which resembles a phrase, but it has its own subject and predicate. Types of clauses : Clauses can broadly be divided into two types. 1. Independent Clause. 2. Dependent Clause. 1. Independent Clause : An Independent Clause is a group of words in a sentence which has complete meaning and can stand on its own. It is also called the main clause of the sentence. The Independent Clauses can combine with other clauses and form complex and compound sentences. Examples:  Roshni ate some noodles when she got hungry yesterday . We love this restaurant because the service here is excellent. Raveena switched on the TV to divert her son’s attention. 2. Dependent Clause : A Dependent Clause can’t stand on its own but depend upon the main clause to make complete sense. Examples:  If you practise hard , you will win the game. Tommy was extra careful while crossing the road . Everybody stayed inside because there was heavy
Read more