3.16.

Form of 'the'
The never varies in form whether it refers to people or thing, singular or plural. Singular: the man: He's the man I was telling you about the woman: She's the woman I was telling you about the book: That's the book I was telling you about Plural: the men: They're the men I was telling you about the women: They're the women I was telling you about the books: They're the books I was telling you about

3.17. The pronunciation of 'the

The is pronounced // before consonants sounds: the day, the key, the house, the way. The is pronounced /i:/ before vowel sounds (i.e. words normally preceded by an : the end, the hour, the inside, the outside, the ear, the eye, the umbrella. !hen we wish to draw attention to the noun that follows, we use the pronunciation /i:/ " #the one and only$ or #the main one$: Do you mean the Richard Burton, the actor? I you !et into di iculties, "onica is the #erson to ask. "ykonos has became the #lace or holidays in the $e!ean. %ome common abbreviations are preceded by the, pronounced //: The &&' (The &ritish &roadcasting 'orporation or /i:/ the ((' (the (uropean (conomic 'ommunity . 'ompare &.) *+,.-.: we tend to use full stops with titles, but not with institutions, etc.

3.18. Basic uses of the

!hen using the, we must always bear in mind two basic facts: /. The normally has a definite reference (i.e. the person or thing referred to is assumed to be 0nown to the spea0er or reader . 1. The can combine with singular countable, plural countable, and uncountable nouns (which are always singular . The two facts underlie all uses of the: %ome of the most important of the uses are discussed in the sections that follow.

3.1!. The use of the for classif"ing

3.1!.1. Three #a"s of ma$ing general statements: the% &ero. a'an /. !ith the 2 singular: The cobra is dan!erous (a certain class of sna0es as distinct from other classes, such as the grass sna0e

1. !ith %ero 2 plural: Cobras are dan!erous. (the whole class3 all the creatures with the characteristics of sna0es called cobras ,. !ith a&an 2 singular: A cobra is a 'ery #oisonous snake. (a cobra as an e4ample of a class od reptile 0nown as sna0e 3.1!.(. The group as a #hole: the ) nationalit" a*+ecti,e %ome nationality ad5ectives, particularly those ending in 6ch, 7sh and, 7ese are used after the when we wish to refer to #the group as a whole$. (.g. The British " The &ritish people in general. 8owever, we cannot say (many British) or #those two British), etc. 9lural nationality nouns can be used with the or the :ero article to refer to the group as whole: the $mericans or $mericans3 or with numbers or ;uantities li0e some and many to refer to individuals: two $mericans, some $mericans: The British and the Americans ha'e been allies or a lon! time. The Japanese admire the traditions o the Chinese. <or the use of the 2 ad5ective (the youn!, the old, etc. *+=./1.1. 3.1!.3. The group as a #hole: the ) plural names *compare + ,.11. The 2 plural name can refer to #the group as a whole$: <amilies: The Price sisters have opened a bouti;ue. >aces: The -uropeans are a long way from political unity. 9olitics: The .i/rals want electoral reform. Titales beginning with the are given to particular groups to emphasi:e their identity: e.g. the Beatles, the *esuits. 3.1!.0. Specifie* groups: the ) collecti,e noun or plural counta/le !e can ma0e general statements about specified groups with the 2 collective nouns, such as the #olice, the public *+1.1?.1, 1.1@.: This new increase in ares won)t #lease the public. Aany plural countables can be used in a collective sense in the same way when particular groups are pic0ed out from the rest of the human community: e.g. the bosses, the unions *compare +1.1?./.3 +ettin! the unions and the bosses to a!ree isn)t easy. 3.(1. The use of the for specif"ing !hen we use the, the listener or reader can already identify what we are referring to, therefore the shows that the noun has been specified by the conte4t/situation or grammatically. <or e4ample: 3.(1.1. Specif"ing /" means of /ac$2reference *compare +,./B.1. %omething that has been mentioned is referred to again:

Sin!leton is a quiet village near ,hichester. The village has a #o#ulation o a ew hundred #eo#le. 3.(1.(. Specif"ing /" means of the ) noun ) of *compare +,.1=.1. The topics referred to (e.g. reedom, li e are specified: The freedom o the individual is worth i!htin! or The life o the individual was 'ery stormy 3.(1.3. Specif"ing /" means of clauses an* phrases !e can specify a person, thing, etc. Crammatically by means of the ... - clause or the ... 2 phrase: The Smith youre looking for no lon!er li'es here The letters on the shelf are or you 3.(1.0. Specif"ing #ithin a limite* conte3t The can be used in conte4ts which are limidted enough for the listener or reader to identify who or what is referred to >eference can me made to: 7 people: .ho)s at the door? / It)s the postman. 7 places *+)pps 1/71,. .here)s *enny? / She)s !one to the butchers. 6 She)s at the supermarket in the garden. Aost reference of this 0ind refer to a single identifiable place. 8owever, in big towns and cities, it is a matter of linguistic convention to say He)s !one to the cinema&the doctor)s, etc. without referring to any specific one. This convention e4tends to locations li0e the country, the mountains, the seaside. Docations which are #one of a 0ind$ always re;uire the: e.g. the earth, the sea, the sky, the sun, the moon, the solar system, the !ala0y, the uni'erse *compare +,.11, ,.,/.. 6 things: 1ass me the salt, #lease 6parts of a whole. !hen we 0now what is being referred to (#the whole$ we can use the to name its parts. )ssuming the listener or reader 0nows that we are tal0ing about: e.g. 6 a human being, we can refer to the body, the brain, the head, the heart, the lun!s, the mind, the stomach, the 'eins. 6 a room, we can refer to the ceilin!, the door, the loor. 6 an ob5ect we can refer to the back&the ront, the centre, the inside&the outside, the to#&the bottom. 6 a town, we an refer to the sho#s, the street. 6 an application, we can refer to the on&o switch. 3.(1. The use of the in time e3pressions *+ )pp E?. 3.(1.1. The use of the in tume se4uence

e.g. the be!innin!, the middle, the end2 the irst&last, the ne0t2 the ollowin! day, the #resent, the #ast, the uture: In the past, #eo#le had ewer e0#ectations. 3.(1.( The use of the #ith parts of the *a" *compare +?./,. e.g. in the mornin!, in the a ternoon, in the e'enin!, etc.: .e s#ent the day at home. !n the evening, we went out. Fote that though many time references re;uire the, many do not: e.g. ne0t week, on Tuesday, last year. 3.(1.3. The use of the #ith the seasons *)pp 1E. 3The4 s#rin!&summer&autumn&winter. The is optional: .e !et a !ood cro# o a##les in "the# autumn. 3.(1.0. The use of the in dates *)pp +E-.E. Grdinal numbers usually re;uire the when they are spo0en, but not when they are written. 'ompare: I)ll see you on "ay 56th. (spo0en as "ay the 56th (e.g. on a letter : 563th4 "ay (spo0en as the 56th o "ay 3.(1.5. The use of thein fi3e* time e3pressions $t the while, at the corner, or the time bein!, in the end, etc.: I)m a raid "r. *ay can)t s#eak to you at the moment. 3.((. The use of the #ith uni4ue items other than place names !e often use the with #uni;ue items$ (i.e. where there is only one of a 0ind . ) few e4amples *+,.,/ for place names.: Institutions and organi:ations: the Boy Scouts, the 7nited 8ations. 'ompare items with :ero: ,on!ress, 1arliament. 8istorical events, etc.: the 9rench Re'olution, the :ictorian a!e. %hips: the ,anberra, the Disco'ery, the Titanic. Hocuments and official titles: the +reat ,harter, the ;ueen. 9olotical parties: the ,onser'ati'e 1arty, the <abour 1arty. 9ublic bodies: the $rmy, the +o'ernment, the 1olice. The press (The is part of the title : The =conomist, The 8ew >orker,The S#ectator, The Times. Fote: the #ress, the radio, the tele'ision. 'ompare: .hat)s on 3the4 tele'ision? .hat)s on T:? Items with :ero: <i e, 8ewsweek, 1unch, Time. Titles (boo0s, films, etc.: The is part of the title : The ?dyssey, The +raduate Items with :ero: =0iles, *aws.

&eliefs: the an!els, the 9uriers, the !ods, the saints. 'ompare +od, "uhammed, etc. (proper nouns *+1./,, ,.1-. 'limate, etc.: the climate, the tem#erature, the weather. %pecies: the dinosaurs, the human race, the re#tiles. ('ompare: "an de'elo#ed earlier than #eo#le think.4 3.(3. 6ther references #ith the (4amples of items with the: 6 with superlatives *+=.1?.: It)s the $orst play !ve ever seen. 6 with musical instruments: Tom #lays the piano the flute the violin. The is often omitted in references to 5a:: and roc0: This is a @ABA recordin! with =llison on bass guitar. 6 fi4ed phrases with the ... the *+=.1-.,.: the sooner, the better. 6 fi4ed e4pressions: do the sho##in!, make the beds.