the
Pronunciation Article
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Pronunciation Article
- Definite grammatical article that implies necessarily that an entity it articulates is presupposed; something already mentioned, or completely specified later in that same sentence, or assumed already completely specified. [from 10th c.]
- I’m reading the book. (Compare I’m reading a book.)
- The street in front of your house. (Compare A street in Paris.)
- The men and women watched the man give the birdseed to the bird.
- 2016, [https://web.archive.org/web/20170930001420/https://learningenglish.voanews.com/a/lets-learn-english-lesson-5-where-are-you/3168971.html VOA Learning English] (public domain)
- I sleep in the bedroom!
- Used before a noun modified by a restrictive relative clause, indicating that the noun refers to a single referent defined by the relative clause.
- The street that runs through my hometown.
- Used before an object considered to be unique, or of which there is only one at a time. [from 10th c.]
- No one knows how many galaxies there are in the universe.
- God save the Queen!
- Used before a superlative or an ordinal number modifying a noun, to indicate that the noun refers to a single item.
- That was the best apple pie ever.
- Added to a superlative or an ordinal number to make it into a substantive. [from 9th c.]
- That apple pie was the best.
- Introducing a singular term to be taken generically: preceding a name of something standing for a whole class. [from 9th c.]
- 1994, Nelson Mandela, Long Walk to Freedom, Abacus 2010, page 536:
- Stern and God-fearing, the Afrikaner takes his religion seriously.
- 1994, Nelson Mandela, Long Walk to Freedom, Abacus 2010, page 536:
- Used before an adjective, indicating all things (especially persons) described by that adjective. [from 9th c.]
- Feed the hungry, clothe the naked, comfort the afflicted, and afflict the comfortable.
- Used to indicate a certain example of (a noun) which is usually of most concern or most common or familiar. [from 12th c.]
- No one in the whole country had seen it before.
- I don't think I'll get to it until the morning.
- Used before a body part (especially of someone previously mentioned), as an alternative to a possessive pronoun. [from 12th c.]
- A stone hit him on the head. (= “A stone hit him on his head.”)
- When stressed, indicates that it describes an object which is considered to be best or exclusively worthy of attention. [from 18th c.]
- That is the hospital to go to for heart surgery.
- French: le, la, les, l' (before a vowel or a mute h)
- German: der, die, das
- Italian: il, la, i, le
- Portuguese: o, a, os, as
- Spanish: el, la, los, las
the (not comparable)
- The hotter(,) the better. comma usually omitted in such very short expressions
- The more I think about it, the weaker it looks.
- The more money donated, the more books purchased, and the more happy children.
- It looks weaker and weaker, the more I think about it.
- It was a difficult time, but I’m the wiser for it.
- It was a difficult time, and I’m none the wiser for it.
- I'm much the wiser for having had a difficult time like that.
- French: comp., comp.; colloquial or regional usage, not Standard French: le + comp., le + comp.
- German: je + comp., desto + comp.; je + comp., umso + comp.; je + comp., je + comp.
- Portuguese: quanto + comp. , comp. (ex: quanto mais quente, melhor "the hotter the better")
- Russian: чем + comp., тем + comp.
- Spanish: cuanto + comp., comp.
- German: umso
- For each; per.
- valued at half a pound the bushel ; paying seven dollars the year interest
This text is extracted from the Wiktionary and it is available under the CC BY-SA 3.0 license | Terms and conditions | Privacy policy 0.005