USE OF "THE"

USE OF "THE"

1. IS

   • The definite article the is the most frequent word in English.
     • USE
       • 1. When a singular noun represents a whole class.
         • 2. While speaking of something or somebody already referred to
           • 3. While speaking of a particular person or thing
             • 4. When you refer to classics and holy books
               • 5. While referring to the names of journals and newspapers
                 • 6. When we refer to imaginary geographical lines
                   • Examples are: The equator; the Tropic of Cancer; the Tropic of Capricorn
                 • The New York Times The Wall Street Journal
               • Examples are: The Ramayana; The Mahabharata; The Iliad Note that when the author’s name is mentioned with the book, the article is usually omitted.
             • The poor beggar could get no alms.
           • The boy who came to see me yesterday was my brother. The story that he told us yesterday was very interesting.
         • The camel is a beast of burden. (Here the singular noun camel is used to refer to all the camels.) Note that when a plural noun is used to talk about things in general, articles are usually omitted.