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The definite article the is used in several different ways
in English.
One use is with nouns (singular
or plural, countable
or uncountable) that are specifically
identified because
the listener or reader knows (or can
assume) that only
one specific
noun is being talked or written
about.
Another use of the
happens when
a non-specific
noun
is mentioned more
than one time: the first time
the noun is
mentioned, a
or an is used (because at that
point the
noun is non-specific). After the noun has been
mentioned
the first time, however, the
is used (because
at that point it's clear which noun
is being referred to,
so it's specific).
Examples:
Tony bought a
computer yesterday.
He paid for
the computer with money he earned by working
after school.
*****
Yesterday there was an
accident on the
freeway.
The
accident was caused by
ice on the road.
*****
Two weeks ago, I bought some* milk.
I opened
the milk today and found that it was sour.
*****
There will be a
special meeting
tomorrow morning.
The
meeting will begin at
9:30 AM.
*****
Did you know that Elsa has
a horse? She keeps
the horse at her uncle's farm.
*****
I heard that Samira had a
baby. Do you
know
the
baby's name?
*****
Fred won some* money
in the lottery. He'll use
the
money to buy a car.
*****
Dave Sperling has two children,
a boy and a
girl.
The
boy's name is Benjamin
and the girl's name
is Shannon.
*****
Professor Vázquez received
an honorarium for his
conference
speech. The honorarium was $500.
*****
A friend of mine made an
interesting website
in 1995.
The
website is called "Dave's
ESL Cafe on the Web."
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Special Note:
The indefinite articles a and an can be used only with
countable nouns; uncountable nouns use some or
a quantifier (for example, a lot of
/ a carton of /
a
quart of / a
bottle of).
The definite article the can be used with both countable
and uncountable
nouns, however.
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