THE definition

Etymology

From demonstrative pronoun , a late variant of . Originally masculine nominative, in it superceded all previous forms .

Article

Definite grammatical article that implies necessarily that the entity it articulates is presupposed; something already mentioned, or completely specified later in the same sentence, or assumed already completely specified. Compare I’m reading a book with I’m reading the book.

The street in front of your house. (But compare a street in Paris)

The men and women watched the man give the birdseed to the bird.

When stressed, indicates that the object in question is considered to be best or exclusively worthy of attention.

That is the hospital to go to for heart surgery.

With a superlative, it refers to the same thing which the superlative applies to.

That apple pie was the best.

When before a body part, it can be an alternative to a possessive pronoun.

A stone hit him on the head. ( = “A stone hit him on his head.”)

When before an adjectival noun, it indicates all persons within that grouping.

Feed the hungry, clothe the naked, comfort the afflicted, and afflict the comfortable.

When before the name of a member of a class, it indicates all things in that class.

The cat is a solitary creature. ( = “All cats are solitary creatures.”)

Usage notes

The word the is pronounced /ðiː/ whenever it is pronounced as a distinct word, e.g.:

When it is used for emphasis (This is the hospital for heart surgery.).
When the speaker pauses between the and the next word (the … sovereignty).
In many but not all dialects, when the next word begins with a vowel sound (the onion) (compare with a vs. an).

The word is generally pronounced indistinctly as /ðə/ or merely /ð/ in other situations, such as when attached to a word beginning with a consonant sound.
The word the precedes proper nouns in a number of cases, although most proper nouns use no article. There are always exceptions. See also Appendix:English proper nouns for more information.

Countries
- As a general rule, country names are not preceded by the. There are a few exceptions, most of which are pluralised:

The Netherlands
The Bahamas
The Solomon Islands
The Maldives
The Seychelles
The Yemen (can also be used without an article)
- - Names of countries containing specifications like kingdom, republic etc are used with the:
The United States

The United Kingdom
The United Arab Emirates
The Czech Republic
- Place names
  - Some place names use a definite article
All oceans (The Atlantic Ocean, The Pacific Ocean)
All seas (The Red Sea, The Bering Sea, The Caribbean Sea), and straits (The Strait of Magellan, the Bering Strait, The Bosphorus)
All rivers (The Amazon, The Nile, The Mississippi, The Seine, The Yangtze), canals (The Panama Canal, The Suez Canal) and deltas (The Nile Delta, The Orinoco Delta, The Colorado River Delta)
All art galleries (The Tate, The Louvre, The Smithsonian American Art Museum), all museums with the word museum in the name (The National Museum of Natural History, The British Museums)
Most English-language newspapers (The New York Times, The Guardian, The Chronicle, The Wall Street Journal)

When used before an adjective, which is not followed by a noun, it may refer to a group of people for which the adjective is appropriate:
- the Scottish = Scots
- the rich = rich people (considered as a group)

Adverb

With a comparative or more and a verb phrase, establishes a parallel with one or more other such comparatives.

The hotter, the better.

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.
With a comparative, and often with for it, indicates a result in the direction of the comparative. This can be negated with none.

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.