Collins Cobuild

Unit 24
Main uses of ‘the’
Main points
You can use ‘the’ in front of any noun.
You  use  ‘the’  when  the  person  you  are  talking  to  knows  which
person or thing you mean.
You  use  ‘the’  when  you  are  referring  back  to  someone  or
something.
You use ‘the’ when you are specifying which person or thing you
are talking about.
You use ‘the’ when you are referring to something that is unique.
You use ‘the’ when you want to use one thing as an example to say
something about all things of the same type.
1
‘The’ is called the definite article, and is the commonest determiner.
You use ‘the’ when the person you are talking to knows which person
or thing you mean. You can use ‘the’ in front of any noun, whether it
is a singular count noun, an uncount noun, or a plural count noun.
She dropped the can.
I remembered the fun I had with them last summer.
The girls were not at home.
2
You use ‘the’ with a noun when you are referring back to someone or

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something that has already been mentioned.
I called for a waiter … … The waiter with a moustache came.
I have bought a house in Wales… … The house is in an agricultural
area.
3
 You  use  ‘the’  with  a  noun  and  a  qualifier,  such  as  a  prepositional
phrase or a relative clause, when you are specifying which person or
thing you are talking about.
I’ve no idea about the geography of Great Britain.
The book that I recommended now costs over three pounds.
4
 You  use  ‘the’  with  a  noun  when  you  are  referring  to  something  of
which there is only one in the world.
They all sat in the sun.
We have landed men on the moon.
The sky was a brilliant blue.
You also use ‘the’ when you are referring to something of which there
is only one in a particular place.
Mrs Robertson heard that the church had been bombed.
He decided to put some words on the blackboard.
5
You can use ‘the’ with a singular count noun when you want to make a
general statement about all things of that type. For example, if you say
‘The whale is the largest mammal in the world’, you are talking about
all whales, not one particular whale.
The computer allows us to deal with a lot of data very quickly.
My father’s favourite flower is the rose.
6
You can use ‘the’ with a singular count noun when you are referring to
a system or service. For example, you can use ‘the phone’ to refer to a
telephone system and ‘the bus’ to refer to a bus service.

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I don’t like using the phone.
How long does it take to get to London on the train?
7
You can use ‘the’ with the name of a musical instrument when you are
talking about someone’s ability to play the instrument.
‘You play the guitar, I see,’ said Simon.
Geoff plays the piano very well.

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