OTHER USES OF "THE"

Main points

You do not normally use `the' with proper nouns referring to people.
You do use `the' with many proper nouns referring to geographical places.
You use `the' with some adjectives to talk about groups of people.

You do not normally use `the' with proper nouns that are people's names.

However, if you are talking about a family, you can say `the Browns'.

You use `the' with some titles, such as `the Queen of England', and with the names of some organizations, buildings, newspapers, and works of art.
...the United Nations...
...the Taj Mahal...
...the Times...
...the Mona Lisa.

You do use `the' with some proper nouns referring to geographical places.
...the Bay of Biscay...
...the Suez Canal.
...the Arabian Gulf...
...the Pacific Ocean.

You use `the' with countries whose names include words such as `kingdom', `republic', `states', or `union'.
...the United Kingdom...
...the Soviet Union.

You use `the' with countries that have plural nouns as their names.
...the Netherlands...
...the Philippines.

Note that you do not use `the' with countries that have singular nouns as their names, such as `China', `Italy', or `Turkey'.

You use `the' with names of mountain ranges and groups of islands.
...the Alps...
...the Himalayas.
...the Bahamas...
...the Canaries.

Note that you do not use `the' with the names of individual mountains such as `Everest' or `Etna', or the names of individual islands such as `Sicily', `Minorca', or `Bali'. You use `the' with regions of the world, or regions of a country that include `north', `south', `east', or `west'.
...the Middle East...
...the Far East.
...the north of England...
...the west of Ireland.

Note that there are some exceptions.
...North America...
...South-East Asia.

You do not use `the' with `northern', `southern', `eastern', or `western' and a singular name. ...northern England...
...western Africa.

You use `the' with the names of areas of water such as seas, oceans, rivers, canals, gulfs, and straits.
...the Mediterranean Sea...
...the Atlantic Ocean.
...the river Ganges...
...the Panama Canal.
...the Gulf of Mexico...
...the straits of Gibraltar.

Note that you do not use `the' with lakes.
...Lake Geneva...
...Lake Superior.

Note that you do not use `the' with continents, cities, streets, or addresses.
...Asia...
...Tokyo.
...Oxford Street...
...15 Park Street.

You use `the' with adjectives such as `rich', `poor', `young', `old', and `unemployed' to talk about a general group of people.
You do not need a noun.
Only the rich could afford his firm's products.
They were discussing the problem of the unemployed.

When you use `the' with an adjective as the subject of a verb, you use a plural verb.
In the cities the poor are as badly off as they were in the villages.

You use `the' with some nationality adjectives to talk about the people who live in a country.
They will be increasingly dependent on the support of the French.
The Spanish claimed that the money had not been paid.

With other nationalities, you use a plural noun.
...Germans...
...the Americans.
When you use `the' with a nationality adjective as the subject of a verb, you use a plural verb. The British are worried.

You use `the' with superlatives.
He was the cleverest man I ever knew.
He was the youngest.
His shoulders hurt the worst.
It was the most exciting summer of their lives.

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.

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.
The girls were not at home.

You use `the' with a noun when you are referring back to someone or 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.

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 Scotland.
The book that I recommended now costs over three pounds.

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.

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 mean 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.

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.
I don't like using the phone.
How long does it take on the train?

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.

DETERMINERS

Main points

Determiners are used at the beginning of noun groups.
You use specific determiners when people know exactly which things or people you are talking about.
You use general determiners to talk about people or things without saying exactly who or what they are.

When you use a determiner, you put it at the beginning of a noun group, in front of numbers or adjectives.
I met the two Swedish girls in London.
Our main bedroom is through there. Have you got another red card?
Several young boys were waiting.

When the people or things that you are talking about have already been mentioned, or the people you are talking to know exactly which ones you mean, you use a specific determiner.

The man began to run towards the boy.
Young people don't like these operas.
Her face was very red.

The specific determiners are: the definite article: the - demonstratives: this that these those possessives:my your his her its our their

Note that `your' is used both for the singular and plural possessive. See `this', `that', `these', and `those' as pronouns.

When you are mentioning people or things for the first time, or talking about them generally without saying exactly which ones you mean, you use a general determiner.
There was a man in the lift.
We went to an art exhibition.
You can stop at any time you like.
There were several reasons for this.

The general determiners are: a, all, an, another, any, both, each, either, enough, every, few, fewer, less, little, many, more, most, much, neither, no, other, several, some

Each general determiner is used with particular types of noun, such as:

singular count nouns a, an, another, any, each, either, every, neither, no
I got a postcard from Susan.
Any big tin container will do. He opened another shop .

plural count nouns all-enough-many-no-some - any-few-more-other - both-fewer-most-several
There were few doctors available.
He spoke many different languages.
Several projects were postponed.

uncount nouns all, any, enough, less, little, more, most, much, no, some
There was little applause.
We need more information
He did not speak much English.

WARNING:
The following general determiners can never be used with uncount nouns. a, an, another, both, each, either, every, few, many, neither, several


Most of the determiners are also pronouns, except `the', `a', `an', `every', `no' and the possessives.
I saw several in the woods last night.
Have you got any that I could borrow?

There is enough for all of us. You use `one' as a pronoun instead of `a' or `an', `none' instead of `no', and `each' instead of `every'.
Have you got one?
There are none left.
Each has a separate box and number.

POSSESSION

Main points

* Possessives and possessive pronouns are used to say that one person or thing belongs to another or is connected with another.
* You use apostrophe s ('s) to say who something belongs to.
* You use phrases with `of' to say that one person or thing belongs to another or is connected with another.

You use possessives to say that a person or thing belongs to another person or thing or is connected with them.

The possessives are sometimes called `possessive adjectives'.
my - your - his - her - its - our - their

Note that `your' is both singular and plural.
I'd been waiting a long time to park my car.
They took off their shoes.

WARNING:
The possessive `its' is not spelled with an apostrophe.
The form `it's' with an apostrophe is the short form for `it is' or `it has'.

You put numbers and adjectives after the possessive and in front of the noun.
Their two small children were playing outside.
She got a bicycle on her sixth birthday.

You use a possessive pronoun when you want to refer to a person or thing and to say who that person or thing belongs to or is connected with.

The possessive pronouns are: mine-yours-his-hers-ours-theirs

Note that `yours' is both singular and plural.
Is that coffee yours or mine ?
It was his fault, not theirs.

WARNING:
There is no possessive pronoun `its'.

You can also say who or what something belongs to or is connected with by using a noun with apostrophe s ('s).

For example,
if John owns a motorbike, you can refer to it as `John's motorbike'.
Sylvia put her hand on John's arm.
I like the car's design.

You add apostrophe s ('s) to singular nouns and irregular plural nouns, usually referring to people rather than things.
I wore a pair of my sister's boots.
Children's birthday parties can be boring.

With plural nouns ending in `-s' you only add the apostrophe (').
It is not his parents' problem.

You add apostrophe s ('s) to people's names, even when they end in `-s'.
Could you give me Charles's address?

Note that when you use two or more names linked by `and', you put the apostrophe s ('s) after the last name.
They have bought Sue and Tim's car.

When you want to refer to someone's home, or to some common shops and places of work, you can use apostrophe s ('s) after a name or noun on its own.
He's round at David's.
He bought it at the chemist's.
She must go to the doctor's.

You can also use apostrophe s ('s) with some expressions of time to identify something, or to say how much time is involved.
Did you see the cartoon in yesterday's newspaper?
They have four weeks' holiday per year.

You can use a prepositional phrase beginning with `of' to say that one person or thing belongs to or is connected with another.
She is the mother of the boy who lives next door.
Ellen aimlessly turned the pages of her magazine.

After `of' you can use a possessive pronoun, or a noun or name with apostrophe s ('s).
He was an old friend of mine.
That word was a favourite of your father's.
She's a friend of Stephen's.

You can add `own' after a possessive, or a noun or name with apostrophe s ('s), for emphasis.
My own view is that there are no serious problems.
The professor's own answer may be unacceptable.

ORDER OF ADJECTIVES

Main points

* You put opinion adjectives in front of descriptive adjectives.
* You put general opinion adjectives in front of specific opinion adjectives.
* You can sometimes vary the order of adjectives.
* If you use two or more descriptive adjectives, you put them in a particular order.
* If you use a noun in front of another noun, you put any adjectives in front of the first noun.

You often want to add more information to a noun than you can with one adjective. In theory, you can use the adjectives in any order, depending on the quality you want to emphasize. In practice, however, there is a normal order.

When you use two or more adjectives in front of a noun, you usually put an adjective that expresses your opinion in front of an adjective that just describes something.
You live in a nice big house.
He is a naughty little boy.
She was wearing a beautiful pink suit.

When you use more than one adjective to express your opinion, an adjective with a more general meaning such as `good', `bad', `nice', or `lovely' usually comes before an adjective with a more specific meaning such as `comfortable', `clean', or `dirty'.
I sat in a lovely comfortable armchair in the corner.
He put on a nice clean shirt.

You can use adjectives to describe various qualities of people or things. For example, you might want to indicate their size, their shape, or the country they come from.

Descriptive adjectives belong to six main types, but you are unlikely ever to use all six types in the same noun group. If you did, you would normally put them in the following order:

size age shape colour nationality material


This means that if you want to use an `age' adjective and a `nationality' adjective, you put the `age' adjective first.
We met some young Chinese girls.

Similarly, a `shape' adjective normally comes before a `colour' adjective.
He had round black eyes.

Other combinations of adjectives follow the same order. Note that `material' means any substance, not only cloth.
There was a large round wooden table in the room.
The man was carrying a small black plastic bag.

You usually put comparative and superlative adjectives in front of other adjectives.
Some of the better English actors have gone to live in Hollywood.
These are the highest monthly figures on record.

When you use a noun in front of another noun, you never put adjectives between them. You put any adjectives in front of the first noun.
He works in the French film industry.
He receives a large weekly cash payment.

When you use two adjectives as the complement of a link verb, you use a conjunction such as `and' to link them. With three or more adjectives, you link the last two with a conjunction, and put commas after the others.
The day was hot and dusty.
The room was large but square.
The house was old, damp and smelly.
We felt hot, tired and thirsty.

POSITION OF ADJECTIVES

Main points

* There are two main positions for adjectives: in front of a noun, or as the complement of a link verb.

* Most adjectives can be used in either of these positions, but some adjectives can only be used in one.

Most adjectives can be used in a noun group, after determiners and numbers if there are any, in front of the noun.
He had a beautiful smile.
She bought a loaf of white bread.
There was no clear evidence.

Most adjectives can also be used after a link verb such as `be', `become', or `feel'.
I'm cold.
I felt angry.
Nobody seemed amused.

Some adjectives are normally used only after a link verb.

afraid, alive, alone, asleep, aware, content, due, glad, ill, ready, sorry, sure,
unable, well


For example, you can say `She was glad', but you do not talk about `a glad woman'.
I wanted to be alone.
We were getting ready for bed.
I'm not quite sure.
He didn't know whether to feel glad or sorry.

Some adjectives are normally used only in front of a noun.

eastern atomic indoor occasional
northern countless introductory outdoor
southern digital maximum
western existing neighbouring


For example, you talk about `an atomic bomb', but you do not say `The bomb was atomic'.
He sent countless letters to the newspapers.
This book includes a good introductory chapter on forests.

When you use an adjective to emphasize a strong feeling or opinion, it always comes in front of a noun.

absolute, complete, entire, outright, perfect, positive, pure, real, total, true, utter

Some of it was absolute rubbish.
He made me feel like a complete idiot.

Some adjectives that describe size or age can come after a noun group consisting of a number or determiner and a noun that indicates the unit of measurement.

deep long tall wide
high old thick

He was about six feet tall.
The water was several metres deep.
The baby is nine months old.

Note that you do not say `two pounds heavy', you say `two pounds in weight'.

A few adjectives are used alone after a noun.

designate, elect, galore, incarnate

She was now the president elect.
There are empty houses galore.

A few adjectives have a different meaning depending on whether they come in front of or after a noun.

concerned, involved, present, proper, responsible


For example, `the concerned mother' means a mother who is worried, but `the mother concerned' means the mother who has been mentioned.
It's one of those incredibly involved stories.
The people involved are all doctors.
I'm worried about the present situation.
Of the 18 people present, I knew only one.
Her parents were trying to act in a responsible manner.
We do not know the person responsible for his death.