When is it correct to use "The" in front of a family member? For example, when can you say "The mother".
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You can say “She is the mother of John,” and “He is the husband of my sister.”– XanneCommented Aug 8, 2020 at 5:52
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You can also say, “Based on the evidence I think the mother did it.”– JimCommented Aug 8, 2020 at 7:56
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1 Answer
“Ann is Bill’s sister” is a simple statement; Bill may have more sisters but we do not know.
“Ann is a sister of Bill”; using the indefinite article “a” suggests that Ann is one of several sisters.
“Ann is the sister of Bill”; using the definite article “the” suggests that Bill has only one sister, who is Ann. This is not synonymous with the first simple statement above.
“Jean is the mother of John” is similarly correct as regards usage, but it contains redundancy, because John can only have one mother. It is therefore synonymous with the simpler statement “Jean is John’s mother”. Use either.
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1Can't you also use it if you are referring to a person who was mentioned before? For example, "The mother in the above comic panel says to her son, 'If you don't study well, you will end up like him.'"– VidathDCommented Aug 9, 2020 at 16:55
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Agreed. "The" is doing its job as the definite article in your example.– AntonCommented Aug 10, 2020 at 17:47
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“Ann is the sister of Bill”; using the definite article “the” only suggests that Bill has only one sister, who is Ann. As this is no more than a suggestion (Bill may still have several sisters), this is synonymous with the first simple statement above (though not, as with all synonyms, interchangeable in all contexts): there is an overlap in possible meanings. Commented Sep 7, 2020 at 13:51
