Questions tagged [definite-articles]
This tag is for questions about the definite article.
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"do you have time" or "do you have the time"?
I'm a bit confused about the use of the determinative article before "time". I know the rule is to not use the article when you talk about thinks in general. So if I say:
do you have time to do it?
...
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Superlative and definite article "the"
I have seen similar questions like this here on ELU. However, I am still confused with my particular question.
(a) She gets up latest in her family.
(b) She gets up the latest in her family.
Can ...
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Using articles for generalization
I'm learning such difficult part of English grammar as Articles.
So far I've already studied that articles are a mess and full of contadictions.
Right now I'm learning this topic from several sources ...
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Is it "Greetings from The sunny Hague" or "Greetings from sunny The Hague"?
If I were writing a postcard home from a sunny city, I would normally put the adjective just before the proper noun like "sunny Berlin". What should I do when it's The Hague?
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"The" before superlative [duplicate]
Possible Duplicate:
Do I need to put “the” before “most” in this sentence?
I've always thought you need the definite article 'the' before the superlative of an adjective, except when the ...
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Is it proper to use "the" before the name of a government organization? [duplicate]
Possible Duplicate:
Definite article with proper nouns, titles followed by a common noun
Using the definite article with acronyms and initialisms
When I listen to major news programs, often I ...
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"The Beach" vs "A restaurant"
When I want to go out to eat, I say:
"let's go to a restaurant,"
but when I want to go play on the sand I say:
"let's go to the beach."
Why is that true? In both cases I'm talking about ...
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Usage of "a" and "the" in titles [closed]
Which one should I use for page title?
Apple — Tasty Fruit
Apple — A Tasty Fruit
Apple — The Tasty Fruit
The article is only about tasty apple.
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Use of definite article in "the more" and "the less"
Why is the definite article used in expressions like the more and the less? For example,
The more you study, the more you know.
The less you study, the less you know.
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US Route 101 — "The 101"
In my part of the world, we refer to highways without any article. So we drive on "Highway 64", or "Interstate 64", or "I-64". But when I go to California, they say "The 101". Is there any explanation ...
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Definite article before "cinema"?
I'd like to speak about cinema as an invention.
Do we say
The cinema was invented in 1895.
or
Cinema was invented in 1895.
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Why "the" in "Three Men in a Boat (To Say Nothing of the Dog)"? [closed]
When reading the title of the book, we don't know what three men it is talking about so there is no/indefinite article (the same with "a boat"). But why is there "the Dog" instead of "a Dog"? We don't ...
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Why do we use the definite article in the expression "quite the [noun]"?
Like: "quite the singer", "quite the writer", etc. while he/she is just a singer/writer and is not the only singer/writer, etc in that context.
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Can I start a sentence with a singular noun with no article?
For example, which one of the following sentences can I use?
Consumer of Product X needs to fill out a rebate form […].
Consumers of Product X need to […].
A consumer of Product X needs to […].
...
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"People" or "the people"
What is the most correct way to say:
People in the list above will also receive product update notifications.
Should I use the people or simply people? Is there a more formal way to express the ...
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Definite or indefinite article in "the/a devil's advocate"
I can't quite figure out which of the following expressions is more correct:
He is the devil's advocate.
He is a devil's advocate.
He is playing devil's advocate.
The combination of an article with ...
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Should there be an article before "mayor" in "the role of mayor"?
SimCity, for example, casts youth in the role of mayor.
I'm not sure if I understand the usage of zero article correctly. There is no article before 'mayor' as this is the instance where we refer ...
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Which is right — "all the three" or "all three" in a situation of specific objects?
Let's imagine, I'm speaking about someone's three specific cars, which are over there, there, and there. Now I'm saying that I have installed a new sound system in all of them. Which is right:
[....
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"The office of the President" or "the office of President"?
I know this one by heart: it is Section 1 of the 22nd Amendment to the U.S. Constitution.
It sounds perfectly natural to me. I don't know why, though. Here:
Section 1. No person shall be elected ...
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Possessives ("his", "her") versus definite article ("the")
"He led her by the hand."
"I hit him in the jaw."
"She closed her eyes."
In the first two examples one doesn't say "her hand" and in the second one doesn't say "his jaw". But in the third one says ...
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"king of" or "the king of"
Which is correct?
I am king of the world.
I am the king of the world.
Additionally, which would be the better choice, if I wanted to use the expression "king" to signify dominance in a ...
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Which would be correct: "outputs" or "puts out"?
Which word should I use in the following context? Is the required before data?
Any algorithm first reads data, processes (the) data and finally [outputs|puts out] the processed data.
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What's the rule behind the use of the articles to refer to something in general? [closed]
I'm very confused about the use of English articles in generalisations with singular countable nouns. I read in a grammar book that in case of the word 'man' - the rule is that, if you want to say ...
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"The" for superlative referring to more than one object
Which one of these sentences is correct?
The best countries to live in are ...
Best countries to live in are ...
EDIT: The reason this question is being asked is that this Wiktionary article says ...
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The use of the article "THE" + position
As a non-English speaker whose native language does not have articles I am always unsure about the use of them.
This time I would like to clarify the use of the article "THE" together with positions ...
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Use of "the" in Indian English
The word "the" in Indian English seems to have a different function than in American English, and I'd like to understand it better. The first sentence of this article demonstrates what I mean:
...
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"An" average of vs. "The" average of
When nouns such as average, total, sum, etc., are modified by a prepositional phrase, how do you choose between the definite and indefinite articles? I cited sentences 1, 3, and 5 below from various ...
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Can the definite article be omitted when referring to a person qualified by a noun?
Is there a difference between these references to a specific person:
"The implication is clear: as the psychologist Jonathan Haidt said..."
and
"The implication is clear: as psychologist ...
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Why is it "time of day" but "hour of the day"?
Well, the title is a little misleading, because both "time of day" and "time of the day" are possible and can have the same meaning.[here] But "time of day" is more commonly used (when we're not ...
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Is there a name for the substitution of "the + singular noun" for a plural noun? [duplicate]
For instance, I might say, "Overcrowding is a major concern in the classroom today" rather than "Overcrowding is a major concern in classrooms today".
Is that substitution a literary device?
The ...
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Definite article, repetition in lists
Which would be correct?
The fridge, the shelves, the walls, the floor, and John himself, were all covered in foam.
The fridge, shelves, walls, floor, and John himself, were all covered in foam....
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Please use other door?
"Please use other door" signs are common. But would you ever say this? Or would you say "please use the other door"?
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Why do people sometimes omit the definite article where it seems sensible to include it?
I'm used to always hearing or seeing a definite article before certain nouns. Yet on certain occasions the article is totally omitted, and it bothers me. I'm wondering what the justification for ...
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Do I need to put “the” before “most” in this sentence?
Is putting “the” before “most” in this sentence compulsory, optional, or a mistake?
Fascination with language and
attention to particular regions and
communities in America are the most common
...
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Need for using the article "the" before "United States of America"? [duplicate]
Usually, we do not use the definite article, the, before names of countries but we use the before "United States of America".
Is there a specific reason for using the article before the country "...
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Why is the definite article used in: ”What happened to the rest of "the" soup”?
I have been bewildered semantically by the use of the in front of soup in the following sentence.
What happened to the rest of the soup that we ate yesterday?
I have come across this sentence while ...
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Should I use "the" before file names?
It's possible that this question has been asked before, but neither google nor stackexchange search show anything.
As in the title, do we use "the" before filenames? As in "The config.txt" or "...
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Does "Magna Carta" require an article?
I have seen (the) Magna Carta referred to both with and without an article, a distinction that doesn't seem to have any relation to nationality (i.e. I've seen British sources and American sources ...
user88040
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Why is there "the" in "oh the horror"?
I am wondering about the interjection "oh, the horror!". If it should be treated as an interjection directed to "horror" (there are similar expressions in other languages), why does it use the article ...
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Why do we use "the" in "the British" but not before "Canadians"? [closed]
Why do we use the definite article before most nationalities such as "the British" but we say "Canadians" without the?
Specifically, why is it that, for example,...
Canadians like maple syrup.
......
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Is the expression "the dead of night" or "the dead of the night"?
I always thought it was just "the dead of night" - no "the" following "of"(unlike "heat of the night"). But I recently came across "dead of the night" and I'm wondering if its correct.
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Appositive with no definite article
Hans, head of a company that manufactures garden furniture, is announcing to his staff ....
Shouldn't it be the head of a company ...? Is that correct? Could you explain why we do not need a definite ...
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You have "the right" to remain silent vs "a right"
When you google "Miranda warning", the first thing you see is a clip of Wikipedia explaining what it is briefly:
The "Miranda warning", which can also be referred to as the "Miranda
rights", is "...
user140086
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on the bus, in the car etc. vs. on a bus, in a car etc
I realize a lot of questions have been asked about buses here. While the thing with the preposition usage was resolved for me a long time ago, the usage of the articles is still confusing me.
For ...
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one or [the] other in American and British English
I'm wondering whether the definite article should be placed before "other" in the following sentence, and whether there is dialectal variation in this regard:
You should ask one or [the] other of ...
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Usage of the definite article with the abbreviated name of an equipment in a user's manual
As part of my translation studies, I have to detect anomalies in a user's manual. This manual refers to an equipment whose full name is Compuwash Commander Controller - Model CC-64. Lack of coherence ...
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Are there cases when the word "best" as an adjective could be used without "the"?
That is an advertisement of one company, a banner. They write the name of the company and the second line goes like this "best ad designs".
Is this line correct? or should there be a "the"? Is there ...
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Using "woman" without article: "I am woman"
I heard the lyrics of a song by Helen Reddy:
I am woman, hear me roar
In numbers too big to ignore
[…]
I am woman watch me grow
See me standing toe to toe
As I spread my lovin' arms ...
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This book is the property of
I have hard time understanding why in this phrase, property is preceded with a definite article. As this book is one of many properties, the indefinite article sounds more natural, to me.
Of course, ...
user11580
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My favourite animal is a dog, the dog or dog [duplicate]
I consider myself a pretty advanced English teacher and user. Nonetheless, I've recently found myself in a pretty difficult spot trying to explain which of the following sentences is correct:
My ...
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