What's good Superheroes. Another day another chance to improve ourselves in what we like most. In my case, it's pretty much clear that I like-love-enjoy learning new languages; Especially English which has allowed me to thrive in some way throughout my life, you see, communication is an underrated yet quite useful asset we all need to perform better during our everyday activities, so instead of beholding that big barrier and getting frustrated, why don't we just climb it together? It's a good start; Besides, you're not alone!
A couple of days ago we took a different look about The Indefinite Article. In case any of you missed this valuable lesson, feel free to check it out here, so you can be updated as on time for the present lesson.
Today's lesson is about The Definite Article, grammar structure, and usages. Time is the most valuable asset, don't you think? Let's not waste any and get started.
The Definite Article
Definition.
The definite article is a word which we use to indicate if someone or something is specific, in other words, the speaker knows exactly about what person or object is talking about and also may hint that the listener knows about it as well. It is represented by the word "The" and it's a word we use a lot in English. We can use this article with both singular and plural nouns.
Rules - Basic Grammar Structure
For the purposes of this lesson, we are going to use the basic grammar structure:
The + Noun
Basic uses.
If you are talking about a noun, and that noun is already mentioned in the conversation it means we're not speaking about a thing or a person in general; The speaker and the listener probably know what they're talking about, therefore we must use the definite article "The"
Examples:
I drank a delicious cup of coffee yesterday. The coffee was great
The doctor reccomended me to get some rest.
Notice on the first example how we use the indefinite article "a" to refer to the noun "coffee" for the first time and then we use "The" on the next sentence because both speaker and listener must know already that it's not any coffee they're talking about, it's clearly a specific coffee.
If you're talking about "one of someone or something" it's mandatory to use the definite article "The"
Examples:
The President of the United States made a bad choice.
The earth is flat.
As you can clearly observe both nouns are indiscutable one of someone or something as there is only one president of the United States, and there is only one planet earth.
When we describe a noun using superlative adjectives, we refer to that person, object, or thing as "The" most of that type or kind in qualities, features etc... in a positive or negative manner. By doing so, we give the noun a unique standard that crystal clear highlights its specificity.
Examples:
Venezuela is the best country to visit on holidays.
Melinda is clearly the fastest among her companions.
When we use words that describe (adjectives) a group of nouns we must use "The" as article.
Examples:
The good ones always prevail over the bad ones.
The rich and the poor must leave in peace.
When to avoid "The" before a noun.
One of the main rules when using "the" is that we use it when we speak about specific nouns; Things, or people which are recognized by both speaker and listener, hence, we should not use the when we speak about subjects in a general sense, for that we can use the Indefinite Articles as stated on our very first lesson or just avoid any of them depending on the situation.
Examples:
Doctors cure diseases.
Data is everything.
In situations related to meals, sports activities, or topics of study.
Examples:
I'd rather go to soccer instead of skiing.
Is supper ready?
I find Politics harder than Grammar.
Notice it sounds more natural when we don't use "the" with these nouns related to such topics.
With proper nouns that represent people, businesses, places such as cities, countries, languages, among others.
Examples:
Tuck smokes a lot.
They will be in Venezuela by next month.
Did she like Osaka?
Pollos Hermanos serve the best chicken ever.
English is as underrrated as Spanish.
There are some exceptions for these rules (avoiding "the" before nouns) Let's take a look!
The Democratic Republic of the Congo.
The United Kingdom.
The Pacific Ocean.
The River Nile.
The Dead Sea.
As you can observe, these nouns have some particular details. Some of them are countries which represent states, republics, or even kingdoms. There are some others which represent Geographical features.
Let's see some more examples:
The New York Times. The Guardian.
The Eiffel Tower.
The Last Supper.
The Jetsons. The Jordans.
I guess this is not hard for you to identify either. What do these nouns represent? Yes, you just got it. They are newspapers, recognizable buildings, and families.
There are also some combined categories where we can either use "the" or don't but that's for another lesson.
On the next chapter we're going to practice a bit with some exercises in order to see if you fully understood the lessons and to correct mistakes.
Glossary
Adjective: A word which is used to describe a person, animal, object or thing.
Noun: A word which is used to identify people, animals, objects, things. Ex: Maria, Cat, Apple, Car.
About upcoming posts and final thoughts.
First of all, Thank you! for getting up until this point, that means you were an honest reader and paid close attention to the lesson.
If you have any questions, something to add or correct, or whatever information you need about the lessons, please feel free to ask on the comments. You can also reach me out on Discord (jonsnow1983#6946) or Twitter https://twitter.com/TheRealSnowJon
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