أمثلة على ال English Definite Article

English Definite Article

The English definite article, the, is used very little in comparison to the definite articles in some languages, including French and Spanish. On the other hand, the definite article is used a lot more in English than in languages like Chinese, Japanese, and Russian, which do not have articles at all.

The definite article is used to indicate the specific noun or nouns that you are talking about.

The man with red hair is my father
There are several men over there, and the one who has red hair is my father.

Here is the book I bought
I bought a book and now I am showing this specific book to you

I like the south of France
The south is a particular region of France, and it is the one that I like

The red skirt is prettier than the blue one
You are looking at two specific skirts and prefer the red one

Where are the children?
You are asking about a particular group of children


The definite article is not used in English when referring to a noun (or group of nouns) in general, or to abstract ideas.

That's life!
I like science fiction
France is a beautiful country
Red skirts are very sexy
Children are very creative
Diplomacy is an important quality

As you can see in these examples, a distinction is being made between "the red skirt" (the one you are wearing, for example) and "red skirts" (all red skirts, red skirts in general). This same distinction is being made with "the children" (a particular group of children) and "children" (children in general, all children).

If you can't decide whether to use the definite article in English, think about the meaning of the noun. Is is a specific item (that you see, own, or are wearing) or is it an unspecified group, a general idea? If it's general, you cannot use the definite article.

In addition, when referring to a person with a title, you do not need an article - the title is used instead.

President Bush is in Italy
Mr. Mayor
Madam Chairwoman