Questions tagged [definite-article]
For questions about "The", the only definite article used in English.
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Do definite articles in English imply the existence?
A king of France doesn't exist.
It makes sense because there's no king of France.
The king of France doesn't exist.
Does it make sense? Because if "the" implies the existence, this ...
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Definite article for a particular purpose
My English grammar book says "the" is common with places that we go to for a particular purpose (that is more important than the individual place or its location), so we go to the petrol ...
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Can I put the article 'the' before a proper noun which also has common noun after it?
Can a proper noun (Oxford University) take the if it is followed by a common noun (journal), like in the following sentence?
We can get more data in the Oxford University journal.
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She is one of (the) better speakers. - need "the"?
Example 1
He was one of many American writers.
He was one of the many American writers.
Example 2
He was one of few famous American writers.
He was one of the few famous American writers.
...
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Do you need the definite article? in "the dean" and "the manager"
I have made up the sentences below.
(1a) I told Jack, "Yesterday, I visited ABC Store and met with the manager, John Brown."
(1b) I told Jack, "Yesterday, I visited ABC Store and met ...
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"traffic volume in Kyoto" or "the traffic volume in Kyoto"
(1) Traffic volume in the city of Kyoto is displayed in the graph.
(2) The traffic volume in the city of Kyoto is displayed in the graph.
Question: Which sentence is correct?
I asked two Japanese ...
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Article with districts' names
I was reading a book for my classes and encountered this passage:
In the 1990s New York City’s art center shifted away from the downtown
scene in SoHo to its present location in “Chelsea” on ...
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Is it Tate or the Tate, Tate Britatin/Modern or the Tate Britain/Modern?
This is really confusing, as event on the museum's website, there are different examples, such as in this article:
...the gallery at Millbank, now known as Tate Britain, was built and
opened in 1897. ...
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Articles with art collectives' names
I'm reading a book on art where the author mentions many art collectives and I can't understand why he uses articles with some but not with others, especially when there is no preceeding noun (e.g. ...
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Does a plural noun that doesn't refer to a nonspecific or generic noun need to have a definite article?
For instance, "processes that wish to use a resource will be blocked" vs "the processes that wish to use a resource will be blocked".
Do they have any differences?
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Why is the zero article correct in "__ witnesses say..."?
While practicing the usage of the English articles, I encountered the following exercises:
There was a collision between a car and a cyclist at the crossroads near - my house early in the
morning. ...
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Can't I remove 'the' before world in the given sentence? [duplicate]
Sentence - You are a unique creature in 'the' world.
Can I omit the word 'the' when it is already known that I am referring to world which is already understood ?
Note - There is already an answer ...
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Is the definite article 'the' necessary in phrases like 'neither of the cats'?
When I want to say
neither of the cats
either of the cats
none of the cats
half the cats
a lot of the cats
most of the cats
each of the cats
every one of the cats
all the cats
That 'the' is ...
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I check "the" milk prices whenever I am in "a" supermarket. - definite article comes first and indefinite article comes later?
Example 1
"I check "the" milk prices whenever I am in "a" supermarket."
What does the "the milk prices" refer to?
Does it refer to the milk prices in the &...
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What does "the" specify in the given sentence?
Sentence - "The" healthy food is important for people.
What does "the" specify? Does it specify a particular food which is healthy as "food" is the head noun. If it ...
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Can I write about a noun for which I have used "the" later in the text?
If I am writing this for the first time in an article -
The associations between factor A and factor B were found to be normal.
Now, I had not discussed any thing about the type of associations that ...
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What if I write "the" instead of "a" in the starting without discuusing about specific type of tissue in the given sentence?
Another study used "a" skin tissue that is epithelial.
If I am writing an article and if I write "the" instead of "a" without writing anything about the particular type ...
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Does removing the definite article in "The Association between Economic Status and…” matter?
The Association between Economic Status and Depressive Symptoms: An Individual and Community Level Approach
I know that "the" implies a particular association that is between "economic ...
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Why "the" is used before the word "association" in the given sentence?
"The" association between socioeconomic conditions and health differed between countries of different economic development.
I know that "The" implies a particular association that ...
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"The" is used to refer the specificty. Which particularity is indicated by "the" in the given sentence?
There is a protein in our body called Intrinsic factor.
So, if there is a sentence - "The" intrinsic factor is a glycoprotein. By putting "the" before intrinsic, the sense of the ...
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"Why is there the definite article in “The increase of GDP…”
The increase of GDP factor helped the country to combat paucity.
Why "the" is used before "increase" when already there is a particular factor that is GDP? If it hadn't be given, ...
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Why 'the' is used before the word 'problem' in the below context?
The problem related to poverty can't be overcome.
I have to ask that the word "problem", is an abstract noun, then, why definite article 'the' is used before it ?
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Is "the" used in the names of stadiums?
Is "the" used in the names of stadiums? For example.
Etihad or the Etihad
Wembley or the Wembley
White Hart Lane or the White Hart Lane
Old Trafford or the Old Trafford
Stamford Bridge or ...
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plurals with and without a definite article in a relative clause
My understanding of plurals with and without a definite article in a relative clause is given:
tribes: all tribes
the tribes: Some specific set of tribes
But the following sentences confuse me:
He ...
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During my trip in Japan, (the) food was good; (the) people were friendly. - any differences?
Example 1
During my trip in Japan, food was good; people were friendly.
Example 2
During my trip in Japan, the food was good; the people were friendly.
I feel like both actually mean the same.
...
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Is "the" needed in "into (the) territory held by the rebels"?
There is an example in this link:
Government troops made an incursion into territory held by the rebels.
Doesn't "territory" need "the"?
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"He tied for <the> first place."
britannica.com:
(1) He tied for first place.
The first place is the only. Then why is there not "the"?
I mean:
(2) He tied for the first place.
What is the difference between (1) and (2)?
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"the" in "Algebra, arithmetic, ... are <the> branches of mathematics." and "Algebra, arithmetic, ... are <the> branches mathematics has."
learnersdictionary.com:
(1a) Algebra, arithmetic, calculus, geometry, and trigonometry are branches of mathematics.
I would like to know what role the presenсe and the absence of "the" ...
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About the use of 'the'
I can usually understand the ‘the’ usage with a single noun, but when it comes to noun phrases with of, it is totally confusing to me.
Like in the following phrases:
(the) levels of bacteria in ...
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I am unsure whether to have "the" before the structure "A of B". - (The) exclusion of the women in certain jobs is a major issue
Example 1
A: Those women are facing unemployment.
(1) B: The exclusion of the women in certain jobs is a major issue.
(2) B: Exclusion of the women in certain jobs is a major issue.
Is there a ...
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Alternation of definite and indefinite articles
Could you give an explicit example of the behavior of a wave function near zero, so that the wave function is continuous, but its magnitude squared is not?
Do the highlighted words constitute ...
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There are three cups of water. Can I just call them "the water"?
There are three cups of water.
Can I just call them "the water"?
For example, "hey don't touch the water!"
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Is the 'a nice' in 'a nice to have' grammatical?
In this context, 'a nice' is used as a noun as 'a must':
Design’s role has moved from a nice to have to a must have to a differentiator
I wonder if the 'indefinite article + adjective' form can ...
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Do you offer the meat pie? - a correct way to ask?
1)
Do you offer meat pies?
2)
Do you offer the meat pie?
I know (1) is probably the standard way to ask whether they sell meat pies.
Can I use (2)? I remember when you add "the" before a ...
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How many "the"s are needed for a branch of superlatives? And what order of them is right? [duplicate]
When there are several superlative degree adjectives combined together, should every superlative form has "the", or should only one single "the" is put at the beginning?
For ...
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The article 'the' in "She gained (the) ascendancy in the debate."
She gained the ascendancy in the debate.
vs.
She gained ascendancy in the debate.
What is more common in both the usages? Is there any difference?
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Why isn't there "the" before "New Year" sometimes? [duplicate]
From an article "At, on and in (time)" by Cambridge Dictionary:
At the New Year, millions of people travel home to be with their families.
From an entry for new year on Oxford Learner's ...
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Looks like British people say "They're at the cinema." Don't Americans say "They're at cinema"?
I have seen a difference in the use of "the" between UK and US and that is in the word hospital, is it the same in the word cinema?
I'm in the hospital (US)
I'm in hospital (UK)
They're at ...
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"Coffee/The coffee that is served at this café is delicious." - What are the differences in meaning?
When using a relative clause to modify an uncountable noun, should we include "the" before the noun?
What are the differences in meaning?
Example 1
"The coffee that is served at this ...
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Why does the definite article appear before the mass noun 'phloem' in this passage?
The phloem is often regarded as a relatively straightforward transport
system composed of loading (collection), long-distance (transport),
and unloading (release) zones.
Not sure why there is 'the' ...
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Why not "the space" in "R^1, R^2, R^3 are often called the line, the plane, and space, respectively."? ("Calculus on Manifolds" by Michael Spivak)
I am reading "Calculus on Manifolds" by Michael Spivak.
This book is a famous mathematics book.
In this book, the author wrote the following sentence:
R^1, R^2, R^3 are often called the ...
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Why, if ever, is it wrong to say "I hope it's not much of a trouble/hassle on your part"?
I read on one grammar website that the quoted sentence above was wrong, but the forum didn't provide any reason as to why that was so. One person on that website just said that a more acceptable ...
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Why isn't there a definite article in front of "savior of the movies"? [duplicate]
The following is taken from a CNN article. Why doesn't the boldfaced phrase have a definite article?
Dubbed savior of the movies by Steven Spielberg himself, Cruise concluded his speech on Sunday by ...
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`the` or no article?
"dialogue" is an abstract thing. So, should we say
"End of the dialogue."
Or
"End of dialogue."
?
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Should "a lecture on (the) laser technology" have a definite article?
I was tasked to find grammatical error, if any, in below sentence:
Being a well-known physicist, he (1) was invited to deliver (2) a lecture on laser technology.(3)
No Error (4)
The correct answer ...
Vipul Tyagi
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Is "the" article needed to fill a gap in a sentence "Martha writes ... of all" (best / the best)?
I've come across a test question recently, asking to fill a gap:
"John writes well. Jack writes better than John. Martha writes ... of all." (best / the best).
Is it correct/acceptable to ...
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(The) Skin is the largest organ of the body. (The) Skin has three layers [closed]
Which is correct:
Skin is the largest organ of the body. Skin has three layers.
The skin is the largest organ of the body. Skin has three layers.
Skin is the largest organ of the body. The skin has ...
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Definite article before the name of a region
If I want to write the name of a region like "(the) Middle East" or "(the) Northern Africa", do I have to put the definite article in front of that? Is there a general rule?
Thank ...
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Can I not use “the” in my sentence?
I have a sentence translated from Russian by Google:
I will sand the walls and you will suck up the dust.
I don’t understand, can I not use “the” in this sentence?
Context: I have a photo from my ...
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native bat species residing in the trees
My freelancer, who is native speaker, wrote this sentence. Does the use of "native" mean that those bats were born in trees? Is "the" necessary? I think it unnecessary.
Clearing ...
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