The uses of THE 1.- When we talk about things or people in general, we don’t use the definite article THE. e.g. Children like playing with their toys We aren’t afraid of dogs Salt is bad for blood pressure. American people often travel by plane But we use it when we refer to people or things in particular: e.g. Let’s buy the children some new toys! (our own children, this specific group of children) Who let the dogs out? (These particular dogs) Can you pass me the salt, please? The Ameican people who suffered the storm are very upset. 2.- We don’t us THE with school, prison, hospital, university, church, when we refer to the general idea of these places and what they are used for. e.g. The man was in prison for burglary He goes to school by bus Mark is in hospital because he broke his leg alst week. But we use THE when we refer to these places not in the sense of their use, but meaning a specific situation diffeernt from the activity they are used for. e.g. His family went to the prison to visit him. Workers are painting the school. Jack has gone to the hospital to visit Mark. 3.- We use THE when there is only one of something: e.g. Do you know what is the highest building in the world? (There is only one highest building in the world) The moon is a natuarl satellite of the earth. The sun is a star. We also use THE in these expressions, because they are (sometimes figuratively) unique: The sea, the sky, the environment, the ground, the countryside... 4.- We don’t use THE with means of transport, but we use it when we refer to the specific vehicle or line. Compare: We always travel by bus but We caught the bus to London at 09:30. 5.- Some Spanish expressions with the definite article don’t use THE in English: SPANISH El desayuno, el almuerzo, la cena e.g. ¿A qué hora es el desayuno?
ENGLISH Breakfast, luch, dinner e.g. What time is breakfast?
La habitación 26, el vuelo BA125 e.g. ¿A que hora llega el vuelo BA125?
Room 26, flight BA125 e.g. What time does flight BA125 arrive?
La talla 42 ¿Tiene estos pantalones en la talla 42?
Size 42 Have you got these trousers in size 42?
La página 12 Abrid los libros por la página 12
Page 12 Open your books on page 12
El lunes, el martes… e.g. Iremos al parque el viernes
Monday, Tuesday... e.g. We’ll go to the park on Friday