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I've seen this word many times but I never understand what that exactly means. AFAIK it is used to refer to a known object but sometimes I see different usages. Can any one explain exact usage and meaning of this word?

Regards

Ali.Rashidi
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  • To clarify -- you're wondering about the usage of the word "the"? – Roddy of the Frozen Peas Dec 30 '13 at 21:39
  • yes @RoddyoftheFrozenPeas – Ali.Rashidi Dec 30 '13 at 21:47
  • This is very broad in its current form (as you yourself say, there are any number of conflicting usages) and general reference (as any dictionary will contain the meaning, and most will offer examples). If you can pin it down to one particular issue or apparent exception, feel free to edit. Thank you. – RegDwigнt Dec 30 '13 at 21:54
  • sometimes when I speak in English, somewhere in my speech I wonder whether I can use 'The' or not. it's sort of complicated in some specified occasions :( – Ali.Rashidi Dec 30 '13 at 21:57
  • We have this general question. We also have an entire dedicated tag with almost 200 questions in it. Again, if you find yourself looking at a different situation still, you are welcome to ask the corresponding specific question. – RegDwigнt Dec 30 '13 at 22:02
  • Collins Cobuild publish a monograph of around 130 pages devoted to the various usages of 'the' and 'a/an'. – Edwin Ashworth Dec 30 '13 at 23:25

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Well, "the", along with "a" and "an" and a few other such words, are considered articles. They modify nouns to give you a wee bit more information about them. "The" in particular is a definite article, indicating the noun refers to an instance (or sometimes instances) of that noun which should be known to the listener.

But can anyone explain the exact usage and meaning of "the"? No, nobody can do that. There aren't really any rules for it, there are just usage cases that have to be memorized. Even those vary from dialect to dialect. For instance, in the UK, words like University and Hospital tend to be used without an article, while in the USA an article is generally required there.

Decades ago I saw a story in an old Reader's Digest that seems apropos here. An American working as an English teacher in Iran went over the proper usage of "the" to her class one day. A few days later, she saw some of her students at an anti-American protest carrying signs written in English that used "the" incorrectly, although they had followed her instructions to the letter.

The next day she brought this up to the class, and introduced an extra rule to cover this case. The next week she saw another protest where this new rule had been followed as instructed, resulting in another incorrect use of the article. This happened twice more, before she finally threw up her hands and made herself a sign reading "Down with the English!"

(note: "the" is used incorrectly there, unless you are talking about the residents of the country England, which she wasn't).

T.E.D.
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  • I think the question itself is simply "Too Broad" for a site like ELU, but +1 for an interesting & amusing tale! – FumbleFingers Dec 30 '13 at 22:00
  • thanks for your response. I could not understand the intent of your story tough! – Ali.Rashidi Dec 30 '13 at 22:00
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    @Ali_rashidi - Well, the point really is that "the" doesn't follow any objective rules, so its futile to look for them. You just have to memorize it. – T.E.D. Dec 30 '13 at 22:02
  • sometimes it's used as a name. The blind said: "Its a nice day and I can not see it". The Blind? What is that?! – Ali.Rashidi Dec 30 '13 at 22:04
  • @Ali: Per T.E.D.'s final sentence - in that particular case there are two totally different meanings (both immediately obvious to native speakers). In many other cases you either must or must not** include the article (there's only one meaning, and only one way of expressing it "correctly"). Your "blind" example is just a misquoted joke (it's the blind man**). – FumbleFingers Dec 30 '13 at 22:04
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"the" is an article. It's used for definite nouns, meaning when said noun is one that is known by the reader or can be identified from a group, it is set apart by "the."

user60932
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