Special Cases in the Use of the Definite Article
Special Cases in the Use of the Definite Article
Written by Martine Johnston, International Student Centre   
To decide if you should use the word the, ask yourself these three questions:
Is the noun indefinite (unspecified) or definite (specific)?
The general rule states that the first mention of a noun is indefinite and all subsequent references to this noun are definite and take the.
A man is walking down a road. There is a dog with the man.
The second mention may be a synonym:
Combine butter, sugar and eggs. Add flour to the mixture.
First (indefinite) mention requires a or an for a singular count noun, no article for a plural or non-count noun. Second mention makes the correct for both count and non-count nouns:
A growing plant must have water and minerals. The plant must also have sunlight. The minerals must include nitrates and the water must not be saline.
Three special groups of nouns are considered definite in reference even if they have not been mentioned in the preceding sentence or clause.
The first group consists of nouns which refer to shared knowledge of the situation or context. For example, in Canada you can say
The Prime Minister will arrive tomorrow
because there is only one Prime Minister in Canada, and so it is clear to whom you are referring. Similarly, if there is only one hospital in the town, you can say
He's been working in the hospital for two years.
But you couldn't say this in Toronto, where there are many hospitals. You would have to name the particular hospital in your first reference to it:
He's been working at Toronto General Hospital for two years. He says the hospital is in a financial mess.
The second group consists of nouns referring to unique objects:
e.g., the sun/the earth/the Pope/the sky/the equator
Superlative adjectives and unique adjectives form the third group. Because there can be only one of these (only one of a series can be the tallest or the best or the first), they take the definite article:
Mexico City is the most populous city in the world.
I enjoyed the first part, but I was disappointed at the end.
She is the principal researcher.
Is the noun modified?
Premodification: If the noun is preceded by one of the following--
this/that/these/those/some/any/each/every/no/none/my/mine
do not use the definite article.
e.g., the red books/some red books/no red book/his red books/each red book
Postmodification: if the noun is followed by a dependent clause (who/which/that) or a prepositional phrase (of/in/to...), it is made definite and takes the definite article. The man who lives next door is Chinese.
We take the regular collection of garbage for granted.
The journey to Vancouver takes three days by train.
No one expected the results that were found.
EXCEPTION: collective nouns take the indefinite article:
a box of matches/a deck of cards/a bar of soap/a herd of cows.
Is the noun generic?
Generic reference is used when one refers to a whole group or class, to generalize about all possible members of a group. There are five patterns one can use:
no article PLUS plural count noun:
It's astonishing what gymnasts can do.
no article PLUS noncount noun:
Love can cause a lot of suffering.
indefinite article PLUS singular count noun:
It's astonishing what a gymnast can do.
[This pattern cannot be used to discuss the location or existence of something/someone. You cannot say A lion lives in Africa. You must use pattern (a) or (d)].
definite article PLUS singular count noun:
It's astonishing what the gymnast can do.
definite article PLUS plural nationality noun:
The Chinese have an ancient culture.
Pattern (a) is most common in colloquial English; pattern (d) is frequently used in academic writing.
Special Uses of Articles