The only definite article and the most frequent word in English is 'the'. Generally, the definite article precedes a noun or noun phrase to make it definite. For example:

The definite article specifies a noun by referring to a particular member of a group, class or something that was already mentioned by the speaker.

In English, articles (definite and indefinite) always come before a noun. Take a look at this example:

If you have a noun phrase instead of a noun, the article comes before the whole phrase, not the head noun. Look at these examples:

It is very important to know when and in which cases you should use definite articles with nouns. In order to simplify the discussion, we can divide nouns into two categories:

In general, we use the definite article in cases where there is no room for the question 'which?' because a specific entity is known or identifiable, either through sensory input (when you can see or hear something, it is known to you), through association with a known entity, or other distinct information. Let's explore the different cases where this is possible in more details.

We can use a definite article to talk about something that has already been mentioned in a conversation or text. In this case, the first time that entity is mentioned, it must be introduced with an indefinite article and only after its identity is established are we allowed to use a definite article. Look at these examples:

We use 'the' when we want to talk about a unique person or thing that has no counterpart in a situation. Let's see how it works.

We discussed the use of 'the' to refer to something that is unique. This use is almost the same, except here, 'the' shows that something is unique in a specific context or location. Take a look at the following examples:

We use the definite article before a superlative adjective preceding a noun to indicate that something has the highest or lowest level of a specific quality. Since only one person or thing can have the highest or lowest degree of a quality (otherwise the adjective would not be in superlative form), that person or thing becomes identifiable. Look at the following examples:

We can use 'the' before nouns that are modified by different clauses or phrases. Such modifiers establish identifiability of the noun by providing information that narrows the scope of the referents that the noun can signify. In simpler terms, these modifiers answer the question 'which?'. For example:

We use the definite article with some adjectives to refer to a group of people sharing a particular characteristic. In this case, the noun phrase acts s as a collective noun. This is especially important in situations where nationalities or ethnic groups might be confused with their languages. Take a look at the examples:

When we wish to refer to a specific class among other classes or all things or all members of a group in a generic sense, we can use the definite article with a singular noun. For example:

When we are talking about inventions rather than a common object, we use the article 'the'. For example:

When talking about a specific system or service such the police, television, radio, and train we use the definite article. Let's see some examples:

We can also use the definite article with an ordinal number to refer to the particular instance when something occurs or to the number of times something happens. Here are some examples:

We can use the definite article when we want to refer to a particular decade of a century. Let's see some examples:

Generally, definite article is not commonly used with proper nouns. But there are some exceptions. Let's go through them:

We use the definite article with the names of oceans, seas, rivers, mountain ranges, canals, groups of islands, and geographical areas. Here are some examples:

We also use 'the' with countries that have plural names or have 'states', 'republic', or 'kingdom' in their names. Let's see some examples:

We put the definite article before newspaper names. For example:

We also use the definite article with the names of famous artefacts such as buildings, museums, monuments, or works of art. See the following examples:

We also use 'the' with the names of hotels and restaurants. Here are some examples.

We can use the definite article with the last name of people in plural form to refer to the family as a whole. Look at the following examples: