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Could you explain the usage of "the" before ABBREVIATIONs and ACRONYMs;
I sometimes come across, in newpapers and mags, some abbreviations preceded by "the" some without "the". I do not understand this, plz, explain.
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Offhand, I would suggest that the article is used before initialisms (capital letters which are not pronounced as words) when it is used before the full form:
the United Kingdom; the UK
the British Broadcasting System; the BBC
But not when they form a pronounced word (an acronym proper):
The National Aeronautics and Space Administration; NASA
The North Atlantic Treaty Organization; NATO
Definite Article 
Linear Mode
