[Grammar] use of definite article 'the'

[chandrala]

Can anyone please tell me when excatly we use definite article 'the?'

 

[Gillnetter]

Can anyone please tell me when [STRIKE]excatly [/STRIKE] exactly we use the definite article 'the?'

One would usually use the article "the" when referring to a specific thing. For example,

"I want the blue car" - of all possible cars, I prefer the blue one.
"The man you want is wearing a tall hat" - again, of all possible men, look for the one with the tall hat.

If you write, "I want a blue car", then any car is acceptable as long as it is blue.

 

[Rover_KE]

Welcome to the forums, chandrala:-D.

Note that your excellent thread title has found several Similar Threads below.

Rover

 

[Jadoon 84]

Dear chandrala
I am a student like you, I have found the below answer in internet (http://www.english-test.net/lessons/16/index.html) couple of months ago.

Definite — the

Uses

• Before nouns of which there is only one.
  "The earth is round."
• Before a noun which has become definite as a result of being mentioned a second time.
  "We saw a good film last night. It was the film you recommended."
• Before a noun made definite by the addition of a phrase or clause.
  "The woman dressed in black."
• Before a noun which, by reason of locality, can represent only one particular thing.
  "There’s a bee in the kitchen."
• Before superlatives and "first", "second" and "only"
  "The longest river in the world."
• Before singular nouns used to represent a class of objects.
  "The donkey is a very obstinate animal."
• Before an adjective used to represent a class of persons.
  "That tax hurts the rich."
• Before names of seas, rivers, chains of mountains, groups of islands and plural names of countries.
  "the Pacific Ocean, the Thames, the Andes, the West Indies, the Netherlands"
• Before musical instruments.
  "She plays the piano"

Not Used

• Before countries, towns, proper names.
  "Charlie lived in Chicago in America"
• Before abstract nouns.
  "Jealousy can be dangerous."
• Before parts of the body and articles of clothing — these normally prefer a possessive adjective.
  "Lift your left arm."
  "He removed his hat."

 

[Tdol]

Jadoon, please give references and link to your source.

Also, I would say that this is something of an oversimplification. For example, you can use the definite article before an abstract noun- your example talks about jealousy in general, but it can be specific.

 

[emsr2d2]

To state that "the" is not used before parts of the body or articles of clothing is, frankly, nonsense.

The hat looks better on her than it does on me.
I can see that the left arm is broken in four places.
My parents bought me a sweater and a jacket for Christmas. I didn't like the jacket so I returned it to the shop.
The head is the part of the body which needs to be protected the most in a car crash.