Everything to know about “THE” (Part 2)

How to use “THE”

- Use THE with countable and uncountable nouns

+ Countable nouns can be counted Eg: pencils, cars

+ Uncountable nouns cannot be counted  Eg: bread, coffee, soap

- Use THE before superlative adjectives and adverbs

Eg: We had the best time yesterday.

      This has to be the slowest taxi in town.

- Use THE with clauses and noun phrases introduced by ONLY

Eg: My aunt is the only person I trust.

      Is this the only bowl you have?

- Use THE with plural country names

Eg: Have you been to the Netherlands?

      The beaches in the Bahamas are incredible.

- Use THE before country names that include Republic, Kingdom, Union, State

Eg: She is currently in the Dominican Republic.

      Where should I go in the United States?

- Use THE with ordinal numbers used as qualifiers

Eg: This is the second time she’s been late.

       You are the fifth doctor I’ve talked to about this.

- Use THE before compass directions: north, south, east, west

Eg: I’ve never been to the north of France.

      The south is quite warm this time of year.

- Use THE to refer to geographical locations

Eg: She was born in the Middle East.

      The best coffee grows near the equator.

- Use THE to talk about certain geographical features

+ oceans         Eg: the Pacific Ocean

+ seas             Eg: the Baltic Sea

+ rivers           Eg: the River Nile

+ canals          Eg: the Panama Canal

+ mountain ranges    Eg: the Himalayas

+ deserts        Eg: the Gobi Desert

+ gulfs                        Eg: the Gulf of Mexico

+ forests         Eg: the Amazon Rainforest

+ peninsulas  Eg: the Iberian Peninsula