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Hello, this is Tom Taylor with English lessons. Today we are going to discuss definite articles.
The definite article "THE" is the most common word in English language. It's used for both
singular and plural nouns and generally it's used to talk about something specifically.
It can also be used as a general class of objects. For example, "The car is a great
invention". We mentioned before how the indefinite article "A" is used for first person." I see
a car. The car is green.". Once the car is identified, it becomes a specific car and
we use the definite article "THE". Also "THE" is used if there is only one example of something.
For example we can talk about the White house or the Holy Grail or the Heisman trophy. Definite
articles are also used to identify nouns for specific purposes where we might not be talking
about a specific item, but we are talking about a noun as part of the class of objects.
For example, I Play the Guitar or I play the piano. I m not referring to a specific guitar
or piano but to the general class of pianos. Definite articles can also be used for a system
or service. For example I saw something on the television. I went to the movies last
night. I got information on the internet. Definite articles can be used for groups of
people. For example, the workers are happy. The employees are on vacation. Definite articles
can also be used for superlatives. For example, the Mercedes is the most expensive car in
the parking lot. Jane or Susan is the smartest student in the class. Definite articles can
also be used to refer to all of the items in a particular class of objects. For example,
we can say that the dog is the friendliest animal or the car is a great invention. In
addition, the definite articles can also be used to indicate items where people have a
common experience. For example, I’m going to call the police or "Tomorrow I am going
to the beach" where people have a common experience of the beach so that we don't have to talk
about a specific beach. Or another good example:" I am going to the post office tomorrow". Articles
can also be used for kingdoms, states or republics. For example, the United States of America,
the UK, the Republic of China. The definite articles can also be used for the countries
that are plural and there are not that many, but the good examples is the Netherlands or
the Bahamas. The Philippines. Definite articles can also be used for geographical features
such as mountain ranges, islands, rivers, seas, oceans, and canals. For example, I went
skiing in the Rockies or in the Alps or i went on vacation to the Bahamas or to the
Caribbean or to the Mediterranean or to the Mississippi river, the Atlantic Ocean, the
North Pole, the Eerie Canal. These are all examples of geographical features with the
definite article. Also for newspapers. The New York Times, The Los Angeles Tribune. The
Daily Mail. Also for well-known buildings or works of arts. For example , the Empire
State Building or The Mona Lisa. Also for hotels, pubs and restaurants. A good example
here is "I stayed at the Marriott". Or I am going to stay at the Hilton. Definite articles
can also be used for families. For example, the Kennedy family or the Obamas’ or the
Joneses. We have an expression: keep up with the Joneses which means trying make a lot
of money, which basically means to compete with your neighbors , trying to have a nice
house , a nice car, wonderful children, make a lot of money. These are all examples of
using definite and indefinite articles. Thank you very much for watching this video and
stay tuned for our next video.