the

Universal Words definite article 1 used to refer to sb/sth that has already been mentioned or is easily understood: There were three questions. The first two were relatively easy but the third one was hard. * There was an accident here yesterday. A car hit a tree and the driver was killed. * The heat was getting to be too much for me. * The nights are getting longer. 2 used to refer to sb/sth that is the only, normal or obvious one of their kind: the Mona Lisa * the Nile * the Queen * What's the matter? * The phone rang. * I patted her on the back. * How's the (= your) baby? 3 used when explaining which person or thing you mean: the house at the end of the street * The people I met there were very friendly. * It was the best day of my life. * You're the third person to ask me that. * Friday the thirteenth * Alexander the Great 4 used to refer to a thing in general rather than a particular example: He taught himself to play the violin. * The dolphin is an intelligent animal. * They placed the African elephant on their endangered list. * I heard it on the radio. * I'm usually out during the day. 5 used with adjectives to refer to a thing or a group of people described by the adjective: With him, you should always expect the unexpected. * the unemployed / the elderly / the French 6 used before the plural of sb's last name to refer to a whole family or a married couple: Don't forget to invite the Jordans. 7 enough of sth for a particular purpose: I wanted it but I didn't have the money. 8 used with a unit of measurement to mean 'every': My car does forty miles to the gallon. * You get paid by the hour. 9 used with a unit of time to mean 'the present': Why not have the dish of the day? * She's flavour of the month with him. 10 (spoken) used, stressing the, to show that the person or thing referred to is famous or important: Sheryl Crow? Not the Sheryl Crow? * At that time London was the place to be. IDIOMS the more, less, etc...., the more, less, etc.... used to show that two things change to the same degree: The more she thought about it, the more depressed she became. * The less said about the whole thing, the happier I'll be.