073 : the 1

   A   

We use the when there is only one of something:

• Have you ever crossed the equator? (there is only one equator)

  

• What's the Longest river in Europe?
• Our apartment is on the tenth floor.
• Buenos Aires is the capital of Argentina.
• I'm going away at the end of this month.

We use the before same (the same):

• Your sweater is the same colour as mine. (not is same colour)
• 'Are these keys the same?'  'No, they're different.'

 

 

   B   

We say:

 

the sun      the moon      the earth         the world                  the universe         the sky      the sea          the ground      the environment      the internet

• I love to look at the stars in the sky. (not in sky)
• The internet has changed the way we live.
• We need to do more to protect the environment. (= the natural world around us)
• The earth goes round the sun, and the moon goes round the earth.

 

 

We also use 'Earth' (without the) when we think of it as a planet in space (like Mars, Jupiter etc.).

• Which planet is nearest Earth?

We say space (without the) when we mean 'space in the universe'. Compare

• There are millions of stars in space. (not in the space)
• I tried to park my car, but the space was too small.

 

 

We use a/an to say what kind of thing something is (see Unit 71 B). Compare the and a:

• The sun is a star. (= one of many stars)
• The hotel we stayed at was a very nice hotel.

 

 

   C   

We say: (go to) the cinema, the theatre.

• I go to the cinema a lot, but I haven't been to the theatre for ages.

 

When we say the cinema / the theatre, we do not necessarily mean a specific cinema or theatre.

 

 

We usually say the radio, but television/TV (without the). Compare:

• I listen to the radio a lot. but  I watch television a lot.
• We heard it on the radio. but  We watched it on TV.

The television / the TV = the television set:

• Can you turn off the television, please?

 

 

   D   

We normally use 'breakfast/lunch/dinner' (without the):

• What did you have for breakfast?
• We had lunch in a very nice restaurant.

But we use a/an if we say 'a big lunch', 'a wonderful dinner', 'an early breakfast' etc. :

• We had a very nice lunch. (not We had very nice lunch)

 

 

   E   

We do not use the before noun + number. For example, we say:

• Our train leaves from Platform 5. (not the Platform 5)
• (in a shop)  Do you have these shoes in size 43? (not the size 43)

 

In the same way, we say: Room 126 (in a hotel), page 29 (of a book), question 3 (in an exam), Gate 10 (at an airport) etc.