THE

The definite article THE

THE is a determiner. We place THE before a noun or adjective. 

• before an adjective
  • The English drink tea.
  • The red ones are beautiful.

• when there is only one of its kind
  • The moon is bright tonight.
  • The sky is blue.

• to talk about specific objects or people
  • The girls who are playing outside are having fun.
  • The cups on the table are full.

• to talk about a specific object or person
  • The girl who called me yesterday is nice.
  • The cup on the table is full.

• before ordinal numbers, superlatives, decades, and centuries
  • The first chapter of the book was interesting.
  • The second car is blue, the first is green.
  • The Beatles became popular in the sixties.
  • She is the youngest person in the room.
  • This is the 21st century!

• before ONLY (sometimes)
  
  • He was the only person in the room.
  • This is the only pen I have.
    • There are only three cookies left.

• before Kingdom, Republic, geographical areas, the names of oceans, and the name of countries that have plural names
  • The Netherlands are in Europe.
  • The Republic of China is not in Europe.
  • The Pacific Ocean is large.
  • I have not been to the Alps or the Philippines.

• before the names of newspapers, works of art, museums, buildings, and hotels
  • I read the Huffington Post and the Wall Street Journal every day.
  • I have visited the Louvre.
  • The Eiffel Tower is in Paris.
  • The Hilton is a popular hotel.
  • The Mona Lisa is in the Louvre museum.

• to talk about a family as a group
  • The Smiths travel every summer.
  • The Thomas family lives next door.

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