Article

Article

Articles define a name and are always located in front of the name. English, unlike the Castilian, have no gender or plural form. In Castilian we say "the car" (masculine, singular) or "houses" (feminine gender, plural) and in English is "the car" and "the houses". "The" corresponds to the following articles in Spanish: the, the, the, the.

Examples:

Singular masculine

 The boy (child)

 The book (the book)

Male / plural

 The boys (children)

 The books (the books)

Female / singular

 The girl (the girl)

 The table (table)

Female / plural

 The girls (girls)

 The tables (tables)

This article may be preceded by the prepositions "of" or "to". English no contraction of preposition and article ( "the" = "of the" and "to" = "to the").

Examples:

 The days of the week (Days of the week)

 I am going to the garden. (I go to the garden.)

Uses Of The Definite Article (uses the definite article)

1. When we know who or what we are talking about.

We use "the" to indicate something or someone in particular, so called defined. We talked about something or someone specific that both the sender and receiver of the message known because previously already left the conversation or because the two previously known.

Examples:

 What is the name of the restaurant? (What is the name of the restaurant?)

 Do you remember the day we Went to New York? (Do you remember the day we went to New York?)

 Who is the president of the United States? (Who is the President of the United States?)

 The doctor is very good. (The doctor is very good.)

2. With the names of geological regions, mountain ranges, seas, oceans, groups of islands, rivers and plural countries.

Examples:

 The United States (United States)

 The Netherlands (The Netherlands)

 The Andes (The Andes mountains)

 The Atlantic Ocean (the Atlantic Ocean)

 The Canary Islands (The Canaries)

 The Nile River (River Nile)

3. To refer to directions (right, left, top, bottom) and the cardinal points (north, south, east, west).

Examples:

 the south of France (southern France)

 the house on the left (the house on the left)

 the top of the page (top of the page / top of the page)

4. With superlative adjectives and ordinal numbers.

Examples:

 the tallest building (the tallest building)

 the strongest man (the strongest man)

 the first time (the first time)

 the second floor (the second floor)

When Not To Use The Definite Article (When not use the definite article)

1. When we talk about something in general.

Examples:

 I like ice cream. (I like ice cream.)

 Math is difficult. (Mathematics are difficult.)

2. Never use "the" when referring to television, or when we refer to meal times, days of the week, months of the year, seasons, years or time.

Examples:

 I do not like to watch TV [TV]. (I do not like to watch TV [TV].)

 I have an appointment on Monday. (I have an appointment on Monday.)

 We eat breakfast at 9:00. (We eat breakfast [breakfast] at 9:00.)

3. institutions and modes of transport, when we are talking in general.

Examples:

 We like school. (We like school.)

 I go to work by train. (I go to work by train.)

 They go to church on Sundays. (They go to church on Sundays.)

4. Article with city names or names of places in general is not used, although there are some exceptions as we have seen in the previous section. Moreover, no article with lakes or roads used.

Examples:

 I Went to Lake Titicaca. (I went to Lake Titicaca.)

 She lives on Flores Street. (Flores lives in the street.)

Video

Link Reference

http://www.curso-ingles.com/aprender/cursos/nivel-basico/the-articles/the-definite-article