THE
1. Usamos THE:
A) Cuando hay sólo uno:
*The earth goes round the sun . (Sólo hay un planeta Tierra y un sol en nuestro sistema solar)
B) Cuando después viene la palabra of.
*I’m going away at the end of this month. (=Me voy de viaje a final de mes)
*Paris is the capital of France.
C) En las expresiones siguientes: the sky, the sea, the country, the cinema, the theatre, the radio,
pero television no lleva THE.
*I often go to the cinema but I haven’t been to the theatre for ages.
*We heard the news on the radio.
*We watched the news on television.
D) Para hablar en general podemos usar THE + nombre singular contable. (Ver tambien 2. D))
*The giraffe is the tallest of all animals.
* The bicycle is an excellent means of transport.
* Can you play the guitar?
E) Para referirnos a grupos de gente: the rich, the poor, the young, the old, the Spanish, the
French, the British, the Dutch.
* The French are famous for their food. (=French people)
2. No usamos THE:
A) Con deportes:
* I usually play football at the weekend.
* Do you like tennis?
B) Con los nombres de las comidas del día (breakfast, lunch, dinner, tea) normalmente no decimos
THE.
* What time is dinner?
C) Delante de nombre + número (Platform 5, Room 126, page 29,etc)
* Our train leaves from Platform 5. (no “the Platform 5”)
*Have you got these shoes in size 43? (no “the size 43”)
D) Con las palabras bed, home, work, school no solemos decir THE.
*This morning I had breakfast in bed.
*What time do you usually finish work?
*It’s late. Let’s go home.
E) Con nombres de calles, plazas, parques, universidades, estaciones, zoos, etc no solemos decir THE.
*Oxford Street *Piccadilly Circus * Hyde Park *Waterloo Bridge
* I live in Gloucester Road, next to Hyde Park.
D) Cuando hablamos de cosas o personas en general no solemos usar THE.
* I’m afraid of dogs. (no “the dogs”)
dogs = perros en general, no unos perros específicos (del vecino, etc)
* Doctors are paid more than teachers.
* People like being on holiday.
*Life has changed a lot in the last 30 years.(no “the life”) (=la vida ha cambiado mucho en los
*Do you like Chinese food / classical music / history? últimos 30 años)
Usamos THE cuando nos referimos a personas o cosas específicas. Compara:
* Sugar isn’t very good for you. pero *Can you pass me the sugar, please?(=the sugar on the table)
*Children learn a lot from playing. pero *We took the children to the zoo. (= the speaker’s children)
