AEE 221: When to Use "The" at Thanksgiving Dinner

<p><strong>When should you use the word ‘the’ in English?</strong></p> <p><strong>Today, in #1 of the Top 15 Fixes series, we discuss the most common article in the English language, ‘the’!</strong></p> <p><a href="http://allearsenglish.com/aee-221/"> Come back to our site</a></p> <p> </p> <p><span style="font-size: 12pt;"><strong>Taking IELTS?</strong></span></p> <p><span style="font-size: 12pt;"><strong><a href="http://www.allearsenglish.com/training">Get our free IELTS video training now</a></strong></span></p> <p> </p> <p>Use if the word ‘the’ can be a confusing.  But there are some rules that can help you get it right most of the time.</p> <p> </p> <p>The first requires that you consider whether the focus is on something specific, or something more general.</p> <p><strong>When focused on specific items, use ‘the’.</strong>  If you’re sitting at a table, talking about the food that is actually in front of you, you might say:</p> <ul> <li>“Do you like <em>the</em> turkey?”</li> <li>“Yes, <em>the</em> turkey is great!”</li> <li>“Could you please pass <em>the</em> salt?”</li> </ul> <p><strong>When focused on more general terms, you don’t use ‘the’.</strong>  If you’re discussing food in general, you might say:</p> <ul> <li>“Do you like turkey?”</li> <li>“Have you tried pumpkin pie?”</li> <li>“Cranberries are too tart for me.”</li> </ul> <p> </p> <p><strong>Geographical terms</strong> can also be tricky for ‘the’.  In most cases, large, well-known geographic places will have ‘the': the content, the Pacific Ocean, the moon.</p> <p>With specific countries, a country’s formal name might require ‘the,’ while a less formal name might not: the United States, the Russian Federation; America, Russia.</p> <p> </p> <p><strong>Other Entries in the 15 Fixes Series:</strong></p> <ul> <li><a href="http://allearsenglish.com/aee-165/"><strong><span style="color: #000000;">Episode 165</span></strong></a><strong>: Listen or Hear?</strong></li> <li><a href="http://allearsenglish.com/aee-169/"><strong><s