Word: the Part of Speech: article Etymology: From Middle English þe, from Old English þē m (“the, that”, demonstrative pronoun), a late variant of sē, the s- (which occurred in the masculine and feminine nominative singular only) having been replaced by the þ- from the oblique stem. replaced words, cognates Originally neutral nominative, in Middle English it superseded all previous Old English nominative forms (sē m, sēo f, þæt n, þā pl); sē is from Proto-West Germanic *siz, from Proto-Germanic *sa, ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *só. Cognate with Saterland Frisian die (“the”), West Frisian de (“the”), Dutch de (“the”), German Low German de (“the”), German der (“the”), Danish de (“the”), Swedish de (“the”), Icelandic sá (“that”) within Germanic and with Sanskrit स (sá, “the, that”), Ancient Greek ὁ (ho, “the”), Tocharian B se (“this”) among other Indo-European languages. Pronunciation: /ðə/, /ði/ [ðɪj], /ðiː/ 1. Used before a noun phrase, including a simple noun Example: I’m reading the book Mary reviewed. (Compare I’m reading a book Mary reviewed.) Example: You live on Main Street, don't you? You know, you should tell the mayor the street needs cleaning. 2. Used before a noun phrase, including a simple noun Example: No one knows how many galaxies there are in the universe. Example: God save the Queen! 3. Used before a noun phrase, including a simple noun Example: No one in the whole country had seen it before. Example: I don't think I'll get to it until the morning. 4. Used before a noun phrase, including a simple noun Example: A stone hit him on the head. (= “A stone hit him on his head.”) Example: (informal) How's the wife? (= "How is your wife?") 5. Used before a noun phrase, including a simple noun Labels: colloquial Example: How's the Sal today? 6. Used before a noun phrase, including a simple noun Example: square the circle; feel the pinch; beat around the bush; throw the baby out with the bathwater 7. Used before a noun phrase, including a simple noun Example: That is the hospital to go to for heart surgery. Example: "Good Heavens, man! Why, he is the authority. If you want pure laboratory experiments those are the books." 8. Used before a noun phrase, including a simple noun Example: "My name," he said, "is Hercule Poirot." "Not," the Commissary stammered, "not the Hercule Poirot?" Example: ‘[…] he introduced us to Gwenog Jones.’ ‘Gwenog Jones?’ said Ron, his eyes widening under his own goggles. ‘The Gwenog Jones? Captain of the Holyhead Harpies?’ 9. Used before a noun phrase, including a simple noun Example: That was the juiciest apple pie ever. Example: May the better man win. 10. Used before a noun phrase, including a simple noun Example: Stern and God-fearing, the Afrikaner takes his religion seriously. Example: The downy woodpecker can be found in the same environments as the hairy woodpecker. 11. Used before a noun phrase, including a simple noun Example: The Bushes have held political office for several decades and the Kennedys longer. 12. Used with an adjective Example: That apple pie was the best. 13. Used with an adjective Example: Feed the hungry, clothe the naked, comfort the afflicted, and afflict the comfortable. Example: One doesn't choose the color of one's chess pieces; the white are assigned to the player who moves first. 14. Used with an adjective Example: the Irish are...; the Chinese are...; the French are...