“The” is one of the most common words in English, and we use it all the time! Right?
Well… almost!
There are some situations in which we NEVER use the word “the” – and I often see English learners make mistakes with these.
Let’s make sure this doesn’t happen to you. I’ll teach you 8 times we DON’T use “the” in English, so you can be confident you’re saying things correctly.
But first, I wanted to give you today’s free gift – my complete guide to using A, AN, and THE in English. You’ll learn how and when to use each one, as well as how to avoid some of the common errors that most students make.
OK, let’s make sure you’re not using “the” when you’re not supposed to.
1. Never use “the” with people’s names:
- John invited Mary to his birthday party.
The John invited the Mary to his birthday party.
The one exception is when we’re talking about a couple (two people who are married and share a last name) or a family, and then we can say:
- John invited the Robinsons to his birthday party.
(meaning Mr. and Mrs. Robinson, or if they have kids, then the whole Robinson family)
2. Never use “the” before names of cities, states, continents, countries*
We say:
- I live in Atlanta. (city)
- We grew up in Texas. (state)
- Many of our clients are from South America. (continent)
- He is traveling to Italy. (country)
* We do have a few exceptions for countries:
- the United States (the U.S.)
- the United Kingdom (the U.K.)
- the Philippines
- the Central African Republic
- the Netherlands
- the Marshall Islands
3. Never use “the” before names of companies or colleges*
We say:
- My uncle works at Samsung.
- Microsoft reported high profits this quarter.
- She graduated from Harvard.
- Yale University is very large.
* The exception? If the college’s name starts with “university of…” then we do say “the University of North Carolina” or “the University of Chicago.”
4. Never use “the” before names of languages or subjects:
- I’m studying English.
- Do you speak Chinese?
- She has a degree in math.
- Literature is my least-favorite subject.
The exception is if we say “the ________ language.”
- The Hungarian language is one of the hardest to learn.
- I’ve been teaching the English language for years.
5. Never use “the” before meals:
- I usually have breakfast at home.
- Do you want to join me for lunch?
- We had dinner at an Italian restaurant.
Only sometimes when we are talking about one specific memorable meal, and we always have some extra words describing it:
- The dinner served at their wedding was delicious.
- Are you going to be at the staff breakfast tomorrow?
6. Never use “the” before sports and games:
- I played soccer when I was a child.
- We like watching volleyball.
- He wants to learn how to play chess.
- My friends enjoy playing poker.
7. Never use “the” before months:
- My birthday is in April.
- October is the best month to travel.
One exception: If I want to talk about the most recent January, I’d say “last January” or “this past January” – but if I want to talk about the one before that, I’d say “the January before last.”
8. Never use “the” when talking about things in general.
- Life is good! (not “the life is good.”)
- I love pizza. (not “I love the pizza”)
- Dogs are great pets.
But when we’re talking about something specific, then we do use “the”:
- I love the pizza my grandmother makes.
- The dogs next door bark all the time.
We also use “the” when the thing is unique, or there’s only one:
- the sun
- the internet
- the universe
Now you know when you should NOT use the definite article in English – the word “the”! I know it’s tricky to remember these details, so make sure to download the free PDF guide.
If you want to improve your English grammar with short, sweet, practical lessons, check out my Basic & Intermediate English Grammar E-Books.
If you’re a little more advanced, then my Advanced English Grammar Course is the one for you. In the e-books and course I take what can be confusing and make it clear!
