Pronunciation
In most dialects, "the" is pronounced as (with the voiced dental fricative followed by a schwa) when followed by a consonant sound, and as (homophone of the archaic pronoun '' thee'') when followed by a vowel sound or used as an emphatic form. Modern American and New Zealand English have an increasing tendency to limit usage of pronunciation and use , even before a vowel. Sometimes the word "the" is pronounced , with stress, to emphasise that something is unique: "he is first", not just "one of the" first.Adverbial
Definite article principles in English are described under " Use of articles". ''The'', as in phrases like "the more the better", has a distinct origin and etymology and by chance has evolved to be identical to the definite article.Article
''The'' and ''that'' are common developments from the same Old English system. Old English had a definite article (in the masculine gender), (feminine), and (neuter). In Middle English, these had all merged into , the ancestor of the Modern English word ''the''.''Ye'' form
In Middle English, the digraph was written using the letter thorn, . During the latter Middle English andGeographic usage
An area in which the use or non-use of ''the'' is sometimes problematic is with geographic names: *Notable natural landmarks – rivers, seas, mountain ranges, deserts, island groups ( archipelagoes), etc., are generally used with a "the" definite article (''the Rhine'', ''the North Sea'', ''the Alps'', ''the Sahara'', '' the Hebrides''). *Continents, individual islands, administrative units, and settlements mostly do not take a "the" article (''Europe'', '' Jura'', ''Austria'' (but ''the Republic of Austria''), ''Scandinavia'', ''Yorkshire'' (but ''the County of York''), ''Madrid''). *Beginning with a common noun followed by ''of'' may take the article, as in '' the Isle of Wight'' or '' the Isle of Portland'' (compare ''Christmas Island''), same applies to names of institutions: ''Cambridge University'', but ''the University of Cambridge''. *Some place names include an article, such as '' the Bronx'', '' The Oaks'', '' The Rock'', '' The Birches'', '' The Bog'', '' The Harrow'', '' The Rower'', '' The Swan'', '' The Valley'', '' The Farrington'', '' The Quarter'', '' The Plains'', '' The Dalles'', '' The Forks'', '' The Village'', '' The Village'' (NJ), '' The Village'' (OK), '' The Villages'', '' The Village at Castle Pines'', '' The Woodlands'', '' The Pas'', '' Wells-next-the-Sea'', '' the Vatican'', '' the Tiergarten'', '' The Hyde'', '' the West End'', '' the East End'', '' The Hague'', or ''the City of London'' (but '' London''). Formerly e.g. '' Bath'', '' Devizes'' or '' White Plains''. *Generally described singular names, ''the North Island'' (New Zealand) or ''the West Country'' (England), take an article. Countries and territorial regions are notably mixed, most exclude "the" but there are some that adhere to secondary rules: * Derivations from collective common nouns such as "kingdom", "republic", "union", etc.: ''the Central African Republic'', ''the Dominican Republic'', ''the United States'', ''the United Kingdom'', ''the Soviet Union'', ''the United Arab Emirates'', including most country full names: ''the Czech Republic'' (but ''Czechia''), ''the Russian Federation'' (but ''Russia''), ''the Principality of Monaco'' (but ''Monaco''), ''the State of Israel'' (but ''Israel'') and ''the Commonwealth of Australia'' (but ''Australia''). * Countries in a plural noun: '' the Netherlands'', '' the Falkland Islands'', '' the Faroe Islands'', '' the Cayman Islands'', '' the Philippines'', '' the Comoros'', '' the Maldives'', '' the Seychelles'', '' Saint Vincent and the Grenadines,'' and '' the Bahamas''. *Singular derivations from "island" or "land" that hold administrative rights – '' Greenland'', '' England'', '' Christmas Island'' and '' Norfolk Island'' – do not take a "the" definite article. * Derivations from mountain ranges, rivers, deserts, etc., are sometimes used with an article, even for singular (''the Lebanon'', ''the Sudan'', ''the Yukon'', ''the Congo''). This usage is in decline, The Gambia remains recommended whereas use of ''the Argentine'' for Argentina is considered old-fashioned. Ukraine is occasionally referred to as ''the Ukraine'', a usage that was common during the 20th century and during Soviet rule, but this is considered incorrect and possibly offensive in modern usage. '' Sudan'' (but ''the Republic of the Sudan'') and '' South Sudan'' (but ''the Republic of South Sudan'') are written nowadays without the article.Trademark
Ohio State University registered a trademark allowing the university to use "THE" on casual and athletic clothing. The university, often referred to as "The Ohio State University", had used "THE" on clothing since 2005, but took steps to register the trademark in August 2019 after the Marc Jacobs company attempted to do the same. In August 2021 Ohio State and Marc Jacobs agreed the high-end fashion retailer could use "THE" on its merchandise, which was different from what the university would sell. Still, the university took almost an additional year to convince the United States Patent and Trademark Office that the use of "the" was "more than ... ornamental".Abbreviations
The word "The" itself, capitalised, is used as an abbreviation in Commonwealth countries for the honorific title "The Right Honourable", as in e.g. "The Earl Mountbatten of Burma", short for "The Right Honourable Earl Mountbatten of Burma", or "The Prince Charles".'The Prefix "The"'. In ''Titles and Forms of Address'', 21st ed., pp. 8–9. A & C Black, London, 2002.Notes
References
External links
*{{Merriam-Webster, The English grammar English words