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Using English Articles: Using English Articles (#9)

Dennis Oliver
Using English Articles (#9)

Because the English articles (a, an, the) are often very
challenging for learners of the language, the next several
Hints will provide guidelines on their usage.

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The Definite Article The (#7)

The definite article the is also used in a number of other
common situations.

Examples:

1.

with ordinal numbers:

I heard you the first time.

She lives on the tenth floor.

Their son was born on the seventh of March, 1998.

Bill won a prize because he was the thousandth
person to order that software.

2.

with other expressions of order or position
before a noun:

I've warned you for the last time!

The next-to-last answer is wrong.

His name is at the end of the list.

I'm always tired at the end of the day.

We'll have a test at the beginning of class.

Please go to the front of the line.

3.

with expressions showing locations and directions:

Go straight for 5 miles and then turn to
the right / the left.

Write your name at the top of the page.

Those fish are found only on the bottom
of the sea.

Bob is in the middle--between Joe and Lee.

His house is on the south side of Oak Street.

He lives in the northeastern part of Ohio.

The library is in the center of town.

The answer is on the tip of my tongue.

Why are you sitting in the back of the room?

4.

with many expressions showing periods of time:

I'll see you in the morning.

Do you have class in the afternoon?

It rained sometime during the night.

He works part-time in the evening.

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