The Use of the Definite Article 'the'

You should take the money you want.

‘The’ can be used before any noun, singular, plural, count, or non-count (‘The’ dapat dipakai di depan semua kata-benda):

the student (singular count), the students (plural count), the money (non-count)

It is used (penggunaannya):

(i) when both the speaker and the listener have a specific thing or person in mind

Could you shut the window?

 (ii) when something is common knowledge (berkenaan dengan pengetahuan umum)

The earth is round.

 (iii) the second time the speaker mentions a noun (ketika sebuah kata-benda disebutkan untuk ke dua kalinya).

I saw a woman waiting in the hall an hour ago.

The woman looked like your mother.

(iv)  with the names of musical instruments (nama alat musik)

He plays the piano.

(v)  with the superlative of adjectives (tingkat perbandingan paling)

The Mississippi is the longest river in the U.S.

(vi)  when speaking about a specific noun

Coffee is a popular beverage.  (general)

The coffee we had this morning was Colombian. (specific)

(vii)  with words like office, movies, theater (dengan kata-kata seperti kantor, bioskop)

We are going to the theater.

The definite article “the” is not used (‘the’ tidak digunakan):

(i) before abstract nouns (words denoting concepts with no physical form) such as love, hate, death, beauty, democracy. (sebelum kata-benda abstrak seperti: cinta, kebencian, kematian, kecantikan, demokrasi.)

Health is perhaps more important than wealth.

but  The health of the president is failing.

(ii)  before plural count nouns when they mean everything of a certain class (sebelum kata-benda jamak jika bermakna segala sesuatu dari kelompok tertentu)

Horses are strong animals. (all horses)

Oranges are rich in vitamins. (all oranges)

(iii) before a noun used in general sense which does not show any definite quantity (sebelum kata-benda yang digunakan secara umum yang tidak menunjukkan jumlah tertentu)

Sleep is necessary. Tea is a popular drink in China.

(iv) with words such as breakfast, lunch, dinner, school, home except when they are specific (dengan kata-kata seperti breakfast, …. kecuali kata-kata tersebut bermakna khusus)

We had dinner at nine.

but  There were 200 people at the dinner given to celebrate their anniversary.

USE “THE”

1. With oceans, rivers, gulfs, plural lakes, seas, and mountain ranges: The Pacific Ocean, the Black Sea, the Great Lakes, the Rockies

2. With countries that have a plural name or that have an adjective in the name except Great Britain: The United States, the Netherlands

3. With groups of islands with a plural name: The Philippines, the Virgin Islands

4. With names of geographic areas: The Middle East, the Orient

5. With universities, colleges, and schools when the name begins with “school”: The University of Texas, the college of engineering

6. With the names of wars (excluding World Wars): The Civil War, the War of Independence

7. With the names of historical documents: The Treaty of Geneva, the Magna Carta

8. With the names of ships, trains, airplanes: The Queen Mary, the Orient Express

DO NOT USE “THE”

1. With names of singular lakes, mountains, and islands: Lake Superior, Mount Everest, Haiti

2. With countries with a singular name: Spain, Canada

3. With the names of the continents: Asia, Africa, Europe

4. With the names of states, towns, and streets: Florida, Los Angeles, Broadway,

5. With names of general subjects: Geography, History, English

6. With names of people, magazines: Time magazine, Charlie Brown

7. With universities, colleges, and schools beginning with a proper noun: Los Angeles City College, Harvard University