The definite article

Hi guys! Dan for BBC Learning English here. In this lesson we are going to learn about the definite article, which is the word ‘ the ‘ for stupid people like me. Now usually you’ve studied ‘ the ‘ a million times. Today we’re going to do two things. One basic thing and one hopefully new thing that that you’ve not seen before.

And of course we’re going to do the whole thing in 90 seconds. Ready? Here we go.

So, ‘ the ‘, the definite article, can only be used when both the speaker and the listener have shared knowledge. It’s very important that both people understand the thing which is being talked about. I’ll give you an example:

Where’s the pen?

Exactly, you don ‘t understand. But, ah ha, where’s the pen?

Now you understand my question because you ‘ve seen it - shared knowledge.

I’d like to go into a more detail about this but I just don’t have the time.

What did I just say?

I said: I ‘d like to go into a more detail but I don’t have the time.

In this sentence, I don’t have the time, ‘the’ is used to mean ‘enough’ - I don’t have the time means I don ‘t have enough time.

This is very common with the verb ‘have’ - though other versions are possible with ‘make’ or ‘get’. It’s most commonly done with a negative verb form and you can do this in any tense. Finally, if you want to use a verb afterwards, you need to use ‘to’ plus the verb.

Here are some examples:

When I was a schoolboy I didn’t have the money to buy a bike.

Even if you have the intelligence to do the job, you don’t have the experience.

Excuse me, do you have the space for one more person? Of course! We will make the space for you!

Now, wow, just made it. I can ‘t believe it. By the skin of my teeth.

For more information please visit BBC learning English.com

I’ve been Dan, you’ve been fantastic and now that you have the knowledge to do this, get out there and do it!

See you later guys, bye.