قبل از اسامی از حروف تعریف نامعین(َA or An) یا حرف تعریف معین (The ) استفاده می کنیم.

کاربرد :A  قبل از اسامی قابل شمارش، مفرد، و نامشخص(ناشناس).

I saw a man in the street. (A men) 

I drink a cup of coffee. (A coffee)

I saw a lion at the zoo. It is a used car. He is a usual teacher. I visited a one eyed man. It was a horrible event. She is a university student.

کاربرد An  : قبل از اسامی قابل شمارش، مفرد، و نامشخص(ناشناس). به شرط آنکه کلمه با صداهای صدادار خوانده شود: (a, e, i, o, u)

An unusual teacher, an egg, an apple, an old man, an hour, an honorable person, a union, a one way street, a ewe, a European country. There is an L in the word light. She is an English woman. (An English)  

کاربرد :The قبل از اسامی مفرد یا جمع، مشخص(شناخته شده)، و خاص.

       1-     اگر اسمی در متن بیش از یک بار قید شود نیاز به حرف تعریف the  دارد:

On the way home, I saw a man. The man had a dog. The dog was barking…

       2-     اسامی در مفهوم کلی نیاز به حرف تعریف ندارند، اما در اشاره به یک چیز خاص نیاز به the دارند:

Lions are wild animals. The lion was angry.

Gold is an expensive metal. The gold in your ring is of poor quality.

I don’t like coffee. I don’t like the coffee your mother makes.

      3-      با چهار جهت اصلی از the استفاده میکنیم:

The sun rises in the east and sets in the west.

      4-     با اشیاء آشنا وچیزهای طبیعی از the  استفاده می کنیم:

He walked into the house and hung his coat in the closet. They were sailing along the river watching the clouds in the sky. She ran out of the park and shut the door.

The planet, the moon, the earth, the army, the navy, the UN, the stars, the sun, the world, the globe, the universe, the galaxy, the equator, the north pole, the south pole, the middle east, the near east, the solar system, the milky way, the civil war, the store, the street, the clothes, the New York Times, the middle ages, the flu, the prime minister, the executive, the democratic party, the democrats.

The rivers: the Rhine, the Nile, the Mississippi River. 

The seas: the Caspian Sea, the Red sea, the Black sea, the Mediterranean sea.

The oceans: the pacific ocean, the Atlantic.

The canals: the Suez Canal, the Panama Canal, the English Channel,

The mountains: the Alps, the Alborz, the Rocky Mountains.       رشته کوه ها

      5-     قبل از صفات ترتیبی از theاستفاده می کنیم:

The first book on the shelf is mine and the second is yours.

The fifth lesson, the best way, the third, the ninth day…

      6-      قبل از صفات عالی (تفضیلی) از theاستفاده می کنیم:

She is the kindest girl that I have ever seen.

The best, the most expensive, the richest, the happiest…

      7-     مرجع ضمایر موصول معمولا همراه با the می باشد:

The woman who is standing near the board is our teacher. The magazines which are on the radio are his. He is the man whom you telephoned.

      8-     اگر وسیله موسیقی نواخته شود همراه با  the می باشد ولی اگر نواخته نشود the نمی خواهد:

At the party he played the piano and I played the violin. I bought a guitar yesterday.

      9-     برای بیان تمام خانواده از the استفاده می کنیم:

We invited the Browns to dinner. We invited Mr. Brown to dinner.

      10- صفت تفضیلی ,The +..... صفت تفضیلی+ The

The sooner, the better. The harder he works, the less he succeeds. The prettier the girl, the more foolish she behaves.

       11- The  قبل از صفات زمان و مکان:

A student in the last row was asleep. On the next day he gave his lecture/ he will give his lecture next week/ he gave his lecture last week. 

The present, the following, the future, the beginning, the middle, the end, at the moment, for the time being, during the year, the top, the bottom, the back, the front, the outside, the inside.

       12- قبل از زبان ها از the  استفاده نمی کنیم: (مگر اینکه کلمه language همراه با آن باشد.)

I studied English in Iran.

I like the English language more than the French language.

       13- چنانچه صفات ذیل همراه با the باشند، مفهوم جمع دارند:

) The Portuguese, the English, and the French people… اهل پرتقال): صفات ملیتی

The English seldom speak at breakfast.

The Japanese have many things in common with the chines.

The poor get poorer and the rich get richer.

After the battle we buried the dead.   (Living, sick, deaf, blind …)

       14- قبل از وعده های غذایی عام از the  استفاده نمی کنیم:

Mom is fixing lunch. Breakfast is at 6:30. I usually eat salad for dinner.

But: the dinner was held at the Grand Hotel.

       15- استفاده از the قبل از فصول اختیاری است:

He likes (the) summer more than (the) autumn.

) But: she was killed in a car crash in the winter of 1999.  فصل خاص) 

       16-  قبل از عنوان بازی ها از the استفاده نمی کنیم:

He likes football but hates baseball.

       17-  قبل ازماه ها از the استفاده نمی کنیم:

She was born in September.

        18-  اسامی کشورها، کوه ها، قله ها، قاره ها، شهر ها، استان ها، دریاچه ها، جزایر، و پارک ها نیازی به the ندارند:

Peru, Japan, Korea. But: the Sudan, the Netherlands, the Argentina, the Yemen.  

Iran is a vast country. Italy, Germany, Austria, and France are all European countries.

But: the Islamic Republic of Iran, (Of phrase): the Republic of china, the Gulf of Mexico, the University of Pennsylvania, the state of New York, the Republic of Korea.

Everest, Damavand, California, Florida, Lake Michigan, Khorasan, Central park, Forty second street, and Coney Island

But: the Philippine Islands, the United States, the Great Lakes, the Balkans (plural names).      

       19- قبل از کلمات زیر the  بکار نمی رود. اما اگر با the بیایند یک مفهوم ثانویه را مطرح می کنند:

School, college, university, church, hospital, prison, jail, market…

) He went to school. به مدرسه برای تحصیل میرود.)    

He went to the school.  (به مدرسه برای کار دیگری میرود نه تحصیل)

 ) We went to the prison to visit him. به زندان برای ملاقات میروند نه برای اینکه زندانی شوند)  

       20- کاربرد های دیگر:

Most of the students passed the examination. (All of the, many of the, one-third of the…)

The main reason for her resignation was her bad health. (The only, the chief, the principal)