Grammar-Quizzes › Noun Phrases › Determiners › Articles–The › The – Shared Knowledge
The – Shared Knowledge
Refer to a noun identified by seeing, knowing, or its uniqueness
5) Both See or Know Which One
| UNKNOWN – A |
|---|
Use a to introduce a noun. |
|
| KNOWN BECAUSE BOTH SEE OR KNOW IT – THE |
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Use the to refer to a noun that both see or know from experience or context. |
|
Where does
The
Unique One
6) It is Unique – there is only one
| UNKNOWN – A |
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Use a if the item is one of many. |
|
| NOT NECESSARILY UNIQUE |
a moon (Jupiter has more than one) |
a sun (in another solar system) |
a planet |
a mother's son or daughter |
a kitchen |
a god (Hinduism) |
a right leg (horse, spider, centipede) |
a lie (There are many.) |
a bee (There are many.) |
| KNOWN BECAUSE IT IS UNIQUE – THE |
|---|
Use the if the item is one of a kind. Both speaker and listener know which one it is. |
The last piece. |
| UNIQUE |
the moon (earth's) |
the sun (earth's) |
the earth (the world) |
the boy's mother |
the kitchen of the house |
the god (God) (unique to a particular religion) |
the right leg (unique to a human) |
the truth (There is one.) |
the queen bee (unique to a hive) |
the gods – usually refers to those of Greek mythology or those within a particular culture (Mayan, Indian, etc.).
The
Summary of Uses
Ways a noun can be identified (known)
| A — UNIDENTIFIED / FIRST MENTION |
|---|
A is used the first time we mention a noun. |
| FIRST MENTION |
This is a puzzle piece. |
| FIRST MENTION |
This is a puzzle piece. |
| FIRST MENTION |
This is a puzzle. |
| FIRST MENTION |
A piece goes in the upper right corner. |
| FIRST MENTION |
Hand me a piece. (any piece)
|
| FIRST MENTION |
Hand me a piece. Hand me a corner piece. (any one of four corners) |
| THE — IDENTIFIED / SECOND MENTION |
|---|
The is used when both the speaker and listener know "which one". The following are examples of ways in which a noun becomes identified in the context. |
| SECOND MENTION |
The piece fits into a puzzle. |
| ALREADY MENTIOND BY ANOTHER NAME |
The part has an odd shape. (a piece = a part) |
| EXPECTED PART OF AN ALREADY MENTIONED ITEM |
The pieces are inside the puzzle box. (expected packaging) The final picture is on the top of the box. (expected features) |
| IDENTIFYING PHRASE OR CLAUSE |
The piece with two flat edges goes in the corner. The piece that I am holding is a corner piece. |
| BOTH SEE OR KNOW WHICH ONE |
Hand me the piece you were just holding. (We both know or see which one.) |
| UNIQUENESS – THERE IS NO OTHER ONE LIKE IT |
Hand me the last piece. (unique because there is only one left) Here is the bottom-left corner piece. (a unique corner) |
odd (Adj) – unusual, unexpected, not ordinary
Practice 1
A Unique One
Decide whether the item exists as the only one.
- Select the response from the list that best completes the sentence.
- Compare your response to the feedback by clicking the "check" button.
Practice 2
Identified by Being Unique
Determine whether the noun is unique. (Use the if so.)
- Select the response from the list that best completes the sentence.
- Compare your response to the feedback by clicking the "check" button.