the

A1 Topic:Grammar & Function Words

Also spelled tke

US /ðə/ UK /ði/ See IPA manual

Minimal pairs

Sounds like do /ð/ vs /d/

Freq #3

Meanings

1

det
Used before a noun to refer to a specific person or thing already known or mentioned.

I'm reading the book Mary reviewed.
2

det
Used before a superlative adjective.

That apple pie was the best.
3

adv
Used with two comparatives to show that things change together.

The sooner you start, the better.

Thesaurus

Synonyms

Word family

Forms th

Derived forms nevertheless nonethelessth'other

Appears in

Phrases (107)

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answer the phone
to pick up a ringing phone and speak to the caller

Verb + noun
clean the floor
remove dirt and mess from the floor

Verb + noun
clean the kitchen
tidy and wash the surfaces and appliances in a kitchen

Verb + noun
close the door
to shut a door so that the gap is sealed

Verb + noun
end the day
to finish one's activities for the day

Verb + noun
enjoy the weekend
to have a pleasant time during the weekend

Verb + noun

Idioms (351)

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at the end of the day
ultimately; when everything is considered
back against the wall
in a desperate situation with few options left
break the ice
To do or say something that eases tension and gets people talking comfortably in an unfamiliar social situation.
bury one's head in the sand
to ignore an unpleasant reality hoping it will go away
bury the hatchet
to reconcile with someone and bring a quarrel to an end
do the job
to be good enough to achieve the desired result

Tongue twisters (15)

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A Lovely Lily
A lovely lily lying all alone along the lane.

Move smoothly between the repeated /l/ sounds and the changing vowels. Keep lily and lying separate; their second syllables differ.
A Tutor Who Tooted
A tutor, who tooted a flute, tried to tutor two tooters to toot. Said the two to the tutor: “Is it harder to toot, or tutor two tooters to toot?”

Keep toot, tooted and tooters distinct while maintaining the long vowel. Tutor varies by accent, so it need not begin exactly like toot.
Amidst the Mists
Amidst the mists and coldest frosts, With barest wrists and stoutest boasts, He thrusts his fists against the posts, And still insists he sees the ghosts.

Work slowly through the final consonants in mists, wrists, fists and ghosts. Keep the final /s/ audible without inserting a vowel into th...
Betty Botter
Betty Botter bought some butter. “But,” she said, “this butter’s bitter; If I put it in my batter, It will make my batter bitter; But a bit of better butter Will but make my batter better.” So she bought a bit of butter Better than the bitter butter, And made her bitter batter better. So it was better Betty Botter Bought a bit of better butter.

Compare the vowels in bit, better, batter and butter while keeping /b/ steady. Use your normal accent for the middle consonant of Betty, ...
Billy Button
Billy Button bought a buttered biscuit. Did Billy Button buy a buttered biscuit? If Billy Button bought a buttered biscuit, Where's the buttered biscuit Billy Button bought?

Keep the repeated /b/ clear without adding a vowel before it. Bought and buy change between lines, so follow the wording as well as the r...
Dew Drops
As much of the dew that the dew drops drop, if dew drops do drop dew.

Keep the /dɹ/ cluster in drops and drop connected. Dew may begin with /d/ or /dj/, depending on your accent; use the form natural to you.

Etymology

From Middle English þe, from Old English þē m (“the, that”, demonstrative pronoun), a late variant of sē, the s- (which occurred in the masculine and feminine nominative singular only) having been replaced by the þ- from the oblique stem. replaced words, cognates Originally neutral nominative, in Middle English it superseded all previous Old English nominative forms (sē m, sēo f, þæt n, þā pl); sē is from Proto-West Germanic *siz, from Proto-Germanic *sa, ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *só. Cognate with Saterland Frisian die (“the”), West Frisian de (“the”), Dutch de (“the”), German Low G…

þe Middle English þē Old English *siz Proto-West Germanic *sa Proto-Germanic *só Proto-Indo-European

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Topics

Grammar & Function Words

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# the

**Type:** Word
**Level:** A1
**Part of speech:** det, adv
**IPA (US):** /ðə/
**IPA (UK):** /ði/
**Frequency rank:** 3

## Meanings
1. Used before a noun to refer to a specific person or thing already known or mentioned.
2. Used before a superlative adjective.
3. Used with two comparatives to show that things change together.

## Examples
- I'm reading the book Mary reviewed.
- That apple pie was the best.
- The sooner you start, the better.

## Synonyms
- le

## Derived Forms
- nevertheless
- nonetheless
- th'other

## Roots and Affixes
- Root: þe
- Root: þē
- Root: *siz
- Root: *sa
- Root: *só

## Etymology
From Middle English þe, from Old English þē m (“the, that”, demonstrative pronoun), a late variant of sē, the s- (which occurred in the masculine and feminine nominative singular only) having been replaced by the þ- from the oblique stem. replaced words, cognates Originally neutral nominative, in Middle English it superseded all previous Old English nominative forms (sē m, sēo f, þæt n, þā pl); sē is from Proto-West Germanic *siz, from Proto-Germanic *sa, ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *só. Cognate with Saterland Frisian die (“the”), West Frisian de (“the”), Dutch de (“the”), German Low G…

## AI Etymology
The is from Middle English þe, from Old English þē m (“the, that”, demonstrative pronoun), a late variant of sē, the s- (which occurred in the masculine and feminine nominative singular only) having been replaced by the þ- from the oblique stem. replaced words, cognates Originally neutral nominative, in Middle English it superseded all previous Old English nominative forms (sē m, sēo f, þæt n, þā pl); sē is from Proto-West Germanic *siz, from Proto-Germanic *sa, ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *só.

## Topics
- Grammar & Function Words

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the

Meanings

Thesaurus

Appears in

Phrases (107)

Idioms (351)

Tongue twisters (15)

Etymology

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