Previously mentioned

This is the simplest rule of use for the articles. Look at the following sentences:

My brother has a house with a garden. The house is very old and the garden is very untidy.

In the first case a is used because the house and garden are not identified. In the second case the is used because they are identified --the house and the garden that my brother has.

Sometimes we don't mention the exact word a second time but use another noun which means the same. The is still used to refer to the noun:

e.g.
I won a prize of ¥100,000 in a lottery. I used the money to buy a set of armchairs and a sofa as a present for my brother. He put the furniture in his living room.
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Specificity

If a noun is not previously mentioned, then we must consider if it is SPECIFIC. If so, we use the:

e.g.

He always sits in the chair by the window. (there is only one chair)
I like working in the garden. (of my house)

Sometimes other words tell us if a noun is specific:

She is the only woman in the office.
She works at the desk opposite mine.

Context will also give clues. Look at these two sentences:

There's a man over there.
There's the man over there.

We can make situations where one sentence is correct but not the other.

e.g.
John: 'I don't know where this address is. What shall we do?'

Bill: 'There's a man (non-specific) over there reading a newspaper. Let's ask him if he knows.'

or:
Bill: 'There was a man here before. He was walking a dog. Have you seen him?'

John: 'Yes, there's the man (that you want) over there.'

Compare these sentences:

Mt Fuji is a high mountain. (non-specific)

Mt. Fuji is the highest mountain in Japan. (specific)

or:

We ate at a famous sushi shop in Kyoto. (non-specific)

We ate at the most famous sushi shop in Kyoto. (specific)

???We ate at the famous sushi shop in Kyoto.??? (which famous sushi shop?)

We ate at the famous sushi shop in Kyoto, called Ni-Ten . (specific)

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Sometimes a singular noun is used to represent an entire group. The is used in these cases:

e.g.

The dog has been a domestic pet for thousands of years. (all kinds of dogs)

The mountain bike has become very popular in the last ten years. (all types of mountain bike)

The personal computer is now a standard feature in many offices. (all types of PC)

Be careful of the context!

Previous Mention
My friend has a horse, some cows and a pig on his farm. He sometimes takes the horse out, but the other animals always stay on the farm.

Specificity
I'd love to ride the horse sometime.

Representative
The horse was used as transport for hundreds of years before the invention of the automobile.

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Sometimes we use the to show that something is special. We can use the to mean 'the best in its class' or 'No.1 among many':

e.g.

Sannomiya is the place to go for a good time in Kobe.

Nipponbashi is the place to get computer bargains.

Boca Juniors are the team at the moment (December 2000).

We can also use the to show that something is correct:

e.g.

That's the way to to do it!

That's the answer to our problems!

We can also use the after not:

e.g.

Coming to class and not saying anything is not the way to improve your English.

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Most ailments have a or no article before them. But in some cases we use the:

Among these ailments are:

• the 'flu (influenza)
• the mumps
• the chicken pox
• the measles
• the plague

Some ailments take the article a or an:

e.g.

a cold, an ache, a heart attack, a fever, a chill, a venereal disease, a headache,

an ulcer, a cough, a sore throat, a brain disorder, etc.

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Sometimes the is used after by in some standard expressions involving parts of the body:

e.g.

He took her by the hand.

He grabbed him by the leg/by the ankle/by the wrist/by the throat/by the hair/

by the ear/by the nose/by the arm etc.

Sometimes we use to + the + parts of the body in idiomatic expressions,

e.g.

He was soaked to the skin. (very wet)
We were chilled to the bone. (very cold)
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IN + Times of the day

We use the before times of the day when the preposition in is used:

e.g.

• in the morning
• in the afternoon
• in the evening

Exception:

• at night

(this is the usual expression--in the night is rarely used--except for a specific occasion.
e.g.
'he was born in the (middle of the) night'

BY + Time or Quantity

When we use by to show frequency, the is used before the noun:

e.g.
I used to be paid by the hour, now I am paid by the month.

We can also use by to show quantity or volume:

e.g.
In a liquor store beer can be bought by the crate. In a bar it is sold by the glass or by the bottle.
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