1 used for talking about a person or thing that is already known or that has already been mentioned （指已知或提过的人或事物）: I took the children to the dentist. 我带这些孩子去看牙医。We met the man who bought your house. 我们遇见买了你房子的人。The milk is in the fridge. 牛奶在冰箱里。

2 used when there is only one of sth （指唯一的事物时用）: The sun is very strong today. 今天阳光很强烈。Who won the World Cup? 哪个队赢了世界杯足球赛？the government 政府

3 used with numbers and dates （与数字和日期连用）: This is the third time I've seen this film. 这是我第三次看这部影片。Friday the thirteenth 十三日星期五I grew up in the sixties. 我在六十年代长大。

4 used with adjectives to name a group of people （与形容词连用，指属同一类别的人）: the French 法国人the poor 穷人

5 (formal 正式) used with a SINGULAR noun when you are talking generally about sth （与单数名词连用，泛指某事物）: The dolphin is an intelligent animal. 海豚是聪明的动物。

6 with units of measurement, meaning ‘every’ （与度量衡单位连用，表示“每”的意思）: Our car does forty miles to the gallon. 我们的汽车每加仑汽油可走四十英里。

7 with musical instruments （与乐器连用）: Do you play the piano? 你会弹钢琴吗？

8 the well-known or important one 最著名或重要: ‘My best friend at school was Tony Blair.’ ‘You mean the Tony Blair?’ “我在学校里最要好的朋友是托尼˙布莱尔。”“你是说那个当首相的托尼˙布莱尔吗？” ☞‘The’ is pronounced /ði:/ in this sense. 作此义时the应读作/Di:/。

9 the... the... used for saying that the way in which two things change is connected （用于指两项事物改变的程度相等）: The more you eat, the fatter you get. 你吃得越多就越胖。 ☞For more information about articles, look at the Quick Grammar Reference section at the back of this dictionary. 有关冠词的详细用法，参看本词典末“语法便览”部份。