The use of 'The'

[Tom]

Hi

Could you please tell me why we use (if we use) the in such sentences?

[Haihao]

Maybe there are more than one Dr. Laila in that town. At least the speaker wants to emphasize Laila IS the best.

[Jamie (K)]

[Molly]

1. As the usual indicator that a person or thing has already been introduced into the story or conversation. ("I saw a dog running through the street, and the dog bit someone." The basically means, "This is the same dog I've just mentioned.")

2. It's generally not considered correct to begin an English sentence with a numeral, so the author began the sentence with "the" in order to avoid spelling out the word "thirty".

And here?

The famous musician, Bonrot, will be visiting Paris this summer.

As against "Famous musician, Bonrot, will...".

The Collector felt no confidence at all that her child had not been made in vain. The lovely Mrs Wright, still on her knees, stirred sleepily and the Collector saw her profile mirrored in a pool of rainwater beside her.

That is a legacy of the late Mr Kenneth Clarke, Health Service Minister.

Still, as a festive substitute for barbed wire, it was pretty effective. Even the mysterious Mr Goodson had a cut-out paper sign saying MERRY XMAS across his door.

So here's some advice for the beleaguered Mr Major.

"take over from departing director J. Carter Brown, who has led the fifty-one year old institution for the last twenty-three years. Mr Powell will relinquish directorship of the Los Angeles County Museum of Art (LACMA) to assume the new post on 1 September. The rumour mill had been in high gear since late January, when the fifty-seven year old Mr Brown announced he would retire by the end of the year to devote more time to "parenting"


I think "the" helps express a certain, sometimes temporary or topical, characteristic or state, of the person being talked about.

e.g.

First we had the confident Mr Jamie, now we have the beleaguered one.

[Jamie (K)]

I was answering Tom's specific question, not every possibility that the mind of Molly could imagine.

Please refrain from making inaccurate, idiotic conjectures about my emotional state.

First we had malicious Molly, and we still have malicious Molly.

[Molly]

[Haihao]

I have found 'the' ('a' as well) very English or the very English (other European languages with articles as well). If a formula or the formula could be found for the usage of 'the', then the English would become an English like mathematics.

[Molly]

[Haihao]

That's the relish of a real English. (I'm sorry for the boldness.)

[Molly]

And how about these?

the now defunct Royal Opera
the now deceased Mr Jones
the just-married, Manny Rubenstein
the presently nominated Mr Hermann Habermann
the recently widowed Mr. Brown

[Molly]

[Molly]

And which would one normally hear and why?

The Right Honourable Dr. Mo Mowlam.
Right Honourable Dr. Mo Mowlam.

[Haihao]

It also seems to me that 'the' or 'a' could be considered as a part of the word or the phrase following. Extremely speaking, we can do without them but we add them to the ward or phrase to make the 'new' word a 'participating' and 'committing' one into the sentence to have a better nuance or implication. It also could contribute to rhythm or a better word carrying. Just my two cents.

[Molly]

[Haihao]

Right Honourable Dr. Mo Mowlam sounds awkward to me. For me, it's just like to say the United States of America would be much better and natural then United States of America, which many Asian English learners seem to have no interest in.