1.用于特指(基本用法)。表示某一或某些特定的人或事物。

　　She stayed at home and cleaned the house.

　　He saw a book on the table in his room.

　　The boys in this school wear blue shirts.

　　2.用于双方都知道的名词前。

　　What do you think of the film

　　Close the door, please.

　　Let’s go and give it to the policeman.

　　3.用于世界上独一无二的事物名词前。

　　Which is farther from the earth, the sun or the moon

　　4.用于第二次提到的事物前。

　　Mr Wang has a son and the son is a driver.

　　There is a book on the desk. The book is John’s.

　　5.与单数名词连用，表示一类(同a或an)

　　The panda is very lovely. = A panda is very lovely. = Pandas are very lovely.

　　6.用于最高级前(与不定冠词不同 = very)，以及对两人或事物进行比较时起特定作用的比较级前。

　　the first / second, the tallest, the most important,

　　the taller of the two boys, the more interesting of the two books

　　7.用于序数词前。

　　the first boy the third student 区别a third student

　　8.用于有定语修饰的名词前。

　　the writing desk the man standing there

　　9.用于乐器名词前。

　　Do you like playing the violin

　　10.用于普通名词构成的专有名词之前，表示国家、当派、团体、组织机构、单位、报刊、条约、朝代、江河湖泊海洋、山川、群岛等。

　　the United States, the People’s Republic of China, the Youth League, the Yellow River, the People’s Daily, the Tang Dynasty, the Philippines, the History Museum, the Children’s Palace, the Taiwan Straits

　　11.与某些形容词、分词连用表示某一类人。

　　the rich, the poor, the sick, the wounded

　　12.用于姓氏复数之前，表示全家或夫妇二人。

　　the Turners the Wangs the Browns

　　13.用于世纪的某年代。 in the 1980s (in the 1980’s)

　　14.用于方位名词前。

　　Shanghai is in the east of China.

　　Japan lies to the east of China.

　　15.用于发明物的单数名词前。

　　Who invented the telephone

　　16.用于某些表示国家和民族的形容词前，泛指全体。这些词通常以-sh, -ch, -ese结尾。

　　the English, the French, the Chinese

　　17.用于表示数量的名词前。

　　They sold eggs by the dozen.

　　They were paid by the hour.