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G.21.2 - Zero article with uncountable nouns

When do I use The?

Average: 1.9 (131 votes)

Definite article v. Zero article.

This is one of the most common questions students ask me and also one of the questions I find most difficult to answer. Native speakers of any language find there are some rules that they just know, without knowing why. However, to help you guys out, here are some rules for when we do use it and when we don’t. After the explanation there is a mini test to check your understanding. Good luck!

We use the when: