New Zealand is now the place to visit.
You can also use the in front of a person’s name to show that you are referring to the most famous person with that name.
You actually met the George Harrison?
When you use the in either of these ways, you emphasize it and pronounce it /ðI
the with indefinite determiners
1.182 The can be used in front of some indefinite determiners, usually to give an indication of amount or quantity.
These indefinite determiners are:
few
little
many
other
…pleasures known only to the few.
…a coup under the leadership of the select few.
He was one of the few who knew where to find me.
We have done the little that is in our power.
You use the with other to refer to the second of two things, when you have just mentioned one of them.
The men sat at one end of the table and the women at the other.
For more information about indefinite determiners, see paragraphs 1.223 to 1.250.
the with numbers
1.183 The is used with one and ones.
I’m going to have the green one.
The shop was different from the ones I remembered.
…a pair of those old glasses, the ones with those funny square lenses.
The is also used with other numbers.
It is a mistake to confuse the two.
Why is she so different from the other two?
See paragraphs 2.208 to 2.239 for more information about numbers.
Definite determiners: using this, that, these, and those
1.184 You use the definite determiners this, that, these, and those to talk about people or things in a definite way.
You use this and these to talk about people and things that are close to you in place or time. When you talk about people or things that are more distant in place or time, you use that and those.
You put this and that in front of singular nouns, uncountable nouns, and the singular pronoun one. You put these and those in front of plural nouns and the plural pronoun ones.
This, that, these, and those are often called demonstratives or demonstrative adjectives.
this and these
1.185 This and these are used to talk about people or things that are very obvious in the situation that you are in. For example, if you are inside a house, you can refer to it as this house. If you are holding some keys in your hand, you can refer to them as these keys. If you are at a party, you can refer to it as this party.
I have lived in this house my entire life.
I am going to walk up these steps towards you.
I’ll come as soon as these men have finished their work.
I like this university.
Good evening. In this programme we are going to look at the way in which British music has developed in recent years.
When it is clear who or what you are referring to, you can use this and these as pronouns. This use is explained in paragraphs 1.124 to 1.127.
1.186 This and these are also used in many expressions that refer to current periods of time, for example this month, this week, and these days. This use is explained in Chapter 4.
that and those
1.187 You use that and those when you are talking about things or people that you can see but that are not close to you.
How much is it for that big box?
Can I have one of those brochures?
Can you move those books off there?
1.188 When it is clear who or what you are talking about, you can use that and those as pronouns. This use is explained in paragraphs 1.124 to 1.127.
Could you just hold that?
Please don’t take those.
1.189 You can show that you are referring to the same person or thing you have just mentioned by using this, that, these, or those in front of a noun. For example, if you have just mentioned a girl, you can refer to her as this girl or that girl the second time you mention her. Normally, you use a pronoun to refer to someone or something you have just mentioned, but sometimes you cannot do this because it might not be clear who or what the pronoun refers to.
Students and staff suggest books for the library, and normally we’re quite happy to get those books.
Their house is in a valley. The people in that valley speak about the people in the next valley as foreigners.
They had a lot of diamonds, and they asked her if she could possibly get these diamonds to Britain.
The use of this, that, those, etc. to refer again to something that has already been mentioned is fully explained in paragraphs 10.7 to 10.10.
1.190 In informal English, you can also use that and those in front of a noun to talk about people or things that are already known to the person you are speaking or writing to.
That idiot Antonio has gone and locked our cabin door.
Have they found those missing children yet?
Do you remember that funny little apartment?
1.191 You can use that in front of a noun when you are talking about something that has just happened.
I knew that meeting would be difficult.