Please double-click on the English subtitles below to play the video.
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Hi, I'm Phil from BBC Learning English.
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I'm going to tell you three facts about 'the'.
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We use 'the' when referring to a specific thing
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and both you and the person you're talking
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to know which one you mean. Please pass me
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the milk.
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We can see the bottle so we know
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it's that one. Number 2...
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We don't use 'the' when we're talking about something
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in general. For example, I love chocolate.
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Number 3...
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We don't use 'the' when it doesn't matter which
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thing we're talking about.
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We usually use 'a' or 'an', here. Give me a cup
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of tea, I don't care which cup,
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any cup will do.
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