i feel that some times while writing i use the article 'the' in places where it is not even required. would some body help me by giving some examples where one could get confused in choice of its use but better not to use it?

Article "The" is definite article in English, denoting person(s) or thing(s) already mentioned, under discussion, implied, or familiar.

Use of "the"

The first time you speak of something use "a or an"(indefinite article), the next time you repeat that object use "the"(definite article).

I live in a house. The house is quite old and has four bedrooms.

I ate in a Chinese restaurant. The restaurant was excellent.


Some other suggestion with examples:

A. refers to something previously mentioned:

"The problems you identified in today's meeting..."

B. stands for all other items of its type.

"The fax machine has changed the way we do business."
"Bell Labs pioneered use of the transistor."

C. is identified by a special adjective.

(1) A superlative: the biggest IPO, the most important consequence.
(2) A particular (ordinal) number: the second phase, the twentieth anniversary.
(3) A proper name [usually]: The United States [but Canada], the Atlantic Ocean [but Raritan Creek]; the quality control team; the assessment project.

D. refers to a time or place treated as one collective unit: the Sixties, the earth, the sun, the teens.

E. is followed by modifiers, especially relative clauses or "of" phrases: the supervisor who wrote the memo, the outcome of the break-up, the employee in charge of scheduling.

F. refers to knowledge the writer/speaker and audience share: the recent field test at Indian Hill, the MERLIN project.

G. refers to a particular object, even if the reader doesn't yet know it's particular: Install the modem controller in the slot provided.



Use of Article "The" with proper noun:


--For surnames in the plural: The Martinezes are moving.

--To distinguish between people with the same name: The Michael Jackson in Accounting isn't the singer Michael Jackson.

--When the article is part of an accepted geographical name (there's no rhyme or reason, just custom, to these): the Philippines, the Great Lakes the Alps, the Atlantic or Pacific Ocean.

Correct Use of "A", "An", and "The"

__________________
Left is Right

It is not your fault. The articles aren't supposed to be stringent. Learn the articles 'a\an' that way you'll know when NOT to use 'the'. Books like Practical English Grammar explicitly mention where 'the' should not be used. Just know these handful of rules and go crazy with your THEs

__________________
With devotion's visage and pious action, we do sugar o'er the devil himself

a problem in the use of articles
i feel that some times while writing i use the article 'the' in places where it is not even required. would some body help me by giving some examples where one could get confused in choice of its use but better not to use it?

let me know if any of the underlined 'thes' is extra?

recently i came across a news report in a local daily which quoted a research regarding the Glaciers in the Himalayan range; according to which the amount of ice there has increased significantly in the recent years posing some serious questions on the validity of global warming phenomenon.

seniors please check which of the 'THEs' in the above sentence are not needed

I think it's going to be the ones before 'Glaciers' and 'recent years.'

Since there are many glaciers in that range and you are not talking about a specific one, you won't use 'the.'

And, about the recent years, I am not sure why but usually it's just 'recent years.'

__________________
Marwatone.