Editing: Using the Article "The" in everyday writing

A word just as small as "not" is the common article "the". "The" applies itself to universal English circumstances, in both singular and plural situations.

The problem with "the," however, is how much it creeps into everyday writing and in unneeded places. Many scholarly writers (psychologists, as one example) tend to overuse "the" as though it becomes a living part of sentences. It becomes especially evident in discussing emotions... the anger ...the sadness... the pride.

It's not that writers never need "the". Instead, writers must become more aware of when--and why--they use "the" in a particular spot. Writers must evaluate whether a sentence would read better with an "a" or an "an" instead of a "the".

If a writer wants to specify ONE item, ONE object, and no other but that specific one, the writer would use "the".

A mechanic showed the car owner the bill. (one specific person)
A mechanic shoved the unpaid bills into a ledger. (plural objects; "the" can be deleted here ) -or-
A mechanic shoved unpaid bills into a ledger.
A mechanic shoved the car owner's unpaid bill into a ledger. (one specific person)

Above, a writer could easily use "a" or "the" in front of mechanic, depending on what the writer intends to convey. "The" usually points to ONE specific person, object, thing, event, day, and so on. "A" can be used for singular also. Here are rules govering use of articles: http://depts.gallaudet.edu/englishworks/grammar/aanthe.html

Now, the nifty thing about "the," even more than "a/an," sometimes writers can DELETE those extra "the" words! Yes, SOMETIMES writers can evaluate then CUT them out.

the emotional times
The country faced the emotional times with bravery.
If you intend to point to A SPECIFIC "emotional times" then leave "the" in the sentence.
If it could be ANY emotional times, drop "the".
The country faced emotional times with bravery.


The mothers shared the available resources with each other.
The mothers shared available resources with each other.

The hippies spoke of the love of fellow man during the 1960s.
The hippies spoke of love of fellow man during the 1960s.


Anytime you use "the" before an object or intangible item, such as an emotion, try the sentence with and without "the".

Also, watch for "the" combos in a prepositional phrase. You might easily change the phrase to a possessive phrase and cut "the" as well.

The struggles of X =X’s struggles (where X is a noun or pronoun)
Her struggles
Tom's struggles
President Bush's struggles

The legacy of X...
Her legacy
George's legacy
President Bush's legacy

Read sentences beginning with "The" to see if you can reword and DELETE "The".

Attempt to delete at least 25% of extra "the" constructions. If you use "the" in 3-word phrases, and attempt to cut even one, those deletes do add up to considerable wordiness!

Some "the" phrases can be changed to one or two words, with no loss of meaning.
The irony was =Ironically
the idea of =thinking of, thoughts of
the same as =similar to
the value of = X's value (or just DELETE)

The occurs frequently in passive constructions. When rewritten to active, "the" disappears.
Y was the focus of X = X focused on Y (X=noun, Y = object of sentence)
take the actions =act as

Try to delete your extra, unneeded "the" words. See how far above 25% you can cut. I'm sure you'll end up deleting much more.

Judith