8.Defining The Word ‘The’ Is Really Difficult

　　给单词“The”下定义是一件十分困难的事儿

　　The word “the” is one of the most commons words in the English language. It’s so ubiquitous that most of us have probably never stopped to think about how strange of a word it actually is.

　　单词“The”是英语中最常见的单词之一。它真的是太常见了，以至于我们大多数人也许从未曾停下来想一想，这个单词实际上是多么地奇怪。

　　As discussed here, it’s easily one of the most difficult words to explain to a non-native English speaker because it has such a massive range of applications, some of which are remarkably odd when looked at objectively. To quote:

　　正如这里所谈到的，由于“the”的用法十分广泛，而且客观地考虑，其中一些用法还非常奇怪，它是人们很难向非英语母语人士解释清楚的单词之一。引用《为什么人们很难给单词“the”下定义》（Why Is the Word the So Difficult to Define?）一文中的例子：

　　“Why do we say, ‘I love the ballet,’ but not ‘I love the cable TV?’ Why do we say, ‘I have the flu,’ but not ‘I have the headache?’ Why do we say, ‘winter is the coldest season,’ and not ‘winter is coldest season?’ ”

　　“为什么我们说‘I love the ballet(我喜欢芭蕾)’而不说‘I love the cable TV(我喜欢有线电视)？’为什么我们说‘I have the flu(我得了流感)’而不说‘I have the headache（我头疼）？’为什么我们说，‘winter is the coldest season（冬天是最寒冷的季节），’而不说‘winter is coldest season？’”

　　Think about it—we use the word “the” in dozens of different situations and in reference to many different concepts, ideas, and objects interchangeably. We can use the word to refer to everything from a specific item to an abstract metaphorical concept, and native speakers can instinctively tell when it’s being used incorrectly without thinking about it.

　　想想吧—我们在许多不同的情境中交替使用“the”这个单词，用它来修饰许多不同的概念，观念或事物。从具体物品到抽象的隐喻概念，我们可以用这个单词修饰其中一切事物。当该词使用不当时，以英语为母语的人不需要思考就可以本能地指出。

　　As noted in the linked article above, the dictionary itself lists almost two dozen different ways the word can be used in a sentence correctly, which makes an exact definition of the word that much more difficult to pin down. Don’t believe us? Try defining it yourself in the comments and let us know how it goes.

　　正如以上链接的文章（指Why Is the Word the So Difficult to Define?）所指出的，字典上列出的该单词在句中的正确用法有将近20种，这使得该单词的定义更为准确，却也使人们更难明晰其具体的含义。不相信我们？那么你自己试着定义一下吧，然后写在评论中，让我们看看你是怎么定义的。

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