1. When we are talking about things or people in general, we do not normally use "the" with uncountable and plural nouns:

THINGS OR PEOPLE IN GENERAL

• Do you prefer dogs or cats?

• I like American food, especially hamburgers.

• Ece eats all the time. She really likes food.

• I don't like people who shout. (people who shout in general)

• Ali often listens to music.

When we are talking about particular things or people, we normally use "the":

PARTICULAR THINGS OR PEOPLE

• I don't like the people who live next door. (a particular group of people)

• We went to that new restaurant last night. The food was excellent.

• The music they played at the party wasn't very good.

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2. the + adjective
We can use the + adjective to talk about a group of people in general, e.g. the old, the young, the

rich, the poor, the disabled, the homeless, etc. The meaning is always plural:

• The rich (= rich people) have more money than the poor (= poor people).

• The government should do more to help the homeless and the unemployed.
   

We use "the" with some nationality adjectives to talk about people from a particular country:

• The French are passionate about food.

• America was discovered by the Spanish in 1492.

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In general, we can use the + adjective for nationality adjectives ending in -sh, -ch, -ese or -ss:

• the Turks

• the British

• the Dutch

• the Chinese

• the Swiss

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With other nationalities, we can only use the plural noun:

• an Italian (singular noun) - (the) Italians (plural noun)

• a German - (the) Germans

• a Scot - (the) Scots

• an Iraqi - (the) Iraqis

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3. the + type of animal, machine, currency, etc.

• The cheetah is the fastest land animal.

• The dollar is the currency used in the United States of America.

• Ilker plays the cello very well.

In the above examples, we use the + singular countable noun to talk about a particular type of animal, currency and musical instrument in general. The meaning is not one particular thing.

• The computer is a very useful machine. (a type of machine)

• The computer that I ordered has arrived. (a particular computer)

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Dialogue

• Do you like to travel?

• Yes, I love it. Last month, I visited Spain. The Spanish are very friendly people.

• How did you get there?

• I went by train. The train is my favorite means of transport.