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1 the
[ðə, ði](The form [ðə] is used before words beginning with a consonant eg the house or consonant sound eg the union [ðə'ju:njən]; the form [ði] is used before words beginning with a vowel eg the apple or vowel sound eg the honour [ði 'onə])1) (used to refer to a person, thing etc mentioned previously, described in a following phrase, or already known: Where is the book I put on the table?; Who was the man you were talking to?; My mug is the tall blue one; Switch the light off!)2) (used with a singular noun or an adjective to refer to all members of a group etc or to a general type of object, group of objects etc: The horse is running fast.; I spoke to him on the telephone; He plays the piano/violin very well.)3) (used to refer to unique objects etc, especially in titles and names: the Duke of Edinburgh; the Atlantic (Ocean).)4) (used after a preposition with words referring to a unit of quantity, time etc: In this job we are paid by the hour.)5) (used with superlative adjectives and adverbs to denote a person, thing etc which is or shows more of something than any other: He is the kindest man I know; We like him (the) best of all.)6) ((often with all) used with comparative adjectives to show that a person, thing etc is better, worse etc: He has had a week's holiday and looks (all) the better for it.)•- the...- the...
См. также в других словарях:
Vowel — In phonetics, a vowel is a sound in spoken language, such as English ah! IPA| [ɑː] or oh! IPA| [oʊ] , pronounced with an open vocal tract so that there is no build up of air pressure at any point above the glottis. This contrasts with consonants … Wikipedia
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Vowel harmony — is a type of long distance (see below) assimilatory phonological process involving vowels in some languages. In languages with vowel harmony, there are constraints on what vowels may be found near each other. Explanation Harmony processes are… … Wikipedia
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Vowel reduction in English — In English, vowel reduction is the centralization and weakening of an unstressed vowel, such as the characteristic change of many vowels at the ends of words to schwa. Stressed vowels cannot be reduced. Reduced vowelsSchwa is the most common… … Wikipedia
vowel — vowelless, adj. vowellike, adj. vowely, vowelly, adv. /vow euhl/, n. 1. Phonet. a. (in English articulation) a speech sound produced without occluding, diverting, or obstructing the flow of air from the lungs (opposed to consonant). b. (in a… … Universalium
vowel — [[t]va͟ʊəl[/t]] vowels N COUNT A vowel is a sound such as the ones represented in writing by the letters a , e i , o and u , which you pronounce with your mouth open, allowing the air to flow through it. Compare consonant. The vowel in words like … English dictionary
English-language vowel changes before historic r — In the phonological history of the English language, vowels followed (or formerly followed) by the phoneme /r/ have undergone a number of phonological changes. In recent centuries, most or all of these changes have involved merging of vowel… … Wikipedia
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Great Vowel Shift — The Great Vowel Shift was a major change in the pronunciation of the English language that took place in England between 1350 and 1500.[1] The Great Vowel Shift was first studied by Otto Jespersen (1860–1943), a Danish linguist and Anglicist, who … Wikipedia
English-language vowel changes before historic l — In the history of English phonology, there have been many diachronic sound changes affecting vowels, especially involving phonemic splits and mergers. A number of these changes are specific to vowels which occur before /l/. Contents 1… … Wikipedia
