The use of the article is compulsory in the following cases.
1. The is used before superlative degree of adjective.
For instance,
- Sita is the most beautiful girl in the world.
- France attracted the highest number of tourists.
- Fish is the least consumed food in Punjab.
2. The is used before positions.
For instance,
- Ram won the first prize in his class test.
- Sham receive the second prize.
- John received the last position.
3. The is used before the words - given, provided, next, same, following.
for instance,
- The value of the exported goods to Canada increased in the given 5 years
- Ram has bought the same watch which Sham has.
- He was mislead by the provided information.
- The value of the product changed in the next five years.
- in the following step, the leather was dried.
4. The is used after the words - both and all.
for instance,
- Both the values dropped in the following year.
- All the valued witnessed a significant fall in the following decade.
5. The is used before and after the preposition "of" if followed and preceded by a noun. (also known as prepositional phrase)
For instance,
- The price of the vegetables is increasing.
- The proportion of the internet users surged in Canada from 20% in 2005 to 70% in 2010.
- There is a dramatic fall in the number of the people visiting London museum.
- Traffic lights are installed in the center of the roundabout.
6. The is used before Cardinal points: North, South, East, West, South-east, South-east, North-west and North-east.
- The market is located to the north of the Hospital.
- The cafe is set up in the east.
7. The is used before the directions: left, right.
- The car park is located to the left of the hospital.
- To the right of the market, there is a ground.
