In English grammar, “the” is a definite article used to specify or make particular reference to a person, place, thing, or idea. When “the” is used with an adjective in a noun phrase, it’s often to specify something that is already known to the listener or reader, or to refer to a specific instance of the general idea that the adjective describes.
In the example, “the good news”, the phrase is referring to a specific piece of news that is good. The definite article “the” indicates that this isn’t just any good news, but a particular piece of good news that is relevant to the context of the conversation. The speaker assumes that the listener is aware of this piece of news or will understand its relevance once it’s revealed.
So, “the good news” becomes a noun phrase where “good” is an adjective describing the noun “news”, and “the” is the definite article specifying which news we’re talking about. The full sentence “The good news is that we are all on the same team” then reveals what that specific good news is.
This construction can be used with many different adjectives and nouns to specify or highlight particular instances of a general category. For example, “the important thing”, “the big problem”, “the beautiful view”, and so on. In each case, the definite article “the” works with the adjective to pick out one specific thing from all the possible things that could be described by the noun.
An iWeb search for:
the _JJ _NN
1 THE OTHER HAND 459204
2 THE BEST WAY 361919
3 THE ONLY WAY 263862
That is the only way to avoid the noise disturbing me.
PELIC STUDENT: Chinese Female level 4 grammar class
4 THE OTHER SIDE 258462 B1
He‘s on the other side of this wall.
5 THE ONLY THING 254602
6 THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT 166570
7 THE GOOD NEWS 131148
Well, the good news is that we are all on the same team.
8 THE VAST MAJORITY 129230
9 THE SUPREME COURT 124427
10 THE HOLY SPIRIT 119907
11 THE WHOLE THING 116934 B2
The whole thing is like some great nightmare.
12 THE RIGHT SIDE 114496
13 THE PAST YEAR 113291
14 THE BEST THING 112502
15 THE LONG RUN 106270
16 THE LEFT SIDE 103442
17 THE OTHER DAY 101049
18 THE UNITED NATIONS 99200
19 THE BEST PART 99124
20 THE NEAR FUTURE 98772
21 THE REAL WORLD 97259
22 THE OTHER END 90389
23 THE LONG TERM 87908
24 THE BOTTOM LINE 85866
25 THE EUROPEAN UNION 85123
26 THE GENERAL PUBLIC 84660
27 THE RIGHT THING 83419
28 THE NEW YEAR 81545
29 THE HIGHEST QUALITY 81253
30 THE OTHER WAY 80960
31 THE RIGHT DIRECTION 79607
32 THE RIGHT TIME 77016
33 THE TOTAL NUMBER 76130
34 THE EASIEST WAY 74032
35 THE CIVIL WAR 69949
36 THE RIGHT WAY 69850
37 THE RIGHT PLACE 69525
38 THE LATEST VERSION 68841
39 THE IMMUNE SYSTEM 66496
40 THE ONLY REASON 64935
41 THE PRIME MINISTER 63599
42 THE NEW TESTAMENT 63525
43 THE FOLLOWING YEAR 61652 B1 time phrase in the English Vocabulary Profile
The following year, Kirby Kyle was run over by a truck and killed.
44 THE PREMIER LEAGUE 60693
45 THE SOVIET UNION 59616
46 THE BEST WAYS 59457
47 THE HUMAN BODY 59151
48 THE BEST TIME 58674
49 THE PAST DECADE 58605
50 THE OLD TESTAMENT 57199
51 THE HIGHEST LEVEL 56944
52 THE MAIN REASON 56412
53 THE WHOLE FAMILY 56252
54 THE RIGHT HAND 54243
55 THE REAL ESTATE 52766
56 THE HARD WORK 51380
57 THE PRIVATE SECTOR 51301
58 THE PREVIOUS YEAR 51104
59 THE ONLY TIME 50318
60 THE CATHOLIC CHURCH 50193
61 THE BEST OPTION 49658
62 THE FOLLOWING INFORMATION 48831
63 THE HIGH SCHOOL 48529
64 THE WHOLE WORLD 48140
65 THE OTHER PERSON 47579
66 THE EARLY DAYS 47434
67 THE FRONT DOOR 46185
68 THE REGULAR SEASON 45872
69 THE RIGHT AMOUNT 45270
70 THE FOLLOWING DAY 45201
71 THE ONLY ONES 44864
72 THE ASSOCIATED PRESS 44762
73 THE ONLY PROBLEM 44600
74 THE PERFECT PLACE 43421
75 THE LEFT HAND 43314
76 THE AMERICAN PEOPLE 42479
77 THE TOTAL AMOUNT 40902
78 THE SHORT TERM 40687
79 THE LOCAL COMMUNITY 40668
80 THE WHOLE TIME 40373
81 THE PAST COUPLE 40001
82 THE ONLY PERSON 39831
83 THE GOOD WORK 39823
84 THE NATIONAL ASSOCIATION 39501
85 THE VERY BEGINNING 39252
86 THE COMING MONTHS 38999
87 THE COLD WAR 38980
88 THE ONLY DIFFERENCE 38969
89 THE WHOLE PROCESS 38225
90 THE EARLY STAGES 38150
91 THE NEW WORLD 37899
92 THE SOCIAL MEDIA 37273
93 THE BEST CHOICE 36987
94 THE OTHER HALF 36602
95 THE BEST RESULTS 35911
96 THE ARMED FORCES 35547
97 THE COMING WEEKS 35221
98 THE NEW VERSION 34454
99 THE OPPOSITE SIDE 34303
100 THE DIFFERENT TYPES 34288
The vocabulary above profiled by text inspector:
C1 example: