(the) spring, summer, autumn, winter

[diamondcutter]

The Seasons.

Each year has four seasons. The seasons are winter, spring, summer, and fall. Each season has a different kind of weather. Areas of the country can have different weather in each season.

During the winter it can get very cold outside. Many people have to wear heavy coats and hats. In some parts of the world, snow falls from the sky. Some animals hide in the winter.

Spring comes after winter. The weather starts to get warm. Plants begin to grow. Spring is when school usually ends and summer begins.

In the summer it is very warm. People like to swim. Animals like to stay outside all day. The summer is a time for things to grow.

The next season is fall. This is the time when school begins in many places! Leaves change color. The leaves fall from the trees. The air starts to get cold, and people wear jackets.

There are many different things that change during each season. What season do you like best?

(from a reading book by Teacher Created Materials Inc.)

This passage talks about the seasons generally. The writer sometimes uses the definite article before the seasons but sometimes doesn’t. I wonder if it’s all right for us to use the definite article or not before the seasons when we talk about them generally.

 

[tedmc]

"The" is optional when talking about the seasons, though learners are advised to omit it, e.g. "The best time to travel is in autumn". It is sometimes used for poetic effect and to add emphasis to a sentence but the difference is very subtle.

 

[Tdol]

You could omit the definite article every time in that text.