When is "the" considered an adjective?
"The" is always considered an adjective.
It's classified as an article and all three articles (the, a, an) are adjectives. They modify nouns.
To determine whether "the" is being used as an adjective, you can look at its function in a sentence. Adjectives typically describe or modify nouns. In the case of "the," it is used to specify a particular noun, indicating that it is a definite noun that is known to both the speaker and the listener.
For example, in the sentence "The cat is on the mat," "the" is considered an adjective because it modifies the noun "cat" by specifying that it is a specific cat that is being referred to.