What are the effects of 'the'?

Answer 1

The word 'the' is the definite article. Think of it in contrast to the indefinite article, 'a'. To go there, we will need the car. In this sentence, the implication is that there is a specific car being referenced. From the sentence alone we don't know where it is or who owns it, but the people talking do. It could be a couple talking about a jointly owned or jointly used vehicle. It could belong to one of the people talking, or it could be some other specific car that will come to mind as the speaker references it.

We will need a car to get there. In this sentence, the speaker is not overtly talking about a specific car; probably no specific car comes instantly to mind when the speaker references it. The people talking may need to rent or borrow a car. Or, this could be an example of moderately subtle rhetoric. The speaker could really mean "I don't have a car, but you do. I hate to come out and volunteer your car, but if I say it this way, maybe you will catch on." But the sentence alone does not point to a definite or specific car.