28 Jun 12 13:39, alexander koryagin wrote to Roy Witt:   
      
    ak>>>>> Quite often I see that people call this planet "Earth", whereas I   
    ak>>>>> read it must be called "the Earth". Maybe there is a rule?   
      
    RW>> Look up the definition of 'the' in an English dictionary ... there   
    RW>> are several ways in which to use the word. One that fits your 'the   
    RW>> earth' scenario is:   
      
    RW>> The, determiner (article): used preceding titles and certain   
    RW>> uniquely specific or proper nouns, such as place names; the United   
    RW>> States; the Honourable Edward Brown; the Chairman; the moon, the   
    RW>> Earth...   
      
    RW>> i.e. Earth is the name (noun) of the planet that you live on.   
    RW>>      Mars is the name (noun) of a planet in this solar system.   
      
    ak> Yes, but when your dictionary enumerates the planet names it uses   
    ak> "the Earth". (begins with a capital letter). "the earth" is also all   
    ak> right, but it is IMHO a different term. For instance, "The earth was   
    ak> very close, and the pilot baled out."   
      
   If you look up 'earth' in the dictionary, it decribes differences in the   
   use of the word, some capped and some not capped.   
      
   If you're speaking of the Earth as a subject, it is a noun and a capital E   
   is supposed to be used. Meanwhile earth with a small case e may be just   
   plain old dirt in a sentence like: "the earth shook for several minutes"   
      
      
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