the descriptor of parent
the function-name of argument
the property-name of object
The the keyword is used in several places.
It can be used in descriptors: the third word of steve
It can be used in function calls: the sqrt of sixteen
It can be used in property descriptors: the itemDelimiter
In both XION and HyperTalk, the presence or absence of the the keyword is significant when the expression does not include the keyword of or in. For example, both the sqrt of 16 and the date are function calls, but sqrt of 16 is a function call while date by itself is a variable.