Can you use "same" without "the"?

Question

I've been racking my brain trying to think of a grammatically correct sentence that uses _same_ without _the_ earlier in the same (see!) phrase.> It is **the same**> It is **the** very **same**> I have 10 things all **the same**> I have 10 of **the same** things> **The same** boy as last time did it again> The boy did **the same** thing as last timeI am discounting _**same-day** dry cleaning_ and any similar phrases that might crop up because using a hyphen is acceptable which suggests it's an atomic phrase and it sounds awkward if inverted:> They have a same-day dry cleaning service.> Their dry cleaning service is same-day. - Sounds odd but might be acceptable in some situations> Their dry cleaning service is done on the same day. - Sounds betterSo I don't think it's possible when _same_ is used by itself. Can someone either explain why _same_ must always have _the_ before it or provide a grammatically correct counter-example?

Answer 1

"same" is an adjective that modifies a noun. Because it is often used with a "back reference", we've learned to add "the". But, the practice has morphed a bit......often, "the" is a forward reference, as in: "Black and White are not the same thing."----then this evolves into "Black and White are not the same."---now what does "the" refer to?

Compare to the usage of words like similar, different, contrasting, and many more:

"Circles and ellipses are similar, but not the same"

Answer 2

"The" is a definite article. Among other uses, according to Education First website, it's used to "refer to something which has already been mentioned." If you've already written about a person, place, or thing in a specific way (Mr. Brown, Amazon, Washington High School), when you refer to it again you use "the" with a more general noun (the man, the online store, the high school). That's the same reasoning (see what I did there?) that applies to using "the" with "same." In order to use "same," you have to be referring to something that's already been mentioned, or implied.