Articles: 'the' or no article

Articles: 'the' or no article

Do you know when you need to use the in common phrases and place names? Test what you know with interactive exercises and read the explanation to help you.

Look at these examples to see when the is and isn't used.

I'm going to bed.
I walk to work.
My children are going to start school.
I visited the school yesterday.
Mount Everest is in the Himalayas.

Try this exercise to test your grammar.

Grammar test 1

Articles 2: Grammar test 1

Grammar explanation

Here are some ways we use articles in common phrases and place names.

Common phrases

We don't usually use an article in expressions with bed, work and home.

go to bed / be in bed
go to work / be at work / start work / finish work
go home / be at home / get home / stay at home

We also don't normally use an article in expressions with school, university, prison and hospital.

start school / go to school / be at school
go to university / be at university
be sent to prison / go to prison / be in prison
go to hospital / be in hospital

But we usually use the if someone is just visiting the place, and not there as a student/prisoner/patient, etc.

My son has started school now. I went to the school to meet his teacher.
I went to the prison a lot when I was a social worker.
I'm at the hospital. My sister has just had a baby.

Place names

We don't normally use an article for continents, most countries, cities, towns, lakes, mountains or universities. So, we say:

Africa, Asia, Europe
India, Ghana, Peru, Denmark
Addis Ababa, Hanoi, New York, Moscow
Lake Victoria, Lake Superior, Lake Tanganyika
Mount Everest, Mount Kilimanjaro, Mount Elbrus
Cardiff University, Harvard University, Manchester University

Some countries are different. Country names with United have the. There are other countries which are exceptions too. So, we say:

the United Arab Emirates, the United Kingdom, the United States of America
the Bahamas, the Gambia

Seas and oceans, mountain ranges and rivers have the:

the Atlantic, the Pacific, the Mediterranean
the Andes, the Himalayas, the Alps
the Nile, the Amazon, the Yangtze

Universities with of in the title also have the:

the University of Cape Town, the University of Delhi, the University of Tokyo

Do this exercise to test your grammar again.

Grammar test 2

Articles 2: Grammar test 2

Average: 4.1 (81 votes)
Profile picture for user Kirk Moore

Submitted by Kirk Moore on Mon, 28/09/2020 - 15:14

In reply to by Iryna_hn

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Hello Iryna_hn,

The reasons for these answers are outlined in the explanation above:

We also don't normally use an article in expressions with school, university, prison and hospital.

start school / go to school / be at school
go to university / be at university
be sent to prison / go to prison / be in prison
go to hospital / be in hospital

But we usually use the if someone is just visiting the place, and not there as a student/prisoner/patient, etc.

  1. My son has started school now. I went to the school to meet his teacher.
  2. I went to the prison a lot when I was a social worker.
  3. I'm at the hospital. My sister has just had a baby.

In sentence 1, the person speaking didn't go to school as a student -- in other words, they were visiting the school. The same is true in sentences 2 and 3.

If you examine the questions from the tasks, you'll see similar situations when 'the' is used. 

If you have any more questions, please feel free to ask us, but please also explain why you think 'the' should or should not be used.

All the best,

Kirk

The LearnEnglish Team

Profile picture for user danisep

Submitted by danisep on Thu, 24/09/2020 - 00:15

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Why in test point 8 “The Danube flows from - Germany”, I can omit ‘the’ but in point 5,” She was born in Japan, but she went to - university in the Bahamas” I must to write ‘the’?

Hello danisep,

The answers to your questions is on the page.

 

There is no article before 'Germany' because 'we don't normally use an article for continents, most countries, cities, towns, lakes, mountains or universities'.

 

However, there is an article before 'Bahamas' because 'some countries are different. Country names with United have the. There are other countries which are exceptions too' (and 'the Bahamas' is given as an example).

 

Peter

The LearnEnglish Team

Submitted by FK1989 on Wed, 23/09/2020 - 22:37

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Hello. Is it correct to say that I am going to Seychelles? Is it correct to say that I am from Seychelles? Thank you. FK
Profile picture for user Peter M.

Submitted by Peter M. on Thu, 24/09/2020 - 09:26

In reply to by FK1989

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Hello FK1989,

We say 'the Seychelles' (with the definite article). Other than that, both sentences are possible, but have different meanings. The first tells us about your destination; the second tells us about your origin.

 

Peter

The LearnEnglish Team

Submitted by Lal on Wed, 23/09/2020 - 06:24

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Hello Sir Is it all right to say that there are 12 tenses in English language? Please let me know. If it is wrong then how many tenses? Thank you. Regards Lal

Hello Lal,

This really depends on your definition of what a tense is. In modern grammar, a tense is generally defined as a change in the form of the verb which denotes the time of the action described. This is different from aspect (perfective and/or continuous), mood (indicative, subjunctive or imperative) and voice (passive or active).

If this definition is used, then we can say that English has two tenses: past and present. Everything else is some combination of aspect, mood and voice with those two tenses. There is no future tense in English, but rather a range of ways to talk about future time, including modal verbs like might, should, may, will etc.

 

Peter

The LearnEnglish Team

Submitted by Sherol on Sun, 13/09/2020 - 17:33

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Hello, teacher! Can you tell me: What's the diference between one, two, three thing/s and the one, the two, the three thing/s?

Hello Sherol,

The use of the definite article here is no different from its use in any other sentence. The definite article refers to identified examples. This could be because we have spoken of them before, because they are clear from the context or because they are unique.

For example:

One thing I know is that... [I know many things; this is one of them]

The one thing I know is that... [I know only one thing]

I have two things you need. [you need many things; I have two of them]

I have the two things you need. [you need two things and I have them]

 

Peter

The LearnEnglish Team

Submitted by Ravshan on Mon, 07/09/2020 - 17:36

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Hello The same mistake in grammar test 2 in third question of article 2. It is about the University of Nottingham