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: 4.2 (92 votes)
Profile picture for user Maphan Nin Ra

Submitted by Maphan Nin Ra on Thu, 27/06/2024 - 16:34

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I study history major at Dagon University. My hometown, Putao is far from my university. 

 

I build sentences by using the articles.

Is that correct sentence? 

 Thanks for precious grammar lesson.

Submitted by Sefika on Tue, 18/06/2024 - 13:20

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Could you please tell me if you would keep or delete the indefinite article before the second appositive (i.e., a crime novelist) in the following phrase taken from The New Yorker?

"Frank Tallis, a British clinical psychologist and a crime novelist" (https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2024/06/10/what-does-freud-still-have-to-teach-us?...)

Hello Sefika,

The second article is not necessary here and I would omit it. This is a choice based on style rather than grammar, so opinions may vary.

 

Peter

The LearnEnglish Team

Submitted by ShetuYogme on Tue, 21/05/2024 - 08:52

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LearnEnglish team,

 
We generally say "the United Nations", "the European Union", and "the Republic of India". Does it mean we should use "the" with unions, councils, organisations and political parties? Should we write "the British Broadcasting Corporation", "the British Council of English", "the All India Radio" or should we skip using "the"?

But I know that "All India Radio" is used without "the". Why so?

Now coming to political parties, should I say "the Conservative Party", "the Labour Party"; 
"the Bhartiya Janata Party (BJP)", "the Indian National Congress", "the Shivsena" (these are the Indian political parties) or should I not use "the" with political parties?

Thank you.

Hi ShetuYogme,

"The" is normally used when the name includes a common noun (e.g. union, republic, corporation, party) together with a more specific description. So, yes - it should be "the BBC", "the British Council", and "the Conservative Party". 

I don't know about "Shivsena", since I can't see a common noun in its name.

About "All India Radio", this is probably because "radio" is uncountable (in the meaning of the system of radio broadcasting, rather than an individual radio unit).

May I also add, there are likely to be examples that do not conform to these rules. That is because these are not really rules, but patterns. Rules are predetermined, whereas the names that become commonly used for companies, organisations, parties and so on are also influenced by how people speak and write in real-life discourse, which is partly unpredictable. "UNESCO", for example, is normally said and written without "the", even though the "O" in its name is short for "organisation".

Jonathan

LearnEnglish team

Submitted by Kikilis on Wed, 28/02/2024 - 20:21

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Should we write "the Kaunas university of technology" or could we skip the artivle?

Hello Kikilis,

The most important general rule for articles and the names of universities is to use 'the' when the name of the institution includes the word 'of'. And when the name of the institution has a proper noun before the word 'university', normally 'the' is not used.

So I think one could go either way with Kaunas, but I think it's safe to assume that how the university refers to itself is correct, i.e. 'Kaunas University of Technology'. Massachusetts Institute of Technology does the same.

Best wishes,
Kirk
LearnEnglish team

Submitted by Khangvo2812 on Wed, 14/02/2024 - 06:27

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Can I say the sentence below without including the article a?
I would need to attend medical school if I wanted to become a nutritionist.

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