The use of articles with names of geographical objects. Articles

Proper names in English language– a large category of words, including first names, surnames, nicknames, nicknames, as well as geographical names. While the former do not require much explanation and are simply used with a capital letter, the latter group has its own characteristics that are worth paying attention to. So, for example, these names may have a zero or definite article. Often, articles in English with geographical names cannot be explained logically, which means that the only way to understand how to use them is to study the rules, which is what we will do today.

To begin with, it is worth noting that all proper names that denote geographical names are called toponyms. Toponyms, in turn, are divided into subtypes in the form of names of settlements, cities, streets, and houses. However, the names of squares, monuments and other attractions do not belong to toponyms.

Of course, there is no need to memorize the names of all types, but it is worth considering each of them through the prism of the English language because each type can contain both zero and definite.

Articles in English with geographical names - types and rules of use:

Zero article

The zero article implies the absence of an article. The article is not used in toponyms:

1. With all continents:

1. With countries in singular, states, cities, provinces, villages:

However, there are exceptions and peculiarities here. The article the is used in names:

• State-city Vatican - the Vatican;
• Congo - The Congo;
• City of The Hague – The Hague;
• If the word “city” itself appears before the name of a city, the article the is placed before it, and after it the preposition of:

1. And also with the names of streets, avenues, avenues and boulevards:

Article the

Now let's look at geographical names in English that require the article the:

1. Regions / Regions, examples:

1. Countries / Countries in plural:

And also countries that have the words in their names:

Examples of use:

1. The article the with proper names that mean:

Using the example of rivers and deserts, it is clear that names do not always contain defining words, but even if the words “river” and “desert” are added to the examples above, the definite article will remain in its place.

It is also worth noting that if there is no preposition of before proper names that denote bays and straits, the definite article is not used.

1. With mountain ranges, a group of islands and lakes, the article the is also used:

1. Note that the definite article is used with the names of the cardinal directions, poles and hemispheres:

In English maps the definite article is often omitted to save space.

In fact, articles in English with place names are not very difficult. Yes, at first you may confuse the use of the zero and definite article, but with time and practice this problem will disappear by itself.

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Proper names are preceded by the zero or definite article “the”. The zero article usually refers to the absence of an article, that is, the case when it is not needed before a noun. A proper name is a noun that is intended to highlight one single, specific object from among many. Examples of this type are names of people, names of companies, cities, and the like. Most proper names do not take an article before them. At the same time, there are too many different names and names with an article in front of them to talk about a strict rule. Let's go through some instances that you may encounter in your speech that pose a dilemma for you.

The definite article "the" with proper nouns

With last names. It is customary to put the article “the” before surnames if you want to describe all family members in one word.

Example. The Blackthorns had one general feature, they were very kind. (The Blackthorns had one common feature, they were all kind, - ed.).

(Read more about the use of articles with names of people in, - ed.).

With company names. Here the norm has always been dictated by those who came up with these names. Fashion has crystallized into tradition and now the names of some well-known companies need to be preceded by an article, while others, traditionally, are not.

Example. The Boston Consulting Group, The General Insurance, The Hartford, The East India Company, The National Telephone Company.

With newspaper names. Most newspaper names are written with the definite article “the”. Not so with magazines, they are usually preceded by a zero article, with the exception of The National Geographic Magazine.

Example. The Sunday Telegraph, The Guardian, The Observer, The Times, The Daily Telegraph, The Shuttle.

(Learn more about the rules of use and cases of using a certain article the possible in , – ed.).

With the names of hotels, hostels, pubs, restaurants. The article is almost always used. The exception is a few establishments whose brand was formed with the participation of the possessive case - “Martin’s”.

(Some additional examples of names of pubs and restaurants with and without articles in , - ed.).

It is not difficult to remember this, because according to the logic of English grammar, the article is needed to “define” the noun, the possessive case literally nails the noun with a hammer and nails to the other members of the sentence, and from this bell tower the article already seems redundant - the subject of speech is clearly defined. By the way, even if there is no possessive case, but the name of the brand contains the name of the creator, then the article is often also not needed. Just remember the famous McDonald's.

Example. The Trafalgar Hotel, The Mandeville Hotel, The Marylebone Hotel, The Cube, The Gay Hussar, The Jazz Café, The Mayflower Pub.

With the names of railways and highways. There are proper names in these categories in which the article is not used, especially many such bridges, however, it is often required.

Example. The Northern Pacific Railroad, The Trans-Siberian Railroads, The Liverpool and Manchester Railroad.

(You can learn more about the rules of use and cases of using the indefinite article a/an in English in, - ed.).

With the names of ships and car brands. With some names of ships and with some brands of cars it is customary to use the definite article “the”.

Example. The Golden Hind (Francis Drake's ship - ed.), The Argo, The Nissan Qashqai, The Titanic.

With city attractions. In this matter, everything is quite specific; there are objects that, by tradition, take the article “the” as themselves.

Example. The Winter Palace (Winter Palace in St. Petersburg, - ed.), The Tower of London, The Hermitage (Hermitage in St. Petersburg, - ed.), The Statue of Liberty (Statue of Liberty in New York, - ed.), The Lincoln Memorial, The Washington Monument, The Tomb of the Unknown Soldier (Tomb of the unknown malt - ed.).

With the names of cinemas and theaters. Sometimes, but rarely, the article "the" is necessary.

Example. The Phoenix Cinema, The Carnegie Hall, The Globe Theatre, The Bolshoi Opera House (Bolshoi Theater in Moscow - ed.).

Political parties and libraries. In English, it is necessary to write some names of parties and libraries with an article.

Example. The Democratic party, The Communist party, The Conservative party, The London Library.

The article “the” with the names of countries and regions. Historically, in English, the names of some countries and regions must be preceded by a definite article.

Example. The Congo, The Hague (The Hague, - ed.), the Brazil, the Argentina, the Philippines, The Transvaal (South Africa region, - ed.), the Crimea (Crimea, - ed.), the Caucasus (Caucasus, - ed. .), the Ukraine (Ukraine, – ed.).

With the official full names of many states. The United Kingdom, The Russian Federation, The United States of America, The Republic of Ireland, The United Arab Emirates, The Roman Empire, The Byzantine Empire.

With the names of rivers, oceans and seas.“the” is also used very often with these geographic features. But please be careful not to get confused, for example, the names of lakes almost always lack an article.

Example. The Volga, The Atlantic Ocean, The Pacific Ocean, The Danube (Danube - ed.).

You can learn more about the use of articles with names of geographical objects in, – ed.).

With common names for groups of islands - archipelagos. But not individual islands, we’ll talk about that later.

Example. The British Isles, The Hawaii, The West Indies.

With peninsulas (peninsula, – ed.). Sometimes with an article, and sometimes without an article. Some guidance may be the presence of the word "peninsula". If there is one, then “the” is often present, since we are probably talking about the official full name. As with states.

Translation. The Cola peninsula (Kola Peninsula - ed.).

With the names of capes. Everything is quite colorful, there are many capes whose names are usually preceded by an article.

Example. The Cape of Good Hope.

With the names of the bays. The situation is similar to the previous paragraph. Tradition can sometimes be very capricious and in similar cases may prescribe adding an article or using a zero. And there are no rules, you need to remember.

Example. The Gulf of California, The Gulf of Mexico.

The article “the” is usually placed before the names of straits and canals. Although there are exceptions, more often such objects are spoken of with the definite article.

Example. The Magellan Strait, The Panama Channel (Panama Canal - ed.).

With names of deserts. There are few deserts, each of them is unique, it is not surprising that in English they all have the article “the” added to their names.

Example. The Nevada desert, The desert of Kara-Kum, The Sahara Desert.

With names of mountain ranges. The situation is the same as with archipelagos and islands. If it’s an archipelago, then most likely the article is “the,” if it’s a separate island, then the zero article. One mountain is zero, a mountain range is an article.

Example. The Alps, The Pamirs.

The names of cardinal directions, underwater currents, glaciers and waterfalls are also used with the definite article.

It is worth noting that the general meaning of the article the, regardless of the rules, is to give the object exclusivity or individuality. If you've forgotten the rule, you might want to base your decision on whether "the" is appropriate as an "emphasizer." On the other hand, there is a tendency to omit the article if something is not called full name, and its short analogue: “The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland”, but “Britain” or “England” is a zero article (Read our separate article about the stylistic subtleties of using articles in English - ed.).

Zero article with proper names - absence of article

We have gone through many cases where the article “the” may be necessary before proper names. Now the same must be done for the zero article.

With the names of holidays and memorable days. In most cases the article is not needed.

Example. Easter (Easter, – ed.), Halloween, New Year’s Day.

With highways, bridges and railroads. We already wrote above that many names of bridges require a zero article before them. The same applies to the names of railways and highways.

Example. Laxford Bridge, Perth Bridge, Skye Bridge, Fiddle Road.

With the names of spaceships. Thunderchild, Geronimo, Rabin (Names of spaceships from the Star Trek series - ed.), Apollo-11.

With many names of sea vessels and with many brands of cars. Yes, if at the beginning of the article we wrote about ships and cars that need the article “the” in front of them, then there are many objects of these types that don’t need any article in front of them.

Example. Albatross, Rodney (names of ships of the British fleet - ed.) Volkswagen Tuareg.

With magazines and some newspapers. Most British newspaper titles require the article "the" before their names, but there are a couple of exceptions to this rule - Daily Express, Morning Star. It is also worth saying that the zero article is “included” with most domestic newspapers when they are spoken of in English: “Izvestia”, not “The Izvestia”. Most magazines are preceded by the zero article, with the exception of the already mentioned National Geographic.

(You can get additional examples illustrating the use of articles with some names of hotels and newspapers, - ed.)

With the names of airports and train stations. The zero article is most often used before airports and train stations.

Example. Victoria Station (Victoria station in London - ed.), Sheremetyevo.

With company names. Many names of commercial organizations are preceded by the article “the”, we saw this in the previous section of the article, but a significant part of such nouns come with a zero article.

Example. Bell Labs, General Motors, General Electric.

With the names of universities, institutes, colleges. This type of proper name usually involves the absence of an article, but there are a couple of exceptions: The London School of Economics, The School of Media at the London Institute, as well as a number of others.

Example. New York University, Moscow University, Oxford University.

With the names of zoos and stadiums. With this type of proper nouns the article is not required.

Example. London Zoo, Wembley Stadium (Wembley Stadium - ed.).

With the names of churches, cathedrals and other religious institutions. It is not customary to put “the” before such nouns.

Example. St. Paul's Cathedral.

Before the names of streets, squares, parks and city districts. At this point, we have combined in one fell swoop most of the objects that can be found in the city and it is easy to remember that all such nouns are usually written and spoken without an article.

Example. Wall Street, Central Park (in New York - ed.), Trafalgar Square.

With names of cities, countries, continents. Let's leave the city into a wide open space. All these nouns also do not have an article in front of them. In the section on the article “the” with proper names, we said that it is used with countries. The watershed here follows the official name. The full and official form will have an article, and the simple and commonly used form will have a zero article. So, if Russian Federation will be –The Russian Federation, then Russia – simply, Russia, without an article.

Names of individual islands. Unlike the names of archipelagos, no article is needed.

Example. Madagascar.

With names of lakes. The names of seas, oceans and rivers require an article, but lakes have a special destiny. Most often they are preceded by a zero article.

Example. Loch Ness, Lake Baikal.

Note that some capes and bays are also written with a zero article, but there is no pattern here, tradition comes into its own and you will have to remember that there is “The Cape of Good Hope”, and there is “Cape Cod”.

In this post I will tell you how and when and which article to use with place names. It's a little boring, but I hope this information will save someone.

1. Names of continents, countries and cities written without an article. Also, the article is not used if they are preceded by words such as northern, southern, western, eastern, central, south-west, old, modern. Central Africa, Southern America, China, Cuba, Ukraine, Moscow, London, West Germany, Old England, Ancient Greece. The exceptions are such geographical names as the North Pole, the South Pole, the Antarctic, the Arctic. This rule also applies names of cardinal directions: the North, the East, the South, the West.

2. The is placed before geographical names that imply association, commonwealth: the United States of America, the Arab Republic of Egypt, etc. Also, some names of countries, cities and localities are used with the article “the” simply because this is how it happened historically. The Caucasus, the Crimea, the Hague, the Netherlands, the Philippines, the Riviera, the Saar, the Transvaal, the Tyrol.

3. If after the geographical name there is a clarification, then the article the is used, and if there is a descriptive definition that gives the geographical name a new shade, then “a” is used. The New Orleans, where one of the greatest Zoos is situated, is a nice green city. (clarification) This was a new free Cuba. (description)

4. “the + noun+of+ geographical name”

The city of New York, the island of Majorca, the Strait of Dover

5. The is used with bodies of water: names of seas, rivers, lakes, straits and canals.

The Atlantic Ocean, the Indian Ocean, the Baltic Sea, the Black Sea, the Magellan Strait, the English Channel, the Panama Canal, The Dnieper, the Thames, the Baikal, the Ontario.

But if the name of the lake is preceded by the word “lake”, then the article is not used. Lake Baikal, Lake Geneva, Lake Ladoga.

6. Titles peninsulas used without an article: Kamchatka, Labrador. The is used if the name of the peninsula is followed by the word “peninsula”: the Balkan Peninsula

7. Titles deserts, mountain ranges and ridges, mountain gorges, island groups used with the definite article the: the Sahara, the Gobi (Desert), the Saint Gotthard pass. The Alps, the Urals, the Himalayas, the Bahamas, the Canaries. But the names of individual islands, waterfalls and mountain peaks are used without an article. Cyprus, Madagascar, Niagara Falls, Easter Island.

And again an exception within an exception: the Isle of Man, the Isle of Capri

That's all for now, but not all with articles yet))

One of the most difficult areas of using articles in English is proper names, and in particular geographical names. The peculiarity of them is that, according to the rules, with all words denoting a specific or one-of-a-kind object, the is used. However, it is precisely this definite article that is richer in exceptions than all the others. That is why it is useful to consider and study separately different cases of the use of the article the and others in combination with geographical names.

The use of articles with proper names in English

Proper nouns or proper names - individual names of specific people (Paul, Sam), countries and cities (England, Dublin), days of the week and month (August, Monday) and so on. The main classes of proper names are: personal names, calendar elements and geographical names:

• a) continents;
• b) countries;
• c) cities;
• d) rivers, lakes, seas and oceans;
• e) mountains and so on.

Personal Names

1. Usually a person's name, being the name of someone considered unique, does not need to be defined:

— Robert Shawn shrugged his shoulders. – Robert Shawn shrugged.

• When personal names designate individual members of a family, they are treated as count nouns:

Remember you’re an Osborne – it’s a name to be proud of. – Remember that you are Osborne - a name you can be proud of. (One of the Osborne family).

If the family is designated as a whole, then the definite article is used:

— The Browns were resentful of something, not individually, but as a family. “The Browns were dissatisfied with something, not individually, but as a family.

2. When the speaker wants to emphasize the name of a person who is very famous, then the definite the is used. Here, the article is strongly emphasized and pronounced [ðiː].

— I met Robert De Niro the other day. – Do you mean the Robert De Niro? – The other day I met Robert De Niro. – The same Robert De Niro?

3. The indefinite article is placed before a personal name to indicate a specific person, usually unknown to the listener:

— I’m spending the day with a Miss Warren. “I’m spending the day with a certain Miss Warren.”

• Sometimes “certain” precedes a personal noun:

— I’m going to marry a Miss Peek. – Isn’t it a certain Sally Peek that Tommy told me you think the loveliest creature in the world? – I will marry Miss Peak. “Isn’t this Sally Peake, whom you consider the most beautiful creature in the world, as Tommy said?”

4. Personal names preceded by an explanatory noun denoting titles and titles are used without an article:

• Dr.Watson;
• President Lincoln;
• Lord Byron.

• If an appositive noun denotes work, nationality or faith, then the is put, but sometimes (especially in American English) the article is omitted:

— (The ) artist Stubbs painted mostly horses. – The artist Stubbs painted mainly horses.

Journalistic style

In journalistic style, explanatory nouns are often used as if they were titles (false or pseudo-titles):

• Hairdresser Caroline Johnson;
• 35-year-old department store heir Silvia Wilson.

False titles were popularized by Time magazine and are now a common practice in journalism. Writing footballer Matthew White, not Matthew White, the/a footballer has two advantages: such a name saves places and it frees users from the subtle distinction between the footballer (for the famous) and a footballer (for the little-known).

The false title is useful for journalists, but does not apply to ordinary writing.

If you need to use this, then the name should not be too long; it should not be written in capital letters as if it were a real title; and it should not be separated by commas. However, in journalism, a comma may be used if the appositive noun is very long.

Articles with geographical names

Articles with geographical names have many exceptions. It is most convenient to consider them in separate categories. It is worth noting that all of the following applies to the use of names in speech: for cartography, the accepted norm is the absence of articles in all cases.

Articles with names of countries, continents, states, cities and villages + exceptions

• In most cases, the zero article is used with country names:

- “Now, when we’re back to Australia, would you like to visit my family with me?” - “Now that we’re back in Australia, would you like to go with me to my parents?”

• However, with countries whose names have a plural word, only the is used:

— “Can’t we just lie down somewhere in the Netherlands instead?” “Can’t we just lay low somewhere in the Netherlands instead?”

• But even in this case there are several exceptions. For example:

• The Vatican – Vatican
• The Congo – Congo

With names of countries and states

For a Kingdom, a Republic, a Federation, a Union, or any other form of government whose name is included in the name of the state, the is used.

• This can be justified as follows: in such a construction, it is the above-mentioned word that will be the one to which the article is attached, and, therefore, the basic rules for the use of articles with common nouns will apply to it. Eg:

— Does ‘the Russian Federation’ should be with a definite article or without it? – “Should “The Russian Federation” be written with or without the definite article?”

• However, if the same state has an alternative name that does not contain one of the words listed above, then the will not be used with it:

— “Does ‘Russia’ should be with a definite article or without it?” – “Should “Russia” be written with or without the definite article?”

• Another important addition: when writing the name of a country using an abbreviation, the same article is retained as when writing full version:

— “Does ‘the RF’ should be with a definite article or without it?” – “Should “The RF” be written with or without the definite article?”

With continents

With names of continents it is most often used with a zero article:

— “Writing South America with a definite article or the Americas without it will be a mistake in both cases.” – “Writing “South America” with a definite article or “America” without it will be a mistake in both cases.

There are three exceptions:

• The Arctic - Arctic;
• The Antarctic - Antarctica;
• The Americas - Americas, a common name for all American continents;

For the names of cities, states and villages in general cases they are also used without an article.

However, if any of the above is written using the construction the country/continent/state/city/town/village/ect. of , then the definite article the will be necessary.

Using the article the with geographical regions

Articles with geographical names can be anything, but the most common among them is the article the.

• The article the is used with most geographical names of regions:

— “Seems like you have forgotten that the Far East has other timezones than we do.” - “It seems you forgot that in the Far East the time zones are not the same as ours.”

But if the situation with geographical units is quite clear, a controversial issue is the use of the article with the names of administrative units within one country, such as regions, regions, lands, territories, districts and others (excluding the republics and states mentioned above).

Most often they do this: if the word has been transliterated (as oblast or kray), then the zero article is used. This form is often used when English word cannot convey subtleties of meaning: for example, the word region, which is the officially accepted translation of the words “region” and “region,” can remove the difference between the two terms and change the meaning of the phrase.

• If a word in English is used, then it is acceptable to put the. For example:

— The Moscow region and Moscow oblast are not the same place. – The Moscow region [Moscow region] and the Moscow region are not the same place.

• Another point of using the definite article is capes:

— “Come to the map and show us where is the Cape of Good Hope located.” - “Come to the map and show us where the Cape of Good Hope is.”

• But you can often find exceptions:

- “Capes – for example, Cape Dezhnev – are important for geography as marks...” – “Capes – for example, Cape Dezhnev – are important for geography as marks...”

The names of capes should be treated with caution and, if possible, checked each time before writing.

With the following countries you can use either the article the or without it:

• (the) Lebanon
• (the) Yemen
• (the) Cameroun
• (the) Congo
• (the) Ivory Coast
• (the) Sudan
• (the) Argentina
• (the) Ukraine

But there is a tendency to use without the definite article.

Other geographic regions with the:

• the Antarctic - Antarctica
• the Arctic - Arctic
• the Caucasus – Caucasus
• the Midlands - the central counties of England
• (the) Crimea – Crimea
• the Middle East - Middle East
• the Riviera
• (the) Ruhr - Ruhr

Articles with names of water bodies (oceans, seas, rivers, currents, canals, waterfalls)

The names of many water bodies have their own rules for using articles.

• The definite article is used with the names of oceans:

— The Atlantic Ocean stretches from the north to the south. – The Atlantic Ocean stretches from north to south.

• It is also customary to use the with the names of rivers:

— The Nile played an important role in the ancient history and the formation of the early human culture and society. – Neil played an important role in ancient history and the formation of early human culture and society.

• With the names of most seas the is used:

— Although the Caspian sea is considered a lake now, it’s still rich in oil. – Even though the Caspian Sea is now considered a lake, it is still rich in oil.

• In addition, the definite article is used with the names of channels, currents, straits and waterfalls:

— Not everyone knows the name of the Angel Falls – the highest waterfall in the world. – Few people know the name of Angel Falls - the highest waterfall in the world.

• The exception is lakes. In normal situations, the is also used with them, but sometimes if the name begins with the word Lake with a capital letter, the article may not be used:

— Lake Baikal is written this way. - “Lake Baikal is spelled like this.

But there is an exception. Note:

the Great Salt Lake, the Lake of Geneva (Lake Geneva).

The same the is used with the names of groups of lakes:

On which economical region of Russia is the Seliger located? – In what economic region of Russia is Seliger located?

• Another type of reservoir - bays - is the most controversial of all. The preposition of in the name can help determine the need for an article before the name of the bay. If there is one, then you need to put the before the fill; if not, then there is no need:

— The postcard was showing a beautiful picture of San Francisco Bay at the sunset. – The postcard showed a beautiful photograph of San Francisco Bay at sunset.

the Bay of Biscay, the Chesapeake Bay.

Desert names

• Deserts are usually called using the definite article and the word Desert, capitalized after the name:

— The Danakil Desert in the Ethiopia belongs to the rare type of salt deserts. – The Danakil Desert in Ethiopia belongs to a rare type of salt desert.

• The situation is similar with the names of plateaus, plains and valleys. In this case, the words Plain and Valley are used:

— The events of the second storyline take place in the new research telescope located in the place called the Starlight Valley far away from the modern urbanized world and tell the story of two scientists… — The events of the second storyline take place in the new research telescope, located in a place called the Valley of Starlight, far from the modern urbanized world, and tells the story of two scientists...

Exceptions are the names of some valleys: for example, Death Valley and Yosemite Valley, respectively.

Names of individual mountains and islands

Another item on the list of geographical proper names is mountains and islands.

• The zero article is usually used with the names of individual islands:

— Why does Greenland have such a strange name? – Why does Greenland have such a strange name?

• However, with island groups and archipelagos, the article the is required:

— The Mariana Islands are a part of Micronesia, which is a part of Oceania. –The Mariana Islands are part of Micronesia, which is part of Oceania.

• When writing the names of mountain ranges and massifs, the definite article is also used:

— The Caucasus is a name for both a mountain chain and a region. – Caucasus is the name of both a mountain range and a region.

The same goes for the names of the hills.

But the names of individual mountains do not require any articles:

— Elysium Mons isn’t widely known, but it’s one on the highest mountains. – Mount Elysium is not very widely known, but it is one of the highest mountains.

• As well as the names of individual volcanoes:

The eruption of Mount Etna was filmed. – The eruption of Mount Etna was filmed.

Please note that interference may occur in the names of volcanoes and mountains. The same object can be called both a volcano and a mountain, but the word will be formed differently.

• It is also worth mentioning the peculiarities of writing the names of the peninsulas. Unlike islands, they require the:

It must be quite cold now on the Taimyr peninsula. – It must be quite cold on the Taimyr Peninsula now.

Articles with names of streets, roads and squares

From cases where the definite article is used with geographical names, it is logical to move on to buildings erected by human hands. They will be discussed below.

• Used with road names:

— Low Lane will lead you from here to the post office you need. “Low Lane will take you from here to the post office you need.”

Motorways and highways

• On the other hand, motorways and highways are used only with the definite article:

— The Outer Highway is going away from the city center straight to the most high-paid office district. “The outer highway leads from the city center straight to the highest-paying office district.

The zero article is used with street names:

— There is a street called “Mira Street” in an almost every city or a town. – There is a street called “Peace Street” in almost every metropolis or small town.

There are a few exceptions: (the) High Street (in any town), the Mall and the Strand (in London), the Great north Road, (the) Edgware Road, (the) Old Kent Road.

With squares

Same as with the names of squares:

— It’s not even a question if Red Square should be written with an article or without it if you’re any good with English grammar. – It’s not even a question of whether you need to write Red Square with or without an article, if you have any knowledge of English grammar.

— Do you know if Trafalgar Square is written with an article or without it? – Do you know whether you should write Trafalgar Square with or without an article?

• Unique buildings, on the contrary, need the:

“I came here to see not you, but the Hermitage!” - “I came here to look not at you, but at the Hermitage!

Names of hotels, restaurants, pubs are used with the definite article

Together with them in this category there are cafes, restaurants, shops and other similar establishments:

— The Sunflower cafe is a great one and it’s just five minutes walking from here! – The Sunflower Cafe is excellent, and just a five-minute walk from here!

And also hotels:

— The “Hospitality” hotel isn’t very comfortable, but it’s that type of small hotels where you can go when you have nowhere else to go in the town. – The Hospitality Hotel is not very comfortable, but it is the type of small hotel you can go to when you have nowhere else to go in this city.

Stations and airports

• Returning to the topic of transport, all train stations, airports, ports and other places of departure, as well as airlines, do not have an article in front of their name:

— You can either call it “Victory airlines” or “Pobeda airlines” on English.” – “You can speak both “Victory airlines” and “Pobeda airlines” in English.

Banks, pubs, restaurants and hotels that were named after someone in (ending in -s, ‘s) are used without an article.

For example,

• —Luigi's
• — Harrods
• — Macdonald's

Palaces, castles, churches, and many other religious and historical buildings generally have a zero article before their names.

The use of articles with the names of institutions and organizations

But there are other cases of using the article the and others with proper names. Organizations, as a more abstract phenomenon than buildings, have many subclauses and special cases of using different articles.

• The definite the is used with the names of organizations, enterprises, foundations and other similar institutions:

— The National Aeronautics and Space Administration announced a briefing. – The National Aeronautics and Space Administration announced a briefing.

• However, when using an abbreviation from the name of an organization, the article changes to zero:

— NASA announced a briefing. – NASA announced a briefing.

But: the BBC, the FBI, the EU, the United Nations (the UN).

The names of political parties also need a definite article:

— The Democratic Party is the name for a particular party, although democratic parties exist in almost every country where a party can exist. – The Democratic Party is the name of a specific party, although democratic parties exist in almost every country where a party can exist at all.

Political institutions, like parties, are used with the article the.

• The names of historical eras as unique phenomena require the:

“Was this invented during the Renaissance or the Enlightenment? - “Was this invented during the Renaissance or the Enlightenment?”

Articles with months and days of the week in English

In a complex language it is easy to get confused in auxiliary particles - articles and prepositions. Some of the rules regarding articles are also relevant in this case.

Days of the week generally do not require any article, nor do months. The names of holidays, contrary to obvious assumption, are also used only with a zero article.

• However, as an exception, in order to deliberately emphasize that we're talking about about an abstract day, with the above can be used:

— Who will arrange a meeting on a Saturday? – Who makes an appointment on Saturday?

• Conversely, when you need to focus on the specifics of a day or event, it is permissible to use the:

— The best July of my entire life. – The best July of my entire life.

Ships and boats

Has a definite article in front of it.

— The Titanic is such a legendary ship that it requires a definite article before the name of it. – The Titanic is such a legendary ship that it requires a definite article before its name.

• The names of small boats are not written with an article:

— What do you call your yacht? – Simply Ambush. – Why not The Ambush? I don't know. Because it's small.

The names of spacecraft are used without an article: Discovery, Apollo.

Schools, colleges and universities

• Names of any educational institutions used without an article:

— My room’s windows overlook Number 43 School along with a bunch of other apartment buildings. – The windows of my room overlook school number 43 along with several apartment buildings.

Names of sporting events

Another case of using the definite article is large public events:

— Do you remember where will the next Olympic Games be held? -You don’t remember where the next ones will take place? Olympic Games?

• the World Cup;
• the British Open;
• the Cup Final.

Magazines and journals

Newspapers and magazines are a special place in the use of articles. By default, no auxiliary parts of speech are used with them, but often the word “the” is included in the title of the publication itself and is written with a capital letter: The Times, The Guardian, The Sun, The Economist, The One; Today, Forbes, Daily Express, Tribune, National Geographic.

A similar rule applies to the name musical groups, groups and bands: The Doors, The Revolution, The Exploited; Ramones.

In the cases listed above, foreign names are never used with English articles and, if present, retain the article own language: Le Monde.

the Whitehall (a theater) – Whitehall (a street).

Summary of the article

The names of buildings and places often include multiple words. This is a complex case in which there are many separate sub-clauses:

1. A place named after someone or something will be named without an article.

2. However, in this case you need to be very careful: many names that are written with a capital letter are not actually based on a proper name. The is used with them.

3. If such a name is expressed using the possessive ending –’s, the article is also not used.

4. The preposition of in the title can often indicate the need for a definite article.

Hello! There are two problems with the article the: either it is placed before any word, or it is forgotten and not used at all.

The fact is that with some geographical names the definite article the is used, but with others it is not. To understand, you need to remember a number of rules and exceptions.

We have prepared a table for you from which you will find out which names you should use the with. We have included general cases and rules in this material, but do not forget that there are exceptions to every rule.

Article placement exercises

Exercise 1.

Interesting facts about waterspaces.

1. ___ BermudaTriangle is located in ___ Atlantic Ocean.
2. The longest river of the world is ___ Nile River.
3. The lowest lake of the world is ___ Dead Sea, the deepest lake is ___ Lake Baikal, the longest lake is ___ Tanganyika.
4. ___ Lake Superior is the largest of ___ Great Lakes.
5. In ___ Atlantic Ocean, ___ American Mediterranean Sea is the combination of the seas of ___ Gulf of Mexico and ___ Caribbean Sea.
6. ___ Victoria Falls is the largest waterfall in the world. ___Tugela Falls is the world’s second tallest. Europe’s highest waterfall is ___ Utigard in Norway.

Exercise 2. Insert the appropriate article into the sentences.

1. During our unforgettable tour across ___ Europe we visited many countries: ___ France, ___ Belgium and ____ Netherlands in ___ Western Europe; ___ Spain and ___ Italy in ___Southern Europe; ___ Poland and ___Belarus in ___ Eastern Europe.
2. The country I liked most of all was ___ amazing Italy. I got to know much about its history and culture. During the numerous excursions, I learned that ___ Medieval Italy was a real center of art.
3. The capital city of ___ Italy is ___Rome. It is a city that is full of history. Walking in its streets you can easily imagine ___ Rome of ancient times, because there are a lot of historical evidence of those times.
4. ___ Rome of today is a modern beautiful city with charming and hospitable inhabitants and a lot of tourists that are eager to do the sightseeing and to visit ___ Vatican.
5. Next year I want to visit ____ South America and to ____ Buenos Aires in ____ Argentina.

Exercise 3 . Insert the appropriate article into the sentences.

1. ___ Island of Madeira is historically Portuguese territory.
2. ___ Arctic Archipelago extends from Canada to the northernmost of ___ Ellesmere Island.
3. A journey to ___ Greenland may appear to be unbelievably interesting.
4. ___ Virgin Islands, also known as ___ British Virgin Islands or ___BVI, is a British territory to the east of Puerto Rico. The islands make up a significant part of ___ Virgin Islands archipelago; the remaining islands make up ___ US Virgin Islands and ___ Spanish Virgin Islands.
5. ___ Borneo is situated in the waters of the South China Sea

Exercise 4. Insert the appropriate article into the sentences.

1. ___ Death Valley is located near the border of ___California and ___Nevada, in ___ Great Basin.
2. There are two lighthouses near or in ___ Cape Horn.
3. ___ Texas is the second most populous (after ___ California) and the second-largest (after___ Alaska) state. Located in ___ south central part of the country, ___ Texas borders on ___ Mexican states of ___ Chihuahua, ___ Coahuila, ___ Nuevo León, and ___ Tamaulipas to ___ south.
4. ___ Gobi covers part of ___ northern and ___northwestern China, and part of ___southern Mongolia. ___ Gobi is bounded by ___ Hexi Corridor and ___Tibetan Plateau to ___ southwest, by___ North China Plain to ___southeast. ___ Gobi is notable in history as part of ___ Silk Road.

Exercise 5. Insert the appropriate article into the sentences.

1. ___ North Pole is also known as ___ Geographic North Pole or ___Terrestrial North Pole It is defined as the point in ___ Northern Hemisphere where ___ Earth’s axis of rotation meets its surface. Don’t confuse it with ___ North Magnetic Pole.
2. ___East is one of the four compass points. It is the opposite of ___west and is perpendicular to___ north and ___south.
3. We went from ___ East to ___West
4. ___ North Pole lies diametrically opposite ___ South Pole
5. My dwelling is in ___ South of the country.
6. Go straight ___ north.