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South America with or without the article. The use of articles with proper names and geographical names

South America with or without the article. The use of articles with proper names and geographical names

Articles are of particular difficulty for English learners, because they are absent in the Russian language. provides additional information about the noun before which it stands. There are two articles in total ( a - uncertain , the — certain) and it is always better to put article than not to put at all. If you do not put the article, always be ready to explain “why?”. In this lesson, we will understand in which cases the article the is placed before geographical names.

Rule 1 Article the not countries and continents:

Exceptions:

the RF (the Russian Federation)
the UK (the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland)
the USA (the United States of America)
the Netherlands - the Netherlands or Holland (Holland is an unofficial name)
the Irish Republic
the Chech Republic
the Philippines
United Arab Emirates

Also Article the not used before the following geographical names:

Europe, Eurasia, Antarctica, Central Asia, North (South) America, Latin America, South-East Asia, Northern Africa, Western (Eastern Siberia), Siberia.

Remember: the Crimea (Crimea), the Far East (Far East), the Middle East (Middle East), the Midland s(Central counties in England), the Highland s( Highlands, the Lowland s(Lowlands).

Rule 2 Article the not used with titles cities.

Exception: the Hague – The Hague

Remember: The Hague is in the Netherlands. The Hague is in Holland.

Rule 3. Article the used before titles cardinal directions(since they are the only ones in the world): the East (east), the West (west), the South (south), the North (north).

Rule 4. Article the used before denoting nouns type of geographical landscape

at the seaside - on the coast
on the coast - on the coast
in the country - out of town, in the countryside
in the countryside - in the countryside
in the forest - in the forest
in the wood(s) - in the forest
in the mountains - in the mountains
in the jungle - in the jungle

Rule 5. Article the used before names of water spaces: oceans, seas, rivers, canals, straits, lakes, Besides bays.

The Atlantic Ocean - Atlantic Ocean
The Red Sea
The Volga - Volga (river)
The Panama Canal - Panama Canal
The English Channel - English Channel
The Gulf Stream
The Baikal (the Baikal Lake) - Baikal (lake), but Lake Baikal, Lake Seliger

Exceptions - bay names: Hudson Bay - Hudson Bay

Rule 6. Article the used before titles mountain ranges and archipelagos of islands(collective function of the article the, see ending -s at the end)

the Urals
the Caucasus - Caucasus Mountains
the Rocky Mountains
the British Isles
the Kurilas - Kuril Islands

Exceptions:

mountain peaks: Elbrus, Everest, Ben Nevis, etc.
single islands: Cuba, Cyprus, Haiti, etc.

Rule 7. Article the used before titles deserts:

the Gobi
the Sahara
the Kara-Kum
the Kalahari

The article the with geographical names. Exercises

Exercise 1.Complete the table with examples.

Exercise 2.Insert the article the where necessary.

British Isles are a group of _____ islands in ____ North Sea on ____ Atlantic coast of ___ Europe. ___ two largest islands are called ___ Britain and ___ Ireland. ___Ireland is divided into ___ two countries: ___ Irish Republic and ___Northern Ireland which is part of ___ United Kingdom. ___ two islands are separated by ____Irish Sea.

Exercise 3Write down and memorize the geographical names from exercise 2.

British Isles, North Sea, Atlantic Ocean, Europe, Britain, Ireland, Republic of Ireland, Northern Ireland, United Kingdom, Irish Sea.

Articles in English language are one of the core themes. However, they often cause difficulties for students. After all, there are no articles in the Russian language, and it is not clear to us when to put them and when not.

Articles before geographic features (cities, countries, etc.) are part of this larger theme. In this article, we'll look at how to use them correctly.

Why are articles needed?

Article - this is a little label that is placed in front of some words to make it easier for us to deal with them. We do not translate articles into Russian. However, it is the article that is the pointer and helps us catch information about the word. How? To answer this, let's look at the functions it performs.

The article performs the following functions:

Shows what the object or being in question. For example: table, chair, cabinet, cat, dog, student, teacher, etc.
Shows you are talking about something. specific or general concept. Compare the following two sentences.

General: I want a car.
Specific: I want this red car.

There are two types of articles in English:

definite - the- when we talk about something specific
indefinite - a/an- when talking about the general concept

We examined the articles in detail in this article.

Articles with geographical names

geographical name is a name that denotes a specific geographic feature. For example: countries, mountains, islands, seas.

Before geographical names, we put either the article the (as we point to a specific object), or we don’t put the article at all.

Let's look at this in detail.

1. Use of the article with country names

We put the article the when we talk about a country as a territory divided into several parts. This is called an administrative division.

In such cases, the name contains the words: states, republic, federation, emirates, kingdom, etc.

That is, any words that show that it is a combination of several parts.

Let's look at an example:

We are speaking the United Kingdom of Great Britain (United Kingdom of Great Britain), as we mean unification. But we will say Great Britain - without the article.

We are speaking the Russian Federation (Russian Federation), meaning the unification of several parts. But Russia is without the article.

Let's look at the table:

With the article the	Without article
the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland	Great Britain Britannia
the Kingdom of Denmark Kingdom of Denmark	Denmark Denmark
the Republic of Cuba Republic of Cuba	Cuba Cuba
the German Federal Republic Federal Republic of Germany	German Germany
the Russian Federation Russian Federation	Russia Russia
the Czech Republic Czech Republic	Czech Czech
the People's Republic of China People's Republic of China	China China
the United States of America USA	america America
the United Arab Emirates United Arab Emirates	Arab Emirates United Arab Emirates

2. Using the article with city names

It's very simple here. Remember, we do not put the article before the names of cities, states and villages.

Moscow - Moscow
Berlin - Berlin
Kiev - Kyiv
London - London
Beijing - Beijing
Amsterdam - Amsterdam
Paris - Paris
Rome - Rome

Exceptions are cities that are a state. For example, the Vatican.

3. Use of the article with the names of the seas, rivers, oceans

Before all the water we use the article the. That is, it includes:

oceans
straits
channels
currents

For example:

the atlantic ocean
Atlantic Ocean

the pacific ocean
Pacific Ocean

the indian ocean
Indian Ocean

the black sea
Black Sea

the red sea
Red sea

the Volga
Volga

the Don
Don

the Bosporus
Bosphorus

the Bering Strait
Bering Strait

the Sea of Japan
Japanese Sea

4. Articles before mountain names

If we are talking about a mountain range, that is, a connection of several peaks, then we put the article the.

For example:

the Andes
Andes

the Urals
Ural mountains

the Alps
Alps

the Himalayas
Himalayas

If we are talking about a separate peak, mountain, volcano, then we do not put the article.

Elbrus
Elbrus

Kilimanjaro
kilimanjaro

Vesuvius
Vesuvius

5. Articles with islands

Just like with mountains, if we are talking about a group of islands, then we put the article the:

the Canary Islands (the Canaries)
Canary Islands (Canaries)

the british isles
British Isles

the Bahamas
Bahamas

If we mean individual islands, then the article is not put:

Cyprus
Cyprus

Madagascar
Madagascar

Jamaica
Jamaica

So, we have considered the use of articles with geographical objects. Now let's practice this.

Reinforcement task

Translate the following sentences into English. Leave your answers in the comments below the article.

1. Are you going to London?
2. She lives in the United States of America.
3. She was born in Russia.
4. They visited Madagascar.
5. Don is a big river.

The use of the article "The" with geographical names, countries and languages.

Names are used without the article (including the names of cities and countries).

For example:
John, Mary, Julianna, Irina, Moscow, Odessa, Ukraine, America (but: the Hague - excl.)

Nations, nationalities, ethnic groups as a whole are used with "The".

For example:
the Americans, the Japanese, the Indians (Americans, Japanese, Indians).

Languages (only with the word language) - the English language, the Russian language.
But! Just languages without the article - English.

For example:
English, French, Russian, Thai, Swahili.

Names of states containing the word republic, union, kingdom, etc. used with "The".

For example:
The United States,
the United Kingdom,
the South African Republic,
the Soviet Union,
the German Federal Republic,
the People's Republic of China.

Countries in the singular, the name of which is perceived as a name (usually consists of 1 word), including the names of individual states, are used without the article.

For example:
England, France, China, Ukraine, Germany, Georgia, Utah, Arkansas, Great Britain, Northern Ireland, South Africa.

Countries and other place names are pluralized with "The".

For example:
the Netherlands,
the United States,
the Philippines,
the Canary Islands,
the urals,
the Great Lakes.

Oceans, seas, bays, straits, rivers, groups of lakes, archipelagos, mountain ranges, deserts have the article "The".

For example:
the Arctic, the Black Sea, the Persian Gulf, the British Channel, the Danube, the Great Lakes, the Bahamas, the Caucasus, the Sahara Desert.

But! separate lakes, waterfalls, mountains are used without the article.

For example:
Baikal, Victoria Falls, Vesuvius, Montblanc, Everest, Elbrus.

Cardinal directions - with "The".

For example:
the South, the North, the West, the Middle East.

Continents - no article.
For example:
Europe, North America, East Asia, South Africa.

Earth, sky, moon, sun - with "The".
For example:
The Earth, the sky, the Moon, the Sun.

Planets, stars, constellations do not have an article.
For example:
Jupiter, Mars.

Countries and states (no article)

Argentina - Argentina
Australia
Austria - Austria
Belgium
Brazil - Brazil
Canada
Chile - Chile
China - China
Denmark - Denmark
Egypt - Egypt
England - England
France
Germany
(Great) Britain
Greece - Greece
Holland - Holland
Hungary - Hungary
India - India
Iran - Iran
Ireland
Israel - Israel
Italy - Italy
Japan
Japan
Lebanon - Lebanon
Luxembourg - Luxembourg
Mexico - Mexico
Mongolia - Mongolia
Morocco - Morocco
Mozambique - Mozambique
New Zealand- New Zealand
Norway
Poland - Poland
Portugal - Portugal
Russia - Russia
Saudi Arabia - Saudi Arabia
Scotland - Scotland
Spain
Sweden
Switzerland
Turkey
Wales - Wales

Countries and states (with the article the)

The Congo - Congo
the Netherlands
the UK (United Kingdom)
the USA (United States of America) - USA (United States of America)

Continents and geographical areas (no article)
(South/North/Latin/ Central) America - (North/South/Latin/Central) America
(Western/Eastern) Europe - (Western/Eastern) Europe
(Southeast/Central) Asia - (Southeast/Central) Asia
(South/North) Africa - (North/South) Africa
Australia
Antarctica - Antarctica
Siberia - Siberia

Continents and geographical areas (with the article the)
the (Western/Eastern/Northern/Southern) Hemisphere
the Arctic
the Antarctic - Antarctica
the (Far/Middle) East - (Far/Middle) East
the (North/South) Pole - (North/South) Pole

Some bays and lakes (no article)
Hudson Bay - Hudson Bay
San Francisco Bay - San Francisco Bay

(Lake) Baikal
Lake Victoria - Lake Victoria
Lake Superior - lake superior
Lake Huron - Lake Huron
Lake Michigan - Lake Michigan
Lake Erie - Lake Erie
Lake Ontario - Lake Ontario
Crater Lake - Crater Lake
Utah Lake - Utah Lake
Lake Geneva - Lake Geneva
Great Pond

Oceans, seas, bays, lakes, rivers, straits, canals and currents (with the article the)

The Atlantic Ocean (the Atlantic) - Atlantic Ocean
the Pacific Ocean (the Pacific) - Pacific Ocean
the Arctic Ocean - Arctic Ocean
the Indian Ocean - Indian Ocean

The Mediterranean Sea (the Mediterranean) - Mediterranean Sea
the Caribbean Sea (the Caribbean) - Caribbean Sea
the Red Sea
the Black Sea
the Caspian Sea
the North Sea
the Baltic Sea
the Barents Sea
the Bering Sea
the Yellow Sea
the Sea of Okhotsk
the Sea of Japan
the Laptev Sea - Laptev Sea

The Gulf of Mexico - Gulf of Mexico
the Bay of Bengal - Bay of Bengal
the Gulf of Finland - Gulf of Finland
the Bay of Biscay
the Persian Gulf

The Amazon (River)
the Nile (River)
the Mississippi (River) - Mississippi River
the Missouri (River) - Missouri River
the Rio Grande - Rio Grande
the Yangtze (River) - the Yangtze River
the Thames (River) / the River Thames
the Seine (River)
the Danube (River) - Danube river
the Amur (River)
the Dnepr (River) / the Dnieper
the Lena (River)
the Ob (River)
the Volga (River)
the Yenisei (River)
the Amu Darya - Amu Darya

The Strait of Gibraltar - Strait of Gibraltar
the Strait of Dover (Pas de Calais) - Strait of Dover (Pas de Calais)
the Strait of Magellan - Strait of Magellan
the Bering Strait - Bering Strait
the Dardanelles - Strait of the Dardanelles
the Bosporus/Bosphorus - the Bosphorus

The English Channel (La Manche) - English Channel (La Manche)
the Mozambique Channel - Mozambique Channel
the Suez Canal
the Panama Canal - Panama Canal
the Erie Canal

The Gulf Stream
the Florida Current
the Japan Current (the Kuroshio)

Hello my wonderful readers.

Eh, today we are waiting for, probably, the “most favorite” topic of any student - articles with geographical names in English. Oh how twisted!

In fact, in my practice, probably, there was not a single student who would be crazy about these same ones. And not even because the topic is difficult, or students in grade 5 - or even grade 6 - cannot master it. And all because for Russian speakers in general it is difficult to understand that there must still be some definitions before a noun.

But today we will get rid of all your fears and close all the dark corners of your knowledge. We are waiting for the rules, a complete table with examples and a lot of interesting things.

I want to give you an easy way to remember the use of articles with place names. Just follow the examples in the table and remember. And then we will move on to practice - I mean and.

rule	Example
When the article The is used:
Titles: Parts of the world: The South; The North .	Norway is located to the north of Denmark.
Rec: The Mississippi; The Nile; The Dnepr; The Don.	The Nile is the biggest river in Africa. The Volga leads to the Caspian Sea.
Moray: The Black Sea; The Red Sea; The Mediterranean Sea.	We spent our holidays on the Black Sea. The Dead Sea is a place I wish to see the most on this trip.
Groups of islands and states: The Comoro Islands; The Canaries; The USA.	Her dream was to have a wedding on the Canaries. The Philippines was the first country they visited for the vacation.
Peninsulas and capes: The Indochinese Peninsula; The Cape of Good Hope. BUT: Cape Chelyuskin.	To the north of the Cape of Good Hope is the Antarctica.
mountain ranges: The Andes; The Urals.	The Urals divide Russia into European and Asian parts. The Cordilleras are the longest mountain chain in the world.
Deserts: The Gobi desert; The Sahara desert.	The Sahara desert is known as the biggest desert on the planet. The next one is the Gobi desert.
oceans: The Atlantic Ocean; The Pacific Ocean; The Indian Ocean.	On her way to Australia she crossed the Pacific Ocean. The Indian Ocean attracted me most when I was making up my mind where to go.
channels: The Panama Channel.	The Panama Channel separates South America and North America.
When the article The is NOT used:
Titles: continents: Asia; Australia; South America; africa.	Africa is considered to be the poorest part of the world. Have you ever thought about how people in Australia walk living on the other side of the planet? Do they walk on their heads?
countries: Portugal; Spain; germany. BUT: the Argentina; The Netherlands; The Hague; The Congo. If the country name contains the words Republic, Kingdom, States - the article "The" is used: The United Kingdom, The Dominican Republic, The United States.	They went on tour to Germany and then to the United Kingdom. The Russian Federation and The United States are only about 40 kilometers away.
Regions: Texas; Central Asia.	She traveled all around Central Asia. Texas is the biggest state in the USA.
Cities: London; Madrid; Saint-Petersburg; Vienna.	He was born in Moscow, but is currently living in Lisbon.
Gore: Everest, Kilimanjaro, Mont Blanc.	Thousands of people dream of climbing Everest. But not everyone can do it.
Volcanoes: Batur, Elbrus, Rainier.	We saw the sunrise on Batur Volcano.
Islands: Bali; Malta; Corsica.	My first project in this position was to organize a tour to Malta.
lakes: Lake Baikal. BUT: the article The is used with groups of lakes: The Great Lakes; The Seliger.	Lake Ontario is the most beautiful view I've ever seen.

Well, my dear, have the dark corners of your knowledge become at least a little lighter? I'm sure we need to secure them immediately. I suggest you take a test of your new knowledge. In the next article I will give you

One of the most difficult points of using articles in English is proper names, and in particular geographical names. A feature in 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 this definite article that is richer than all the others in exceptions. That is why it is useful to consider and study separately the 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 who is 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 countable nouns:

Remember you're an Osborne - it's a name to be proud of. - Remember that you are Osborne - this is a name to be proud of. (One of the Osborne family).

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

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

2. When the speaker wants to emphasize the name of a person who is very famous, 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? “I met Robert De Niro the other day. The same Robert De Niro?

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

— I'm spending the day with a Miss Warren. “I spend 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'm marrying Miss Peak. "Isn't that the Sally Peake you think is the most beautiful creature in the world, as Tommy said?"

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

Dr. Watson;
President Lincoln;
Lord Byron.

If the 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 mostly 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 occurrence in journalism. Writing footballer Matthew White, not Matthew White, the / a footballer has two advantages: it saves space, and it frees users from the subtle distinction between the footballer (for the famous) and a footballer (for the obscure).

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

If it is necessary 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 can be used if the appositive noun is very long.

Articles with geographical names

Articles with geographical names have many exceptions. It is best 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

With the names of countries, in most cases, the zero article is used:

— “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 come with me to my parents?"

However, with countries that have a plural in their name, only the is used:

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

But even in this case there are a few exceptions. For example:

The Vatican
The Congo

With the names of countries and states

For a kingdom (“Kingdom”), a republic (“Republic”), a federation (“Federation”), a union (“Union”), or any other form of government whose name is included in the name of a state, use the.

This can be justified as follows: in such a construction, it is the aforementioned 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. For example:

— Does ‘the Russian Federation’ should be with a definite article or without it? “Does “The Russian Federation” need to 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 the country using the abbreviation, the same article is preserved as when writing full version:

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

with continents

With the names of continents, it is most often used with the 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 the definite article or “America” without it would be a mistake in both cases.

There are three exceptions:

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

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

Use of the article the with geographic regions

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

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.” “You seem to have forgotten that Far East time zones are not the same as ours.”

But if the situation with geographical units is clear enough, 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) is a moot point.

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

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

— The Moscow region and Moscow region 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 there are often exceptions:

– “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 the article the, and 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
the Arctic
the Caucasus
the Midlands - the central counties of England
(the) Crimea
the Middle East - Middle East
the Riviera
(the) Ruhr

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

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

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

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

Also with the names of rivers, it is customary to use the:

— 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.

Lakes are an exception. 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? – On the territory of what economic region of Russia is Seliger located?

Another type of water bodies - bays - is the most controversial of all. To determine the need for an article before the name of the bay, the preposition of in the name can help. If it is, then you need to put the before the bay, if not, then you don’t need it:

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

the Bay of Biscay, the Chesapeake Bay.

Desert names

Deserts are usually named 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 (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 groups of islands 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. - The Caucasus is the name of both a mountain range and a region.

Similarly, with the names of the hills.

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

- Elysium Mons isn't known widely, but it's one on the highest mountains. - Mount Elysium is not 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 framed 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 lead 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 “Street of the World” 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

As well as with the names of the areas:

— 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 whether you need to write Red Square with or without an article, if you are somehow versed in English grammar.

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

Unique buildings, on the other hand, require 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 are cafes, restaurants, shops and other similar establishments:

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

As well as 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 convenient, but this is the type of small hotel where you can go when you have nowhere else to go in this city.

Stations and airports

Returning to the topic of transport, all 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 English for both Victory airlines and Pobeda airlines.

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

For example,

— Luigi's
— Harrods
— Macdonald's

Palaces, castles, churches, as well as many other religious and historical buildings, in general, have a zero article in front of the name.

The use of articles with the name of institutions and organizations

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

With the names of organizations, enterprises, foundations and other similar institutions, the definite the is used:

— The National Aeronautics and Space Administration announced a briefing. - The National Aeronautics and Space Administration has announced a briefing.

However, when using an abbreviation from the name of the organization, the article is replaced by 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 the 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 particular party, although there are democratic parties 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 epochs as one-of-a-kind phenomena require the:

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

Articles with months and days of the week in English

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

The days of the week generally do not require any article, as do the months. The names of the holidays, contrary to the obvious assumption, are also used only with the zero article.

However, as an exception, in order to intentionally emphasize that we are talking about an abstract day, with the above, you can use:

— Who arrange a meeting on a Saturday? Who makes the appointment on Saturday?

Conversely, when you need to focus on the specificity of a day or event, it is acceptable to use the:

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

Ships and boats

It 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.

Spacecraft names are used without the 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 the school number 43, along with several apartment buildings.

Names of sports events

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

— Do you remember where will the next Olympic Games be held? - Do you remember where the next Olympic Games will be held?

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

Magazines and journals

Newspapers and magazines are a special item 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 capitalized: The Times, The Guardian, The Sun, The Economist, The One; Today, Forbes, Daily Express, Tribune, National Geographic.

A similar rule applies to the names of 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 available, retain the article of their own language: Le Monde.

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

Article Summary

Multiple words are often included in the names of buildings and places. This is a complex case that has many separate sub-clauses:

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

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

3. If such a name is expressed with the possessive ending -'s, the article is also not used.

4. Often the preposition of in the title can also indicate the need for a definite article.