Articles: "the" or no article

Do you know when you need to use the in common phrases and place names?

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.

Explanation

The definite article (the) is used before a noun to indicate that the identity of the noun is known to the reader. The indefinite article (a, an) is used before a noun that is general or when its identity is not known. There are certain situations in which a noun takes no article.

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, América

• 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