English Level: Upper-Intermediate, Advanced
Language Focus: A review of when to use the definite article with the names of places
Worksheet Download: definite-article-geography-worksheet.docx (scroll down to study the exercises online)
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A proper noun is the unique name of a person, place, or thing that starts with a capital letter, for example, ‘John’, ‘Sweden’, ‘Google’. Before proper nouns, we generally do not use an article. For example,
- Matthew is a man.
- He lives in Canada.
- He worked for IBM.
However, sometimes you can find the definite article ‘the‘ before proper nouns.
- Carver lives in the United States.
- He lives near the Pacific Ocean.
Why? Well, it’s hard to give a reason. However, there are some rules we can follow. Please read below and do the exercises to practice.
Boats on the Pacific Ocean
Rule #1: Use the Definite Article ‘The’ with Countries that are States, Unions, Republics, etc.
We use ‘the’ before countries that contain a word like ‘Union’, ‘Emirates’, ‘Kingdom.’ These words mean that the country is a group of smaller states.
- the United States
- the Republic of Ireland
- the Czech Republic
- the United Arab Emirates
We also use ‘the’ before countries that end in a plural ‘s’.
- the Philippines (= the full name is The Republic of the Philippines)
- the Bahamas (= the full name is The Republic of the Bahamas)
- the Netherlands
Rule #2: Use the Definite Article ‘The’ with Names of Rivers, Seas, Oceans, etc.
We say the following:
- the Nile / the Nile River
- the Caspian Sea
- the Pacific / the Pacific Ocean
- the Mediterranean / the Mediterranean Sea
- the Panama Canal
Rule #3: Use the Definite Article ‘The’ with Deserts
- the Sahara / the Sahara Desert
Rule #4: Do Not Use ‘the’ with Lakes or Mounts
- I live by Lake Ontario.
- I swam in Lake Superior.
- He can see Mount Fuji.
- She can see Mount Rushmore.
Rule #5 – Use the Definite Article ‘The’ with Mountain Ranges
Just like how we add ‘the’ to countries that end with a plural ‘s’ (the Philippines), we add ‘the’ before mountain ranges (which also end in a plural noun).
- the Rockies / the Rocky Mountains
- the Himalayas / the Himalayan Mountains
Rule #6 – Use the Definite Article ‘The’ with Building Names
We usually use ‘the’ before the names of buildings.
- the Emperor’s Palace
- the Tower of Pisa
- the Louvre
- the Pentagon
- The Marriott / The Marriott Hotel
This is not true, however, in some cases:
- The names of stations: Grand Central Station, Main Station
- The names of airports: Pearson Airport, Gatwick Airport
- The names of universities (without ‘of’): Columbia University, Santa Monica College
General Rule: Use the Definite Article ‘The’ with Names that Have the Preposition ‘Of’
- the Island of Lesbos
- the University of Toronto
- the Republic of Congo
- the Gulf of Mexico
To summarize, use ‘the’ before the following:
- proper nouns that contain a word that means they are a group (unions, republics, etc.)
- deserts (the Mojave)
- rivers, seas, oceans, etc. (but not lakes!)
- mountain ranges (the Rockies)
- building names (the Pentagon)
- proper nouns that include ‘of’ (the University of Michigan)
Do not use ‘the’ for everything else, which includes
- lake names (Lake Superior)
- mounts (Mount Everest)
- street names (Main Street)
- airports (JFK Airport)
- stations (Broadway Station)
After reviewing the above rules, try the practice exercises below.
Exercises: Using Articles with Names of Places
Instructions: Add the definite article ‘the’ if necessary.
- Prague is the capital of Czech Republic.
- When I was in England, I visited Tower of London.
- Rhine is a river that goes through Netherlands.
- On my trip in Asia, I had a chance to visit Mount Aso and Yangtze River in China.
- I left Hong Kong via Hong Kong International Airport.
- Mohave Desert is located in United States.
- Appalachian Mountains are in North America.
- When I was in New York, I visited Empire State Building and Seneca Lake.
- Sea of Japan is located between Japan and South Korea. It is part of Pacific Ocean.
- MET Museum is located on Fifth Avenue.
- I met a man from New Zealand when I was skiing in Swiss Alps.
- On my trip around the world, I visited Jamaica, Bahamas, Australia, and Republic of Congo.
- John lives on Fraser Street in Sydney.
- Poland is part of European Union.
- The tourist arrived at Manaus Airport and then took a tour of Amazon River.
I hope these general rules about article use will be helpful. If you find a mistake or have any questions, please leave a comment below.
Best of luck in your English studies.
– Created by Matthew Barton (copyright) of Englishcurrent.com
Related Lessons:
- Article Practice Exercises (All Levels)
- Help Understanding Articles (Beginner)
- The Indefinite Article & Word Sounds (Advanced)
Hello, is Honk Kong IA written with the definite article?
Hong :D
Hello Lenka. No, it doesn’t need an article.
What article is used before the word mountain?
A mountain or the mountain
The noun ‘mountain’ is just a regular noun, like pencil or tree. Therefore, you would follow the regular rules of article use to determine if you’d use ‘a’ or ‘the’. To review these rules, see here: https://www.englishcurrent.com/grammar/english-articles-definite-indefinite-help/
If particular then, the mountain otherwise a mountain
Kong :DDDDDDD
in exercise I noticed that before “Hong Kong Int. Airport” definite article “The” was used but before “Manaus Airport” not. Why?
Thanks, your comment and the previous one were about the same thing — I’ve fixed it now.
Good exercise for them who are learning articles
Very useful exercises, thank you so much
When ordinals take definite article than in the above exercise why th definite article not used with fifth avenue
Hello. If you were referring to the avenue in an ordinal sense (i.e. as part of an order of numbered items), then it would be the fifth avenue. However, we can see that ‘Fifth’ is capitalized, which means it’s a proper noun, i.e. the name of the street. For street names, no article is needed.
Hello! What about “the” in front of the names of creeks , streams, etc.? You usually hear Mill Creek not the Mill Creek or Meadow Branch instead of the Meadow Branch. Are there any rules you can point to explain the definite article for such uses?
Hi Bryan. I don’t know a rule. I would say generally no article is used, as you have mentioned. It is funny that is different from rivers that require an article though.
Can we use the boefore the state of california
Yes
your answer for number 3 Appalacchian Mountains …………. Is that correct? I think the answer should with ‘The’
Yes, you are right. Thanks! I’ve fixed the mistake.
Can we use “a” with the proper names like here: “He is a Lomonosov of the field”.?
Yes.
Hello !
Why do we say “Central Park” without “the”? Is there a rule ??
Hello. I’m not aware of any formal rule but it does seem like we do not use ‘the’ before park names. Here in Vancouver we have Stanley Park, for example. (no article).
Hello. Can you tell me which one of these is correct:
The Krugen Park is located near the Mozambique border. or The Krugen Park is located near Mozambique border.
Sorry I meant The Kruger Park
Krugen Park is located near the Mozambique border. (no ‘The’ with Krugen Park, but ‘the’ with border).
Hi. Why Caspian sea has “the”. My teacher said it does need any article
Bodies of water, such as the Caspian Sea, typically have ‘the’ in front of them.
I was interested to stumble across your article, because I was just wondering why a few cities also take the definite article as part of their names. My missing was triggered by A Coruña in Galicia, but I also know of Den Haag in the Netherlands. I cannot think quickly of any other examples, but you don’t seem to have a rule encompassing these cases. Can you shed any light upon what is going on here, since you have clearly thought about this much more than I have?
I meant to write ‘musing’ not ‘missing’, in case that was not clear!
Hello. I haven’t thought about it *that* much more than you have; most of the rules above are taken from grammar books that I felt accurately represented how we use the definite article. As for articles in non-English, your guess is as good as mine. My guess, for example for The Hague, is that ‘hague’ means something such like ‘the Capital’ (the web suggests so), so everyone in the region always referred to the city as ‘the capital’, and knew exactly which capital they were referring to, and the name was borne from that.
Ha! A Galician friend of mine has just pointed out Los Angeles, La Paz and El Alamo…
So it seems it is much more common in Spanish than in English to use the The in place names.
Makes me think of Las Ramblas, too. But then my mind leaps to the Shambles in York. Except that it is usually just that, the ‘the’ is not usually capitalized as part of the name, is it? Or The Lanes in Brighton, or The Mall in London. But then, those are all really just street names, not cities or towns. So that is really a different use-case, isn’t it?
I’m not familiar with most of these places, so I can’t hazard a guess. Generally my assumption is the same as for The Hague — whatever word comes after ‘the’ was the only one of that thing (e.g. lanes, mall) in the past, hence the use of the definite article.
Everyone in the family bullied her and made her do all the chores, she was indeed a Cinderella.
This is a practice question, so I wanna ask why it uses “a” not “the” before Cinderella.
is there any other example or rule?
Hello. Firstly, that sentence is a comma splice (run-on sentence). Regarding the article, either could be used. If you say “she was indeed a Cinderella”, you are saying that there are many/several Cinderellas in the world, and she is one of them. If you say that ‘she was the Cinderella’, you are saying that every family has a cinderella (just like every family has a mother), and in this family, she is _the_ cinderella (just like the mother is _the_ mother) of the family. I hope that helps.
hello, is it correct to say: Manchester Football shirts or The Manchester Football shirts?
If you are speaking in general about Manchester football shirts, then don’t use ‘the’. If you are speaking specifically about some definite (specific) shirts that your listener knows, then use ‘the’ (this is why we call ‘the’ the definite article).
“Sea of Japan”?? Why politicize grammar? You mean the “East Sea”!
hello do we need to add the if we want to say, I went to the supermarket.
I played with my ball at the park.
or those two sentences can stand alone without “the”?
You need ‘the’ in both.
Mountain names with using articles
See rule #5.
Hi!, Why does a center need an article? e.g. the Federal Judicial Center, the Google News Publisher Center
Hello. It needs an article because the word ‘center’ here refers to an organization or building. These are distinct things that can be counted. (You can easily imagine two separate judicial centers, which shows you can count them). If it is a countable noun (and singular), you’ll need an article.
Matthew Barton you are the best!!! Thanks for such clear explanation !
Hi, just to confirm a potential rule: do we use ‘the’ with names of forests too? I can only think of the Amazon but I can imagine it applies to others too? I came across a sentence that bothered me “It is called Amazon” and while there’s no huge error, I’m sure there’s a reason it bothered me. Thank you