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)
Jump to: Exercises
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:
Hello, is Honk Kong IA written with the definite article?
Hong :D
Hello Lenka. No, it doesn’t need an article.
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
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.