Choose a reading lesson

 

Articles 2

Do you know when you need to use the in common phrases and place names? Test what you know with interactive exercises and read the explanation to help you.

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.

Try this exercise to test your grammar.

Test1 

Grammar explanation

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

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

Do this exercise to test your grammar again.

Test2