One of the confusing moments in the use of articles is articles before geographical names. To be more precise, before geographical names, because they either do not have the article (), or the. The indefinite is not used before geographical names.

Basic rule

The general rule is this: the article the is used primarily before names denoting associations of objects, as well as with names of countries that include common nouns, such as federation, islands. For example, the Russian Federation, the Virgin Islands.

The article THE before country names

Most often, difficulties arise with the names of countries: Russian Federation or The Russian Federation? United Kingdom or The United Kingdom? United States or The United States? Let's address this issue first.

The article the is needed before country names if:

1. Title countries includes common nouns such as federation, states, kingdom, republic:

• the Russian Federation - the Russian Federation,
• the United States - United States,
• the United Kingdom - the United Kingdom,
• the Czech Republic - Czech Republic.

The abbreviated names of such countries are also written with the (the USA, the UK), but sometimes they are used without an article for brevity, for example, in headings, announcements, instructions (articles of this kind are often omitted in texts of this kind), for example: “Made in USA”.

2. The name of the country is a plural noun:

• the Netherlands
• the Philippines - Philippines,
• the Bahamas - Bahamas.

The article before the names of rivers, mountains, regions, islands, etc.

The article the can be used before the names of various place names.

Used:

1. Before the names of the poles and the equator:

• the Equator - Equator,
• the North Pole - North Pole,
• the South Pole - South Pole,

2. Before the names of deserts and peninsulas:

• the Mojave Desert - Mojave Desert,
• the Sahara - Sahara,
• the Balkan Peninsula - the Balkan Peninsula.

3. Before the names of groups of objects: mountain ranges, a group of lakes, islands:

• the Kuril Islands - Kuril Islands,
• the Great Lakes - Great Lakes,
• the Andes - Andes.

4. Before the names of oceans, seas and rivers (but not lakes):

• the Atlantic Ocean - Atlantic Ocean,
• the Thames - Thames,
• the Okhotsk Sea - the Sea of ​​Okhotsk,
• the Nile River - Nile.

The article is not used:

1. Before the names of the continents.

In English-speaking countries, it is customary to distinguish seven continents:

• Africa - Africa,
• Asia - Asia,
• Europe - Europe,
• North America - North America,
• South America - South America,
• Antarctica - Antarctica,
• Australia - Australia.

2. Gore:

• Mount Everest - Mount Everest.

3. Islands:

• Sakhalin - Sakhalin.
• Grenada - Grenada.

3. States, cities, streets:

• Alaska - Alaska,
• Seattle - Seattle,
• Las Vegas Boulevard - Las Vegas Boulevard,
• Bourbon Street - Bourbon Street.

4. Lakes:

• Lake Erie - Lake Erie,
• Lake Baykal - Lake Baikal.

Exceptions and controversial issues: Ukraine or the Ukraine?

There is confusion with the names of some countries. For example, Congo is called both the Congo and Congo, probably due to the fact that the name of the country comes from the name of the Congo River, which is called only the Congo. The Gambia is called the Gambia, perhaps also because of the "river" origin of the word.

Ukraine is called both Ukraine and the Ukraine - this is a kind of English version of the well-known problem "in" or "in" Ukraine. In Soviet times, the variant "the Ukraine" prevailed, later "Ukraine" becomes more and more popular. The bottom line is that the article the in the name "the Ukraine" suggests that Ukraine is a geographical region, part of the Soviet Union. When Ukraine ceased to be part of the USSR, the option without the article began to be used more and more often. This can be clearly seen in the graph of mentions of two options in Google Books:
Now both options are encountered - someone adheres to old habits, but for the most part they write without an article, the option with “the” is being forced out, becoming obsolete. This is facilitated by the fact that from the point of view of a native speaker, the variant "Ukraine" is more logical - not because of political reasons, but simply because countries with the in the name are exceptions to the rule.

In the ranking of the most "unloved" topics in the English language, the use of the article occupies one of the top positions. This is due to the absence of this article in our native language. In addition, the use of the article the implies a huge number of exceptions. Unfortunately, the British could not come up with one universal rule for all cases.

Of particular difficulty for students is the use of the article the with proper names. Proper names include:

• names and surnames of people
• names of streets, roads, various buildings, sights, public places
• names of educational and other institutions
• names of various organizations
• names of newspapers and magazines
• historical names
• astronomical names
• titles of works of art and many others

There are certain rules for using the article the with proper names and titles, but there are also a huge number of exceptions that, with all desire, cannot be contained within the framework of one article. Even native speakers are not always sure which names need an article and which do not.

To introduce you to this topic, we have prepared a table of rules and examples, which shows the main cases of using the article the with proper nouns.

This table shows the main uses of the definite article the with proper nouns. If you do not remember all the rules at once, do not be discouraged. One reading of the article is not enough to memorize so much information.

If you want to improve your knowledge on this topic, we recommend that you read more and listen to English speech. For this purpose, news resources and radio programs, programs and publications on historical and political topics, articles on art and architecture are best suited. Such materials contain a large number of proper names and various titles. Notice which ones are used with the article and which ones are not. Remember that many names cannot be subordinated to the rules, but you only need to remember.

We wish you success in learning English! If you have questions about this topic, we will be happy to help you. And if you need professional help - sign up for a free introductory lesson and become a student of our online school.

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.

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

Proper names in English are a large category of words that includes first names, surnames, pseudonyms, nicknames, and place names. If the former do not need a long explanation and are simply used with a capital letter, the latter group has its own characteristics that are worth paying attention to. So, for example, these names can have zero or definite articles. Often, articles in English with place names defy logical explanation, which means that the only way to understand how to use them is to learn the rules, which we will do today.

To begin with, it is worth noting that all proper names that denote geographical names are called toponyms. Toponyms, in turn, are divided into subspecies in the form of names of settlements, cities, streets, houses. However, the names of squares, monuments and other places of interest are not toponyms.

Of course, there is no need to memorize the names of all types, but it is worth considering each of them through the prism of the English language because each type can contain both zero and definite.

Articles in English with geographical names - types and rules of use:

Zero article

The zero article implies the absence of an article. The article is not used in toponyms:

1. With all continents:

1. With singular countries, states, cities, provinces, villages/villages:

However, there are exceptions and peculiarities here. The article the is used in titles:

• Vatican City States - the Vatican;
• Congo - The Congo;
• Cities of The Hague - The Hague;
• If the word “city” itself appears before the name of the city, the article the is placed before it, and after the preposition of:

1. And also with the names of streets, avenues, avenues and boulevards:

Article the

Now let's focus on place names in English that require the article the:

1. Regions / Regions, examples:

1. Countries / Countries in the plural:

As well as countries that have the words in their name:

Usage examples:

1. The article the with proper names, which denote:

The example with rivers and deserts shows that the names do not always contain defining words, but even if the words “river” and “desert” are added in the examples above, the definite article will remain in its place.

It is also worth noting that if there is no preposition of before proper names that denote bays and straits, the definite article is not used.

1. With mountain ranges, a group of islands and lakes, the article the is also used:

1. Note that the definite article is used with the names of cardinal directions, poles and hemispheres:

In English charts, the definite article is often omitted to save space.

In fact, articles in English with place names are not a big problem. Yes, at first you can confuse the use of the zero and the definite article, but with time and practice this problem will disappear by itself.

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There are two types of articles in English: definite and indefinite. The indefinite article is a or an(if the word it precedes starts with a vowel). It originates from the word one(one) and is used before singular nouns, and they must be countable. Subjects before which this type of article is used are indefinite in context and unknown to the speaker and listener. In other words, this article means “some”, “one of many”.
English articles Already from the name it is clear that the definite article the the opposite of indefinite. The derived from the word this(this). It can be used with both singular and singular nouns. plural, both with countable and c uncountable ones. The noun preceded by the definite article is usually well known or understandable from the context to the listener. The means - this one.

You may mistakenly think that if it does not fit a(an), then you can safely use the opposite type. However, it is not. In English, there are cases where the article is not needed at all. Its absence before nouns is usually called the case of the use of the zero article. Thus, it turns out that there are special rules in English for the use of each of the three types.
Today we will single out only those moments when we need a definite article before the names of rivers, oceans, lakes, countries, cities, etc.

article the

1. There is a need to put the definite article before the following geographical names: Oceans
   • The Indian Ocean
   • Seas
     The Black Sea
   • Rivers
     The Amazon River
   • lakes
     The Retba
   • Channels
     The Suez Canal
   • Straits
     The Bosphorus; The Dardanelles
   • Massifs and mountain ranges
     The Rwenzori Mountains
   • desert
     The Atacama Desert
   • Plains, plateaus, canyons, plateaus, uplands
     The Central Siberian Plateau
     The Iranian plateau
2. Before the names of countries where there are such words:
   • kingdom - kingdom
   • union - union
   • states - states
   • republic - republic
   • federation - federation
   • commonwealth - commonwealth
   • The Republic of Moldova
     The Soviet Union
3. Countries with plural names
   • Emirates
4. Island groups (archipelagos)
   • The Aldabra group
5. Parts of countries and 4 parts of the world
   • The West of England
   • The north (north); the east (east), etc.
6. Preposition constructions of, which look like this: common noun + of + proper name
   • The City of York (City of York)
   • The Gulf of Alaska (Gulf of Alaska)
7. Before the names of countries, cities and continents, if together with them there is an individualizing definition
   • The Russia of the 19th century (Russia of the 19th century)
   • The Petersburg of Dostoyevsky (Dostoevsky's Petersburg)

When the article the not needed

The following geographical names do not require the use of the definite article:

1. Parts of the world, provided that they are expressed through adjectives
   • Northern (northern); eastern (eastern); south-eastern (southeastern)
2. Islands taken individually
   • Shikotan, Crete
3. Names of regions and countries that consist of one or two words
   • Italy, Greece, North Canada
4. Mountains and peaks taken separately
   • Mountain Athos, Mountain Rushmore, Makalu
5. Lakes, if together before the name is lake (lake)
   • Lake Ritsa, Lake Victoria
6. Cities
   • Paris, Madrid
7. waterfalls
   • Iguazu Falls, Angel Falls
8. peninsulas
   • Labrador Peninsula, Florida Peninsula
9. Continents
   • Europe, Asia
10. States
    • Texas; California

However, there are no rules without exceptions. There are a small number of cases where, according to the rules given in the list of geographical names, the article is not needed, but they are exceptions to a number of the rules above. Some countries, regions still need this "fickle" word of three letters. You can download the list of exceptions, which, to our common joy, are not so many.
Good luck!

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