> >> ‘The’ – Part 1

THE GRAMMAR POINT from Go English no106

‘The’ – Part 1 (B1-C2)

It is the most common word in the English language – but it is also the grammatical form whose use has the most rules and exceptions.

Uncommonly complicated

It can sometimes seem to English learners that whoever invented English planned for it to be as difficult to learn as possible. A case in point is the definite article ‘the’. It is the most common word in the English language – but it is also the grammatical form whose use has the most rules and exceptions. Either the inventors of the language were ungracious and vindictive, or they just had a very unpleasant sense of humour!

Certainly, the basic rules for the use of the definite article are simple: it must go before common nouns that we have mentioned before or which are familiar to the person we are speaking to, and it doesn’t go before proper nouns...except for all of the exceptions!

Properly complicated

In this article, we’ll be looking at the rules and exceptions that are not related to common nouns, but to proper nouns, in particular the names of cities, continents, mountains, lakes and other geographical entities.

Continents

No article is ever used with the name of a continent.

The Great Plague was the source of many nursery rhymes in Europe. (not ‘in the Europe’)

Cities

Similarly, we don’t use articles with the names of cities.

Mumbai was founded by the British.

The only exception to this rule is ‘The Hague’.

Countries

In most cases, we don’t put a definite article in front of the names of countries.

The novel The God of Small ThinGS is set in India (not ‘the India’).

However, when the name of the country includes words like ‘republic’, ‘states’, ‘kingdom’ or ‘union’, it is preceded by the definite article.

The United Kingdom ruled India directly for almost 100 years.

Islands and lakes

Groups of islands usually take the definite article.

The British Isles aren’t known for their tasty cuisine.

Individual Islands, however, don’t take an article.

Sri Lanka, which is an island not far from India, was also part of the British Empire.

The same is true of lakes: they don’t take an article.

Vembanad is the longest lake in India.

Other bodies of water

Rivers, canals, oceans and seas, on the other hand, always take an article.

The English word for ‘India’ is based on the country’s most important river, the Indus. The Indian Ocean stretches from Bangladesh all the way to the coast of Madagascar.

Mountains

By the same token, groups of mountains – also known as mountain ranges – always take a definite article.

Kashmir, which is located in the Himalayas, has been a source of conflict between India and Pakistan ever since the Partition.

However, individual mountains don’t take an article.

Mount Blanc is the highest mountain in the Alps.

Regions

Regions (such as the Middle East, the Midwest and the Midlands) usually take an article.

The Indian subcontinent is comprised of the modern nations of India, Pakistan and Bangladesh.

However, when defined by adjectives (example: northern, eastern, central, etc.) they don’t take an article.

Northern India saw some of the bloodiest clashes of the Partition.

Article by Mohamed Oummih

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