Whether the is placed in front of cities. Articles with geographical names. Exercises for setting the article

There are two types of articles in English: definite and indefinite. Not definite article- this 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 plural nouns, both countable and uncountable. 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.

Definite article the in geographical names

article the

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
Before the names of countries where there are such words:
- The Republic of Moldova
  The Soviet Union
Countries whose names are plural
- Emirates
Island groups (archipelagos)
- The Aldabra group
Parts of countries and 4 parts of the world
- The West of England
- The north (north); the east (east), etc.
Preposition constructions of, which look like this: common noun + of + proper name
- The City of York
- The Gulf of Alaska (Gulf of Alaska)
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:

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

Informative video.

Red Square, the Volga River or the USSR - do we need articles in English when we talk about geographical names? There are some rules for countries, others for streets and squares, and third rules for rivers and seas. Moreover, for each of the categories there are a number of exceptions when the rules do not apply. Articles are used or not used with geographical names simply because "it happened". Let's try to figure it out.

Countries

The article is needed only in two cases - firstly, if the name of the country contains what is called the "form of government" - union, kingdom, states, republic, and so on. Therefore, there is a definite article in the names of such states, as the United States of America, the United Kingdom(the article remains in abbreviations - the USA, the UK). For lovers of exotic and skyscrapers - add here the UAE – the United Arab Emirates, but for those who remember the Olympics-80 and the Berlin Wall – the USSR, the GDR. For modern Russia, everything is simple - Russia(without article) or the Russian federation(with an article, since federation is a form of government).

I'm back in the USSR. You don't know how lucky you are, boys. I'm returning to the USSR. Guys, you yourself do not know how happy you are here (the song full of irony by The Beatles).

The second case when an article is needed with countries is when the name of the country is a plural noun. Usually these are islands lost in the middle of the ocean - for example, the Philippines(Philippines) or the Bahamas(Bahamas). There is also a non-island state, in the name of which there is a plural - the Netherlands, Netherlands.

An exception that is unlikely to come in handy in life is a small African country The Gambia(Gambia), she is perhaps the only one who is written with the article “just like that”.

An interesting situation has developed with Ukraine - Ukraine or The Ukraine? Until 1991, Ukraine was part of the USSR, in which case other grammatical rules apply - and until 1991, indeed, the form The Ukraine. And since 1991, Ukraine, having become an independent state, is officially written without the article - Ukraine.

Cities

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. Name 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 there are both options - 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 political reasons, but simply because countries with the in the name are exceptions to the rule.

Indefinite article with common nouns

So, once again, the indefinite article a/an is only used before singular countable nouns. This must be remembered.

Common nouns are nouns denoting the name (common name) of a whole class of objects and phenomena that have a certain common set of features, and naming objects or phenomena according to their belonging to such a class. Common nouns are signs of linguistic concepts and are opposed to proper names. The transition of common nouns to proper names is accompanied by the loss of a linguistic concept by the name (for example, "Gum" from "gum" - "right"). Common nouns are concrete (table), abstract or abstract (love), real or material (sugar), and collective (students).

There are several cases of using the indefinite article with common nouns. Let's consider each of them in more detail.

1. If the noun is mentioned for the first time, then after the turnover there is / was / will be, as well as after the constructions this is and have got, the indefinite article a / an is used:

There was a big garden behind the house.

I got a car.

2. In the meaning of any, anyone, everyone:

A pupil must do homework.

A car is a comfortable means of transport.

3. When designating a profession or when describing characteristic properties:

My mother is a doctor.

She is a kind person.

It's a nice film.

4. In exclamatory sentences after what, such:

What a nice day!

He is such a clever boy!

5. In the meaning of one:

I'll be back in an hour.

I work eight hours a day.

6. In a number of set expressions denoting single actions:

to make a mistake - make a mistake

to take a seat - sit down

to give smb a lift

to go for a walk - go for a walk

to catch a cold - catch a cold

to give a look - look

to have a rest - relax

Definite article with place names

There are several cases of using the definite article with geographical names.

The article is not used:

in the names of parts of the world and continents: Europe, Asia, Africa, Australia, North (South) America

with region names: Latin America, Northern Africa, South-East Asia

in country names: Great Britain, England, Russia

in city names: London, Moscow, Paris

in the names of some lakes, if the word Lake is used: Lake Seliger, Lake Baikal

in the names of mountain peaks and some islands: Everest, Elbrus, Cyprus, Cuba

The definite article is used:

in the names of the following regions: the Far East, the Middle East, the Caucasus, the Ruhr, the Tyrol, the Arctic, the Antarctic, the Crimea, the Lake District

in official country names. in the presence of the words federation, republic, union, state, kingdom: the Russian Federation, the German Republic, the United States of America, the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland

in plural country names: the Netherlands, the Philippines

in the names of rivers, seas, oceans, straits, lakes, canals, waterfalls: the Atlantic Ocean, the Black Sea, the Thames, the English Channel, the Gulf Stream, the Suez Canal, the Niagara Falls

in the names of deserts, mountain ranges and groups of islands: the Sahara Desert, the Pamir, the Urals, the Hawaii, the Bermudas

Exceptions:

the definite article is used in the names of some countries: the Vatican, the United States of America, the United Kingdom, the Ukraine, the United Arab Emirates, the Commonwealth of Independent States, the Congo, the Lebanon, the Hague.

Articles with names, surnames, titles

The article is not used if:

the noun is preceded by a word denoting the person's first or last name: Tom Sawyer, Mr Brown, old John, little Tommy;

before the name there is an appeal, title, profession: Miss Marple, Professor Higgins, Doctor Watson, Queen Elizabeth, Prince Charles, Lord Byron, Admiral Nelson.

The article the is used when:

we are talking about all members of the family: The Browns, the Smiths.

The Browns will visit us next week.

it is used in the same sense:

Is this man the Poirit?

The article a is used when:

This is about one of the family members.

He is a true Rockefeller.

it is used to mean something:

There is a Mr Brown waiting for you.

the name denotes a work or prize:

He has got a Renoir in his collection.

This film won an Oscar.

The use of articles with geographical names

The use of articles with geographical names is only part of the topic "Articles with proper names". With geographical names, we use either the definite article or the absence of the article as such. In order to clearly understand in which options the article should be put in English, and in which not, it is necessary to divide all cases into two large groups and see examples of how to act in a given situation. I dare say that you will have to memorize the examples in order to correctly use this or that word at the right time. One small nuance - it is customary to give names on geographical maps without articles.

The definite article is used with geographical names that mean:

Cardinal points:

the North

the South

the East

the West

But keep in mind that if you are indicating a direction, the definite article with the geographical name is not needed.

Poles, hemispheres (poles, hemispheres):

the North Pole

the South Pole (South Pole)

the Western Hemisphere (Western Hemisphere)

the Eastern Hemisphere (eastern hemisphere)

the Arctic

the Antarctic (Antarctic)

Regions (regions):

the Far East ( Far East)

the north of Canada (north of Canada)

the Middle East (Middle East)

the Highlands (northwest of Scotland)

the south of England (south of England)

the Crimea (Crimea)

the Caucasus (Caucasus)

Countries whose names are plural nouns (countries):

the Philippines

the Netherlands

the Unites States of America (USA)

the Baltic States

Countries whose names contain the words - kingdom (kingdom), republic (republic), union (union), federation (federation):

the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland (United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland)

the Kingdom of Denmark

the United Arab Emirates (United Arab Emirates)

the Republic of Cuba (Republic of Cuba)

the German Federal Republic (German Federal Republic)

the Russian Federation (Russian Federation)

the Czech Republic (Czech Republic)

the People's Republic of China (People's Republic of China)

Oceans (oceans), straits (straits), seas (seas), rivers (rivers), channels (canals / channels), waterfalls (waterfalls), currents (currents):

the Atlantic Ocean (Atlantic Ocean)

the Pacific Ocean (Pacific Ocean)

the Indian Ocean (Indian Ocean)

the Black Sea

the Dead Sea

the Red Sea

the Thames (Thames)

the Volga

the Don (Don)

the Suez Canal (Suez Canal)

the Victoria Falls

the Niagara Falls

the Strait of Magellan (Strait of Magellan)

the Bosporus (Bosporus)

the Bering Strait (Bering Strait)

the English Channel (English Channel)

the Panama Canal (Panama Canal)

the Strait of Dover (Strait of Dover / Pas de Calais)

the Strait of Gibraltar (Strait of Gibraltar)

the Amazon (Amazon)

the Nile

the Gulf Stream

the Sea of Japan

Peninsulas (peninsulas), capes (capes):

the Indochinese Peninsula (Indochina Peninsula)

the Balkan Peninsula (Balkan Peninsula)

the Iberian Peninsula (Iberian Peninsula)

the Cape of Good Hope (Cape of Good Hope)

Cape Horn

Cape Chelyuskin (Cape Chelyuskin)

Groups of lakes:

the Great Lakes (Great Lakes)

the Seliger (Seliger)

the Great Salt Lake (Great Salt Lake)

But

if the word is used next to the name of the lakelakeThe definite article with the geographical name is not needed here:

Lake Baikal (Lake Baikal)

Lake Ontario (Lake Ontario)

Lake Geneva

Island groups (groups of islands):

the Virgin Islands

the Canaries

the British Isles (British Isles)

the Bahamas (Bahamas)

the Azores (Azores)

the Falkland Islands (Falkland Islands)

Mountain ranges (chains of mountains), hills (hills):

the Black Hills

the Apennines (Apennines)

the Rocky Mountains

the Andes

the Urals (Ural Mountains)

the Alps

the Himalayas (Himalayas)

But: Capitol Hill (Capitol Hill)

Plains (plains), valleys (valleys), deserts (deserts):

the Great Plains (Great Plains Plateau)

the Mississippi Valley (Mississippi Valley)

the Sahara Desert

the Kara-Kum (desert of the Karakum)

the Kalahari Desert (Kalahari)

the Arabian Desert (Arabian Desert)

Exceptions:

Death Valley (Death Valley)

Silicon Valley (Silicon Valley)

Bays (gulfs / bays). The definite article is used in constructions with the preposition of. If it is absent, the article is not needed:

the Gulf of Mexico (Gulf of Mexico)

the Gulf of Finland (Gulf of Finland)

the Gulf of Aden (Gulf of Aden)

the Bay of Bengal

Persian Gulf (Persian Gulf)

Hudson Bay (Hudson Bay)

San Francisco Bay (San Francisco Bay)

These are just some of the geographical names that are used with the definite article in English. And here is a small list of the same names that do not require the presence of an article.

The following are used without the article:

Names of continents (continents):

Europe (Europe)

Africa (Africa)

South America (South America)

North America (North America)

Australia

Countries whose names are singular nouns, cities (cities), villages (villages), states (states), provinces (provinces):

Ukraine (Ukraine)

France (France)

Spain

California (California)

London

Beijing

Balabino (Balabino)

Florida (Florida)

Quebec (Quebec)

Exceptions:

the Hague (The Hague)

the Vatican

the Congo (Congo)

And also when using the "the city of" construction:

the City of Moscow (city of Moscow)

the City of Rome (city of Rome)

Names of individual islands (islands), mountains (mountains), volcanoes (volcanoes):

Greenland (Greenland)

Cyprus (Cyprus)

Madagascar (Madagascar)

Jamaica (Jamaica)

Vesuvius (Vesuvius)

Mount Goverla (Goverla)

Elbrus (Elbrus)

Kilimanjaro (Kilimanjaro)

Volcano Etna (Volcano Etna)

Fujiyama

Pay attention to this point: if a geographical name has an individualizing or descriptive definition, then this name will be used with a definite or indefinite article, respectively. For example:

This isn't the Moscow I used to love. – This is not the Moscow that I once loved.

There will always be an England for me. “There will always be England for me.

Hello! There are two troubles with the article the: either it is placed before any word, or it is forgotten about and not used at all.

The fact is that the definite article the is used with some geographical names, but not with others. To understand, you need to remember a number of rules and exceptions.

We have prepared a table for you, from which you will find out with what names you need to use the. In this material, we have included common cases and rules, but do not forget that there are exceptions to every rule.

Article the	Without article
cardinal directions The North, the South, the East, the West
poles The North Pole, the South Pole
	Continents Europe, North America, South America, Australia, Africa South Africa, South-East Asia
Regions The Far East, the north of Canada, the Middle East
Countries with plural names The Philippines, the Netherlands, the United States, the Baltic States Countries whose names include the words: republic, union, kingdom, federation The United Kingdom, the Czech Republic, the People’s Republic of China, the Russian Federation	Countries with names in the singular France, Poland, Ukraine, Russia Exception: the Vatican
	States, provinces California, Florida, Texas, Quebec
	Cities Paris, London, Moscow, Kiev Exception: the Hague
Oceans, seas, rivers The Atlantic Ocean, The Red Sea, the Thames
Lake groups	Separate lakes Lake Geneva, Lake Baikal
Island groups The Virgin Islands, the British Isles, the Canary Islands (the Canaries), the Kuril Islands (the Kurils), the Bahamas Islands (the Bahamas)	individual islands Greenland, Java, Cyprus, Madagascar, Sakhalin Exception: the Isle of Man
mountain ranges The Rocky Mountains, the Andes, the Caucasus Mountains	Separate mountains Mount Vesuvius, Mount Goverla, Mount Elbrus
Plains, valleys, deserts The Great Plains, the Mississippi Valley, the Sahara Desert Exception: Death Valley, Silicon Valley
gulfs The Persian Gulf, the Gulf of Mexico, the Gulf of Aden, the Gulf of Finland	bays Hudson Bay, San Francisco Bay The Bay of Bengal

Exercises for setting the article

Exercise 1.

Interesting facts about waterspaces.

___ Bermuda Triangle is located in ___ Atlantic Ocean.
The longest river of the world is ___ Nile River.
The lowest lake of the world is ___ Dead Sea, the deepest lake is ___ Lake Baikal, the longest lake is ___ Tanganyika.
___ Lake Superior is the largest of ___ Great Lakes.
In ___ Atlantic Ocean, ___ American Mediterranean Sea is the combination of the seas of ___ Gulf of Mexico and ___ Caribbean Sea.
___ Victoria Falls is the largest waterfall in the world. ___Tugela Falls is the world's second tallest. Europe's highest waterfall is ___ Utigard in Norway.

Exercise 2. Insert the appropriate article into the sentences.

During our unforgettable tour across ___ Europe we visited many countries: ___ France, ___ Belgium and ____ Netherlands in ___ Western Europe; ___ Spain and ___ Italy in ___Southern Europe; ___ Poland and ___ Belarus in ___ Eastern Europe.
The country I liked most of all was ___ amazing Italy. I got to know much about its history and culture. During the numerous excursions, I learned that ___ Medieval Italy was a real center of art.
The capital city of ___ Italy is ___ Rome. It is a city that is full of history. Walking in its streets you can easily imagine ___ Rome of ancient times, because there are a lot of historical evidence of those times.
___ Rome of today is a modern beautiful city with charming and hospitable inhabitants and a lot of tourists that are eager to do the sightseeing and to visit ___ Vatican.
Next year I want to visit ____ South America and to ____ Buenos Aires in ____ Argentina.

Exercise 3 . Insert the appropriate article into the sentences.

___ Island of Madeira is historically Portuguese territory.
___ Arctic Archipelago extends from Canada to the northernmost of ___ Ellesmere Island.
A journey to ___ Greenland may appear to be unbelievably interesting.
___ Virgin Islands, also known as ___ British Virgin Islands or ___BVI, is a British territory to the east of Puerto Rico. The islands make up a considerable part of ___ Virgin Islands archipelago; the remaining islands make up ___ US Virgin Islands and ___ Spanish Virgin Islands.
___ Borneo is situated in the waters of the South China Sea

Exercise 4 Insert the appropriate article into the sentences.

___ Death Valley is located near the border of ___California and ___Nevada, in ___ Great Basin.
There are two lighthouses near or in ___ Cape Horn.
___ Texas is the second most populous (after ___ California) and the second-largest (after___ Alaska) state. Located in ___ south central part of the country, ___ Texas borders on ___ Mexican states of ___ Chihuahua, ___ Coahuila, ___ Nuevo León, and ___ Tamaulipas to ___ south.
___ Gobi covers part of ___ northern and ___ northwestern China, and part of ___ southern Mongolia. ___ Gobi is bounded by ___ Hexi Corridor and ___Tibetan Plateau to ___ southwest, by___ North China Plain to ___southeast. ___ Gobi is notable in history as part of ___ Silk Road.

Exercise 5 Insert the appropriate article into the sentences.

___ North Pole is also known as ___ Geographic North Pole or ___ Terrestrial North Pole It is defined as the point in ___ Northern Hemisphere where ___ Earth’s axis of rotation meets its surface. Don't confuse it with ___ North Magnetic Field.
___East is one of the four compass points. It is the opposite of ___west and is perpendicular to ___ north and ___south.
We went from ___ East to ___ West
___ North Pole lies diametrically opposite ___ South Pole
My dwelling is in ___ South of the country.
Go straight ___ north.