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- 'The' is omitted before the following:
a city, a country, [in the singular] a continent:
Detroit, France, Europe
[But in the plural: The Netherlands]
Exceptions: The United Kingdom, The Hague - a family name in the singular: Mr White
[But in the plural: the Whites OR: the White
family] - a mountain, a lake [in the singular]: Mt
Olympus, Lake Michigan
[But in the plural: the Alps, the Rockies, the
Great Lakes, etc.] - an island [singular]: They went to Tahiti.
[But in the plural: The Philippines, the Canaries,
the Falklands, etc.] - a meal: breakfast, lunch, dinner
I rarely ever miss dinner. - a color, a game:
Green is my favorite color. Football is my favorite
game. - a language (when the word ‘language’ is not
used):
Is Greek difficult to learn? [BUT: Is the Greek
language difficult to learn?] - a street, a square, a park:
Maple street, Freedom Square, Central Park - Most magazines, periodicals:
National Geographic, Newsweek, Car and Driver
[BUT: The Economist] - a bridge, station, airport:
Mackinaw Bridge, Kings Cross Station, Heathrow
Airport - airlines, companies:
British Airways, Swiss Air, Sony, Ford - illnesses, diseases: diabetes, cancer,
hepatitis, etc.
[But we say: (the) flu, (the) measles, (the)
mumps] - a bank, store, theater, hotel or restaurant
when it is in the genitive
(the apostrophe before the 's' is sometimes
omitted): [McDonald’s, Woolworth’s, Harrows] - a planet: Venus, Jupiter, etc.
- a title: Doctor Smith, Professor Todd,
President Bush, Captain Cook - heaven, hell, paradise:
I can assure you that heaven and hell are real
and do exist. - means of transport with the word ‘by’ before
them:
by car, bus, taxi, train, etc.
[BUT: in his car, in a taxi, on the bus, on a bike] - the word work meaning ‘place of work’:
She’s still at work and won't be home for some
time. - percentages, fractions:
Ten per cent of the population don't have
internet access.
One half of the flights were canceled due to bad
weather. - a noun + number:
Your train leaves from track 3. I’m staying in
room 333.
Don’t use ‘the’ before uncountable nouns,
abstract nouns, or plurals in general statements.
I like coffee. [NOT: …the coffee.]
Good health is important. [NOT: The good
health…]
Bananas are good for you. [NOT: The bananas…]
The IS USED before the following: - a hotel, movie theater, theater, gallery,
museum:
the Mirage (hotel), the Harbor (theater). the
Multiplex (cinema), the Van Gogh Museum - a river, sea, ocean, gulf, desert:
the Nile (River), the Red Sea, the Pacific
(Ocean), the Sahara (Desert), the Gulf of Mexico - a ship, canal:
the Titanic, the Suez Canal - objects considered to be unique:
the Parthenon, the Pyramids - some organizations:
the UN (The United Nations) [But if an
abbreviation is pronounced as a word, then there
is no article] UNICEF (United Nations International
Children’s Fund) NATO (North Atlantic Treaty
Organization) - plural nationalities ending in 'sh', 'ch' or 'ese':
the English, the French, the Japanese [But ‘the’
is optional with plural nationality names ending in
's': (the) Germans, (the) Greeks, etc. - a singular countable noun to refer to all things
of that type in general:
The computer is a valuable office tool. OR: A
computer is … OR: Computers are …
'The' is optional:
i) with seasons.
He is leaving in (the) summer.
ii) with the word TV.
I watched a movie on (the) TV.