“Secrets” of using the article in geography. Article the with geographical names Name of mountains in English

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 that denote the name (common name) of an entire class of objects and phenomena that have a certain common set of characteristics, and name objects or phenomena according to their belonging to such a class. Common nouns are signs of linguistic concepts and are contrasted with proper names. The transition of common nouns to proper names is accompanied by the loss of a linguistic concept by the name (for example, “Desna” from “gums” - “right”). Common nouns can be 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 look at each of them in more detail.

1. If a noun is mentioned for the first time, then after the phrase 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 have got a car.

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

A pupil must do homework.

A car is a comfortable means of transport.

3. When designating a profession or 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 meaning one:

I"ll be back in an hour.

I work eight hours a day.

6. In a number of stable expressions denoting one-time actions:

to make a mistake - make a mistake

to take a seat - sit down

to give smb a lift - throw

to go for a walk - go for a walk

to catch a cold - catch a cold

to give a look - take a look

to have a rest - to rest

Definite article with geographical 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 the official names of countries. 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 island groups: 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 a person's first or last name: Tom Sawyer, Mr Brown, old John, little Tommy;

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

The article the is used if:

We're talking about all the family members: The Browns, the Smiths.

The Browns will visit us next week.

it is used to mean the same:

Is this man the Poirit?

The article a is used if:

We are talking about one of the family members:

He is a true Rockefeller.

it is used to mean some:

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.

Use of articles with geographical names

The use of articles with geographical names is only part of the topic “Articles with proper names”. With place names we use either the definite article or no article at all. In order to clearly understand in which variants the article should be used in English and in which not, it is necessary to divide all cases into two large groups and use examples to see 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 - on geographical maps, names are usually given 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 indicate a direction, a definite article with a geographical name is not needed.

Poles, hemispheres:

the North Pole

the South Pole

the Western Hemisphere (Western Hemisphere)

the Eastern Hemisphere (eastern hemisphere)

the Arctic (Arctic)

the Antarctic

Regions:

the Far East (Far East)

the north of Canada (north of Canada)

the Middle East

the Highlands (northwest Scotland)

the south of England (south of England)

the Crimea (Crimea)

the Caucasus (Caucasus)

Countries whose names are plural nouns:

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

the Republic of Cuba

the German Federal Republic (German Federal Republic)

the Russian Federation (Russian Federation)

the Czech Republic

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

Oceans, straits, seas, rivers, canals / channels, waterfalls, currents:

the Atlantic Ocean

the Pacific Ocean

the Indian Ocean

the Black Sea

the Dead Sea

the Red Sea

the Thames

the Volga

the Don

the Suez Canal

the Victoria Fall

the Niagara Fall

the Strait of Magellan

the Bosporus (Bosphorus Strait)

the Bering Strait

the English Channel (English Channel)

the Panama Canal

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

the Strait of Gibraltar

the Amazon

the Nile (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 Horn

Cape Chelyuskin (Cape Chelyuskin)

Groups of lakes:

the Great Lakes

the Seliger (Seliger)

the Great Salt Lake

But

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

Lake Baikal

Lake Ontario

Lake Geneva

Groups of islands:

the Virgin Islands

the Canaries

the British Isles

the Bahamas

the Azores (Azores)

the Falkland Islands

Chains of mountains, hills:

the Black Hills

the Apennines

the Rocky Mountains

the Andes

the Urals (Ural Mountains)

the Alps

the Himalayas

But: Capitol Hill

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

the Great Plains (Great Plains plateau)

the Mississippi Valley

the Sahara Desert (Sahara Desert)

the Kara-Kum (Karakum desert)

the Kalahari Desert (Kalahari)

the Arabian Desert

Exceptions:

Death Valley

Silicon Valley

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

the Gulf of Mexico

the Gulf of Finland

the Gulf of Aden

the Bay of Bengal

Persian Gulf

Hudson 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 an article.

The following are used without the article:

Names of continents:

Europe

Africa (Africa)

South America

North America

Australia

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

Ukraine (Ukraine)

France (France)

Spain (Spain)

California

London

Beijing (Beijing)

Balabino

Florida

Quebec

Exceptions:

the Hague (The Hague)

the Vatican

the Congo

And also when using the construction “the city of”:

the City of Moscow (city of Moscow)

the City of Rome (city of Rome)

Names of individual islands, mountains, volcanoes:

Greenland (Greenland)

Cyprus (Cyprus)

Madagascar (Madagascar)

Jamaica

Vesuvius (Vesuvius)

Mount Goverla

Elbrus (Elbrus)

Kilimanjaro

Volcano Etna (Etna volcano)

Fujiyama

Please note 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. “England will always be there for me.”

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

The fact is that with some geographical names the definite article the is used, but with others it is not. 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 which names you should use the with. We have included general cases and rules in this material, but do not forget that there are exceptions to every rule.

Article placement exercises

Exercise 1.

Interesting facts about waterspaces.

1. ___ BermudaTriangle is located in ___ Atlantic Ocean.
2. The longest river of the world is ___ Nile River.
3. The lowest lake of the world is ___ Dead Sea, the deepest lake is ___ Lake Baikal, the longest lake is ___ Tanganyika.
4. ___ Lake Superior is the largest of ___ Great Lakes.
5. In ___ Atlantic Ocean, ___ American Mediterranean Sea is the combination of the seas of ___ Gulf of Mexico and ___ Caribbean Sea.
6. ___ 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.

1. 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.
2. 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.
3. 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.
4. ___ 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.
5. Next year I want to visit ____ South America and to ____ Buenos Aires in ____ Argentina.

Exercise 3 . Insert the appropriate article into the sentences.

1. ___ Island of Madeira is historically Portuguese territory.
2. ___ Arctic Archipelago extends from Canada to the northernmost of ___ Ellesmere Island.
3. A journey to ___ Greenland may appear to be unbelievably interesting.
4. ___ 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 significant part of ___ Virgin Islands archipelago; the remaining islands make up ___ US Virgin Islands and ___ Spanish Virgin Islands.
5. ___ Borneo is located in the waters of the South China Sea

Exercise 4. Insert the appropriate article into the sentences.

1. ___ Death Valley is located near the border of ___California and ___Nevada, in ___ Great Basin.
2. There are two lighthouses near or in ___ Cape Horn.
3. ___ 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.
4. ___ 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.

1. ___ 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 Pole.
2. ___East is one of the four compass points. It is the opposite of ___west and is perpendicular to___ north and ___south.
3. We went from ___ East to ___West
4. ___ North Pole lies diametrically opposite ___ South Pole
5. My dwelling is in ___ South of the country.
6. Go straight ___ north.

Hello my wonderful readers.

Eh, today we are waiting for probably the “most favorite” topic of any schoolchild - articles with geographical names in the English language. Oh, how I twisted it!

In fact, in my practice, there was probably not a single student who was crazy about these very ones. And not even because the topic is difficult, or 5th grade students - or even 6th grade students - cannot master it. And all because for Russian speakers in general, the concept that there must still be some definitions before a noun is difficult.

But today we will get rid of all your fears and close all the dark corners of your knowledge. Rules, a complete table with examples and a lot of interesting things await us.

I want to give you a simple way to remember the use of articles with place names. Just follow the examples in the table and remember. And then we’ll move on to practice - I mean and.

Well, my dears, have the dark corners of your knowledge become at least a little brighter? I am sure that we must secure them immediately. I suggest you take a test of your new knowledge. In the next article I will give you

The use of articles with geographical names: countries, cities, names of continents, (semi-)islands, mountains, deserts and regions, names of natural water reservoirs (rivers, lakes, seas, oceans) and so on

In this lesson we will look at the use of articles with proper names. As you remember, there are two articles in English: definite and indefinite. And we can talk about the so-called “zero” article, that is, about cases when the article is not used.

We have already noted in the Elementary level lessons that the article performs a semantic distinguishing function. The presence or absence of an article can greatly affect the translation of a sentence. The article is the most ambiguous thing in English grammar. The article, more than other grammatical phenomena, is used “by intuition.” And to develop this intuition, you need to know the basic rules for using articles and exceptions. Only after this you will be able to freely navigate the articles.

Interestingly, the article can be used (or not used) even when it is prohibited by the rules! But only if you can explain Why You used one or another article. In newspapers and other literary sources you will come across aspects of the use of articles that were not described in textbooks. And most often this will not be a mistake. It’s just that not everything is covered in textbooks.

Having solid basic knowledge, you will easily understand the nuances of using the article. In the case of geographical names and titles, it cannot be said for sure that the article is used only this way and not otherwise. Therefore, when explaining rules, “usually” or “usually” is added.

Below is information about the classic use of the article.

As you already know, articles, as a rule, are not used with names of countries and cities.

But, there are exceptions:

1. The Hague (The Hague)

   countries (for historical reasons):

   The Sudan, The Yemen, The Argentina - these names of countries can be used without an article. Also The Netherlands (Netherlands), since the name has a plural for historical reasons.

   The Philippines (essentially the name of a group of islands)

   Countries whose names contain terms such as States, Republic, Federation, Kingdom... that is, not proper names: The United States of America, The United Kingdom, The Russian Federation. The definite article is also used with abbreviations of these names: The USSR.

   Note

   The definite and indefinite articles can be used with the names of cities and countries, but only in the presence of a special context.

   It was the Paris of my youth. This was (the same) Paris of my youth.

   "of my youth" is the context necessary for using the definite article.

   When he returned twenty years later, he found a new America. - When he returned 20 years later, he discovered (some kind of) new America.

Names of continents, (peninsulas), mountains, deserts and regions.

As a rule, when a geographical name has an ending -s, that is, an allusion to the plural, the definite article is used with it.

1. Names of continents: Africa, Europe, America. Even if these names are preceded by definitions, the article is still not used: Western Europe, Southern America.

   Mountain ranges and ridges: The Urals, The Alps, The Andes.

   The name of island groups is always preceded by a definite article: The Canaries (Canary Islands), The Kuriles (Kuril Islands).

   If there is only the name of the peninsula, then it is used without articles.

   Kamchatka is famous for its geysers.

   If after the name there is the word peninsular (peninsula), then the definite article is already placed before the name.

   The Taimyr peninsular is a very cold place.

   The names of individual mountain peaks and islands are used without articles.

   Mountains: Elbrus, Everest; Haiti, Cuba, Kilimanjaro.

   For historical reasons, the names of some regions are used with the definite article: The Crimea, The Caucasus, The Ruhr, The Tyrol.

   When the name of an area contains a plural or a common noun, then, as a rule, the definite article is used with such names: The Highlands, The Lake District, The Far East.

   The names of all deserts come with a definite article: The Gobi, The Sahara (desert), The Kara-Kum.

Names of natural water reservoirs:

1. The names of all rivers are used with the definite article:

   The Volga (The river Volga), The Don, The Thames.

   The names of all lakes are used with the definite article:

   The Seliger, The Baikal.

   But, if the word Lake is present before the name, then the definite article is not used - Lake Ilmen.

   The names of all seas, oceans, canals and waterfalls are accompanied by the definite article:

   The Black Sea, The Dead Sea; The Pacific Ocean, The Indian Ocean; The Suez Canal; The Victoria Fall, The Niagara Fall.

   But the names of the bays do not have articles.

   
   

   With other proper names

   I The article is not used with names (all words with capital letters):

   1) streets and squares:Broadway Broadway,Wall Street Wall Street; Trafalgar Square Trafalgar Square(in London), Red Square Red Square;

   2) bridges and parks: Westminster Bridge Westminster Bridge; Hyde Park Hyde park in London, Central Park Central Park in New York;

   3) airports, seaports, railway and metro stations: London Airport London Airport; Kennedy (Airport) Kennedy airport; London Port Port of London;"> 4) educational institutions(universities, colleges, etc.): Columbia University Columbia University,Cambridge Cambridge,Oxford Oxford;

   5) magazines: Time Magazine, National Geograohic –magazines.

   6) exceptions(meet. sometimes): the Arbat Arbat(in Moscow), the Garden Ring Garden Ring(in Moscow), the Via Manzoni street Manzoni(in Milan); the Gorki Park M. Gorky Park(in Moscow), etc.

   II The definite article the used with names:

   1) structures and individual unique buildings: the Great Wall of China, the Ostankino Television Tower, the Kremlin, the Tower, the White House, the Winter Palace, the Royal Palace;

   There are many exceptions to this rule, especially if the name of the structure or building contains a proper noun (the name of a person or the name of a locality): Westminster Abbey, Buckingham Palace, Hyde Park, London Zoo, Edinburgh Castle, etc.

   2) theaters, cinemas, concert halls, orchestras, clubs: the Royal Opera House Royal Opera House, the Bolshoy Theater Bolshoi Theater;

   3) art galleries, museums, monuments: the National Gallery National Art Gallery, the Tretyakov Gallery Tretyakov Gallery; the British Museum British Museum, the Hermitage Hermitage; the Washington Monument Washington Monument , the Lincoln Memorial Lincoln Memorial;

   4) hotels, restaurants: the Metropole Hotel "Metropol", the Savoy Hotel "Savoy", the Hilton Hilton Hotel, the"Astoria" hotel "Astoria";

   5) ships, musical groups: the Titanic ship "Titanic", the"Queen Mary" ship "Queen Mary", the"Cutty Sark" clipper "Cutty Sark"; the Beatles The Beatles group;

   6) majority newspapers: the Guardian Guardian newspaper, the Times The Times newspaper, the Washington Post "Washington Post". It is not customary to use the article with newspaper names where it is not in the original language: Izvestia newspaper "Izvestia".

   7) government agencies, organizations And political parties: the Labor Party Labor Party, the United Nations Organization United Nations, the Red Cross Red Cross, the Greens "green", the Democratic Party Democratic Party.

   Traditionally the article is not used with the word Parliament parliament(in England); NATO; may be omitted before the word ( The) Congress(in the USA).