Is there an article before the names of museums? Articles in English. Keys and comments

What article should you use before proper names in English? In general, according to the rule, in this case absolutely all articles from a(an) and the to zero (-) can be used.

Did you know before that in different contexts the name John, for example, can be found without the article, with the article a and with the article the? No? So, carefully study the rule!

Definite article (the)

Definite articles with proper names in English language must be used in the following cases:

• with the names of institutions, if they are not named after someone (the Winter Palace);
• objects and institutions containing the preposition of (the Museum of Modern Art) in their names;
• countries consisting of several parts or having the word Republic, Federation, Kingdom, Union, Emirates, States (the UK) in their names, as well as countries whose names are used in the plural (the Philippines);
• surnames to designate the entire family (The Johns);
• water basins - oceans, seas, rivers, lakes (without the word lake), groups of lakes, canals, straits (the Black Sea);
• geographical names consisting of a common noun, the preposition of and a proper noun (the Gulf of Mexico);
• mountain ranges (the Andes);
• archipelagos, groups of islands (the Azores);
• deserts, highlands, mountain passes, plains, canyons, valleys (the Karakum);
• poles, cardinal points (the West);
• regionomi (the Far East).

Zero article (-)

Zero English articles with proper names are more widespread than definite ones. They are used:

• with first and last names of people (Jack, Smith);
• with the names of cities, villages, countries, states, provinces, regions, continents, geographical areas (Asia);
• with names of streets, city roads, squares, squares, bridges (Wall street, Trafalgar Square);
• names of educational institutions from primary schools to universities (Hillridge School, Brighton University);
• train stations, airports (Victoria Station);
• religious buildings (Shrewsbury Abbey, Westerberg Church);
• palaces, castles (Harlech Castle);
• institutions named after people or cities (Stanford University), or those ending in -s or -‘s (McDonald’s);
• names of straits (Hudson Bay);
• lakes, if the name is preceded by the word lake (Lake Ontario);
• waterfalls (Victoria Falls);
• mountain peaks, hills (Montblanc);
• separate islands and peninsulas without the word peninsula (Cuba, Kamchatka);
• volcanoes (Volcano Etna).

Attention! Below are special cases of using articles with names of people.

Articles with proper names of people and surnames, as a rule, are not used. But in a number of cases, when it is necessary to emphasize the peculiarity of the situation, it is allowed to use a or the with them.

For example:

Her name is Mary. - Her name is Mary.

Is this the Mary you told me about? - Is this the Mary you told me about?

It is emphasized that we are talking about a specific person about whom the speaker already knows a lot.

A Mary is waiting for you outside. - Some Mary is waiting for you outside.

The emphasis is on the fact that the girl is unknown to the speaker and for him is one of many like her.

In this lesson we will consider the topic “Articles in English”. Let's study what articles exist and the basic rules of use in constructions. The analysis is carried out at a level understandable for children and adults.

The use of articles together with nouns in English is a rather voluminous topic, so you should be patient.

In English, the article (The Article) is the main definition of nouns. When constructing a sentence, the first thing they start with is thinking about articles, the speaker defines a definite or indefinite noun and then puts the articles. In other words, we are talking about something specific or something general. There are no articles in the Russian language, which is why this topic causes certain difficulties for many.

When composing a construction in English, the article is used in almost all cases. There are:

• The Definite Article or the definite article to which it refers The;
• The Indefinite Article or indefinite article, which refers to an And a.

We will study 3 cases of using the article - the use of the indefinite, definite article and cases when the article is not used at all in the construction.

Definite Articles in English (The Definite Article)

This part of speech has only one form, the. From a grammatical point of view, it comes from the demonstrative pronoun “that - that”.

1. The definite article The Definite Article is used in a sentence when talking about an object that has already been talked about or in cases where the interlocutor understands what the conversation is about.
   For example, Please show me the book. - Show me this book, please.
2. This part of speech is also used in a sentence when interlocutors talk about an object that is one of a kind.
   For example, The sun is in the sky. - The sun is in the sky.
3. applies in all cases when interlocutors talk about a musical group, newspaper, cinema, restaurant.
   For example, The Beatles - The Beatles.
4. The name of nationality, when not talking about someone specific, but generalizing all representatives of the clan, is used with the part of speech in question.
   For example, the Americans. - Americans.
5. The definite article is used in some phrases.
   For example, at the cinema/ the theater - to the cinema/theater. A stable design was used here.
6. If a proper name contains the words kingdom (kingdom), union (union), republic (republic), this article is used together with them.
   For example, The United Kingdom - United Kingdom.
7. This part of speech is used in sentences after prepositions of place.
8. If there is a construction “next, last + some time period,” we put this article in front of the entire construction.
   For example, the next day - the next day.
   For example, There is a cat in front of the monitor. – There’s a cat in front of the screen.
9. If we are talking about the whole family, then the article in question is also placed before the surname.
   For example, The Petrovs are at home. - Petrov's houses.
10. objects are also used in construction with the part of speech in question.
    For example, the Arctic - Arctic and the Alps - Alps.

    Attention, the article is not used in the names of countries, streets, airports, islands.

11. If a proper name is expressed by a title and after it there is such a meaning of, the article in question is used.
    Example, The Prince of Wales - Prince of Wales.
12. In English, as in Russian, there is an adjective that is used without a noun, but denotes a group of people. This form should also be preceded by this part of speech .
    For example, The old - old people.
13. If the construction contains an adjective in superlatives, articles definite are also used before it.
    Example, the quickest - the fastest.
14. The is used whenever there is an "of" before the noun.
    For example, The Tower of London - Tower of London.
15. With cardinal points, this article is always used in the design.
    For example, the Northern part of our country - the north of our country.
16. If the sentence contains the word only (meaning only), then here we also use the article in question.
    For example, She was the only beautiful woman in his life. - She was the only beautiful woman in his life.
17. And the last case of using articles is before an ordinal number.
    Example: We are on the fourth floor. - We're on the fifth floor.

This article in question is used with nouns used in the singular and plural.

Indefinite article

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One of the confusing points in the use of articles is the articles before geographical names. To be more precise, before geographical names, because they either do not have an 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.

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 look at this question first.

The article the is needed before the names of countries if:

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

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

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

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

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

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 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 - Balkan Peninsula.

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

• the Kuril Islands – Kurile 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 – 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. Horus:

• 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 “on” Ukraine. During the Soviet era, the version “the Ukraine” prevailed; later, “Ukraine” became more and more popular. The point is that the article “the” in the name “the Ukraine” suggests that Ukraine is a geographical region, part Soviet Union. When Ukraine ceased to be part of the USSR, the option without an 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:
Nowadays both options are found - some people stick to old habits, but for the most part they write without an article, the option with “the” is being replaced and becomes obsolete. This is facilitated by the fact that from the point of view of a native speaker, the “Ukraine” option is more logical - not because of political reasons, but simply because countries with the in the name are exceptions to the rule.

In this lesson we will talk about using the definite article “the” with place names of objects that we may encounter within a city.

Branch 1. Zero article

In addition to the definite and indefinite articles, in English there is also a zero article (zero article). In fact, the zero article is the absence of an article as such before a noun. In what cases do we not need to use the article?

Firstly, there is no article before plural nouns in the general sense, that is, in singular. h. Such nouns would be preceded by the indefinite article “a/an”.

For example, I saw a letter on the table. - I saw letters on the table.

I saw a letter on the table. - I saw the letters on the table. (Fig. 1)

A lion is a dangerous animal. - Lions are dangerous animals.

A lion is a dangerous animal. - Lions are dangerous animals.

Rice. 1. Illustration for example ()

Secondly, there is no article before proper names and some geographical names.

For example, My name is Peter Brown. I am from Britain.

My name is Peter Brown. I'm originally from Britain.

I know that Tom has never been to Rome.

I know Tom has never been to Rome.

Thirdly, we do not put an article if there are words like my, this, which, some, etc. before the noun.

For example, I like her jeans.

I like her jeans.

Give me this book, please.

Give me this book, please.

Whichcandy do you choose?

Which candy do you choose? (Fig. 2)

We need to buy some sugar.

We need to buy sugar.

Rice. 2. Illustration for example ()

So, the names of streets, alleys, squares and parks are used without an article.

For example, Tverskaya Street(Tverskaya street),

Regent Street

Trafalgar Square (Trafalgar Square),

Red Square (Red Square),

Gorky Park (Gorky Park),

Hyde Park (Hyde Park).

However there are exceptions:

theMall(Mall)

theStrand(Strand).

These are street names in London.

As for theatres, cinemas, museums and galleries, they will be used with the definite article.

For example, the Bolshoi Theater(Big theater)

theArtTheater(Art Theater)

thePushkinsky(Pushkinsky),

theKodak(Kodak),

theHermitage(Hermitage Museum),

theLouvre(Louvre),

theNationalGallery(National Gallery). (Fig. 3)

Rice. 3. Illustration for example ()

The names of hotels and palaces are also used with the definite article.

For example, the Continental (Continental),

the Ritz (Ritz),

the Winter Palace (Winter Palace),

the Taj Mahal (Taj Mahal).

However there is an exception:

BuckinghamPalace(Buckingham Palace) is used without an article.

Branch 3. Interesting Facts about Buckingham Palace

One of London's most famous landmarks is Buckingham Palace.

Buckingham Palace (Fig. 4) is the official residence of British monarchs, in particular Queen Elizabeth II. Buckingham Palace is the largest royal palace in the world. It can be called a small state, because it has its own post office, its own police department, hospital, cinema and even a swimming pool and art gallery. One of the most interesting activities associated with Buckingham Palace is the changing of the guard, which takes place daily from 11.00 to 11.30.

Rice. 4. Buckingham Palace ()

Those who want to visit inside the palace need to know that this is only possible in August and September, when the royal family goes on vacation to Scotland. Then you can visit 19 rooms, including the throne room and a huge art gallery. In general, to find out whether Queen Elizabeth II is in the palace, you should look at the flag above the main facade. When the Queen is in the palace, the flag is raised.

The names of restaurants and cafes are also used with the definite article "the".

For example, the Three Oaks(Three oak trees)

theBig Bite(Big byte),

theSavoy(Savoy).

There is no article before the names of airports and stations.

For example, Vnukovo(Vnukovo),

Heathrow(Heathrow)

VictoriaStation(Victoria Station) (Fig. 5),

TaganskayaStation(Taganskaya station).

The names of churches and cathedrals are used without an article.

For example, St. Paul's Cathedral(St Paul's Cathedral),

WestminsterAbbey(Westminster Abbey).

The presence or absence of an article with the names of schools, colleges and universities depends on whether the word school/college/university appears at the beginning or at the end.

COMPARE:

Richmond School - the School of Richmond,

Art college - thecollege of Arts,

Oxford University - theUniversity of Oxford,

Moscow University - theUniversity of Moscow.

With newspaper names, the definite article is used if they are English or American, and not used if they are Russian.

For example, the Times- “The Times” (Fig. 6),

theStar- "Star"

ArgumentsandFacts- "Arguments and Facts",

MoscowNews- "Moscow News".

Rice. 6. Illustration ()

Branch 2: Pivot table

And now let’s do some exercises to understand the use of the definite article with geographical names better.

Now let's do some exercises to better understand the use of the definite article with geographical names.

Please, look at the sentences and fill the gaps with the definite articles “the” where necessary.

1. Please, be quick, I’m waiting for you at ___ Red Square.

Please, be quick, I’m waiting for you at Red Square.

2. Have you seen the latest news in ___ Times?

Have you seen the latest news in the Times?

3. My best friend studies at ___ Moscow State University.

My best friend studies at Moscow University.

4. Do you like performances at ___ Bolshoi Theatre?

Do you like performances at the Bolshoi Theater?

5. I have never been in ___ Westminster Abbey.

I have never been in Westminster Abbey.

6. Is ___ Domodedovo the largest airport in Moscow?

Is Domodedovo the largest airport in Moscow?

7. I’d like to study at ___ University of London.

I'd like to study at the University of London.

8. The weather is nice. Let's go to ___ Gorky Park.

The weather is nice. Let's go to Gorky Park.

9. ___ Canterbury Cathedral is one of the most beautiful in England.

Canterbury Cathedral is one of the most beautiful in England.

10. ___ Mall leads from ___ Trafalgar to ___ Buckingham Palace.

The Mall leads from Trafalgar Square to Buckingham Palace.

Bibliography

1. Afanasyeva O. V. Series “New English course for Russian schools.” 5th grade. - M: Bustard, 2008.
2. Fomina I. N., Fomina L. V. English in algorithms. - Dnepropetrovsk, 2007.
3. Pakhotin A. All about modal verbs and the subjunctive mood in English. - M: Karev Publisher, 2005.
4. Dubrovin M.I. Illustrated guide to English grammar. - M: “Nachala-Press”, 1992.

1. Englishelp.ru ().
2. English.sch880.ru ().
3. Dinternal.com.ua ().

Homemadeexercise

Insert articles where necessary.

1. After the incident ___ Kremlin is still keeping silence. 2. It is rather difficult to get a ticket to ___ Bolshoi Theatre. 3. My wife and I often go to ___ Tretyakov Gallery. 4. Rich tourists often stay at ___ Metropol. 5. ___ Ogonyok was a very popular magazine 20 years ago. 6. After school he entered ___ Oxford University. 7. ___ Tverskaya is one of the oldest streets in Moscow. 8. ___ St. Vasily`s Cathedral is the most famous cathedral in Russia. 9. My sister speaks ___ French very fluently. 10. Every ___ Friday after work my friends and I go to the local pub.

Try to memorize the table given in Branch 2.

There are two problems with the article the: either it is placed before any word (Sounds very English!) or it is forgotten and not used at all (Why is it needed and without it everything is clear!). On the pages of our website you have already become acquainted with, as well as with the rules of use. There is another important aspect of the use of the article that needs to be clarified: the use of the with place names.

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.

This article presents general rules, which will help you use the article the correctly.

There are a huge variety of geographical names and proper names, so there are many exceptions. Try to remember the general rules, and in the future, when reading articles and literature, watching programs and films in the original, notice how the definite article the is used with geographical names. Achieve new success in learning English!

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