Welcome to your “The” with Names 1 lesson! In this topic we talk about:
• “The” with Place Names
• “The” with Titles / Lakes / Mountains
• “The” with Deserts / Bodies of Water
• “The” with Plural Places and Names
• “The” with Compass Directions
Take the quizzes when you’re ready! If you’re having problems, use the comment box to contact our English Teachers.
“The” with Place Names
Much like the names of people, we do not normally use the with names of places:
| cities, towns etc.: | London, Birmingham, Dublin |
| continents: | Europe, Africa, Asia |
| countries: | Canada, Australia, Japan, Germany |
| islands: | Tasmania, Corsica, Réunion |
| mountains: | Everest, K2, Scafell |
We do use the, however, with places containing the words “Republic”, “States”, “Kingdom” etc.:
“Have you ever been to Ireland or the United Kingdom?”
“He comes from Germany, but lives in the Czech Republic.”
“I travelled from Canada to the USA during the summer.”
“The” with Titles / Lakes / Mountains
When we use titles (Doctor/Captain/Mr/Mrs etc.) with a name, we do not use the:
“Mr Jones works at the bank.”
“Doctor Sanders is my GP.”
Sometimes a title is also a job. When you want to talk about the job, you can use “the”.
“Captain Smith lives here.”
“There’s a problem! Call the captain!”
In the same way, lake and mount (mountain) can be used with or without the, depending on the use:
“She works near Mount Etna.” ↔ “She works near the mountain.”
“I swam in the lake.” ↔ “I swam in Lake Michigan.”
“The” with Deserts / Bodies of Water
We use the with bodies of water, as well as deserts:
| canals: | the Baltic Canal, the Kiel Canal |
| oceans: | the Atlantic, the Indian Ocean, the Pacific |
| rivers: | the Thames, the Seine, the Nile |
| seas: | the Mediterranean, the Baltic Sea |
| deserts: | the Sahara, the Gobi |
“The” with Plural Places and Names
We also use the with plural places and names:
| countries: | the Philippines, the Maldives, the Netherlands |
| groups of islands: | the Bahamas, the Antilles, the Florida Keys |
| mountain ranges: | the Alps, the Rockies, the Asir Mountains |
| people: | the Smiths, the Christies, the Kirks |
“The” with Compass Directions
“The + north / east / south / west” can be used to specify an area of a place. The is not used with northern, eastern, southern or western:
“Dorset is in the south of England.” ↔ “I come from southern England.”
“He works in the north.” ↔ “He works in northern Japan.”
