Articles: 'the' or no article

Do you know when you need to use the in common phrases and place names? Test what you know with interactive exercises and read the explanation to help you.

Do you know when you need to use the in common phrases and place names? Test what you know with interactive exercises and read the explanation to help you. 您知道在常用短语和地名中何时需要使用the 吗？通过互动练习测试您所知道的知识，并阅读解释以帮助您。

Look at these examples to see when the is and isn't used. 看一下这些例子，了解何时使用，何时不使用。

I'm going to bed. I walk to work. My children are going to start school. I visited the school yesterday. Mount Everest is in the Himalayas.

Try this exercise to test your grammar. 尝试这个练习来测试你的语法。

Grammar test 1

Complete the sentences with 'the' or '-' if no article is needed. 如果不需要冠词，则用“the”或“-”完成句子。

1. What time do you finish__work?

2. He's in__India.

3. When she finishes__school, she wants to study medicine at__university.

4. __Nile is the longest river in__Africa. It flows north from__Lake Victoria to the Mediterranean Sea.

5. He's at__hospital visiting his mum.

6. I'm really tired. I'm going to go__home and go to__bed early.

7. They're in__Alps on a climbing holiday.

8. They caught him and he was sent to__prison.

Answers

Feedback Total score is 3 out of 12 (25%)

1. -

2. -

3. -; -

4. The; -; -

5. the

6. -; -

7. the

8. -

ChatGPT

分析如下：

1. What time do you finish the work?

   • 错误：the

   • 解释：这里的 work 是不可数名词，不需要加冠词，应该改为：What time do you finish work?

2. He's in the India.

   • 错误：the

   • 解释：India 是一个国家的名称，通常不加冠词，正确形式是：He's in India.

3. When she finishes the school, she wants to study medicine at the university.

   • 错误：the（两处）

   • 解释：

     • school 前不需要冠词，因为表示普通上学的情况，不是特指某一所学校。

     • university 前也不需要冠词，因为同样是泛指大学。

     • 改正为：When she finishes school, she wants to study medicine at university.

4. - Nile is the longest river in the Africa. It flows north from the Lake Victoria to the Mediterranean Sea.

   • 错误：-、the（两处）

   • 解释：

     • Nile 是特指的河流名称，需要加冠词 the，应为 The Nile。

     • Africa 是地名，不需要加冠词，应为 in Africa。

     • Lake Victoria 是特指湖泊名，不需要冠词，应为 from Lake Victoria。

     • 改正为：The Nile is the longest river in Africa. It flows north from Lake Victoria to the Mediterranean Sea.

5. He's at a hospital visiting his mum.

   • 错误：a

   • 解释：在英国英语中，当人在医院时，通常会省略冠词（表示去医院看病或探望）。因此改为：He's at hospital visiting his mum.

6. I'm really tired. I'm going to go - home and go to - bed early.

   • 正确：此处没有错误，home 和 bed 都不需要冠词。

7. They're in the Alps on a climbing holiday.

   • 正确：the Alps 表示特指山脉，需要使用冠词 the。

8. They caught him and he was sent to a prison.

   • 错误：a

   • 解释：prison 作为机构使用时（指服刑），不加冠词。改正为：He was sent to prison.

总结：

• 一般情况下，地名（国家、城市、山脉等）不加冠词。

• 某些特定机构（如 hospital、school、prison）作为用途使用时，不加冠词。

• 特指河流、山脉、海洋等时需要冠词 the。

Grammar explanation 语法解释

Here are some ways we use articles in common phrases and place names. 以下是我们在常用短语和地名中使用冠词的一些方式。

Common phrases 常用短语

We don't usually use an article in expressions with bed, work and home. 在含有bed、work和home 的表达形式中我们通常不使用冠词。

go to bed / be in bed go to work / be at work / start work / finish work go home / be at home / get home / stay at home

We also don't normally use an article in expressions with school, university, prison and hospital. 在表达学校、大学、监狱 和医院时，我们通常也不使用冠词。

start school / go to school / be at school go to university / be at university be sent to prison / go to prison / be in prison go to hospital / be in hospital

But we usually use the if someone is just visiting the place, and not there as a student/prisoner/patient, etc. 但我们通常使用如果某人只是参观该地方，而不是以学生/囚犯/病人等身份在那里。

My son has started school now. I went to the school to meet his teacher. I went to the prison a lot when I was a social worker. I'm at the hospital. My sister has just had a baby.

Place names 地名

We don't normally use an article for continents, most countries, cities, towns, lakes, mountains or universities. So, we say: 我们通常不使用冠词来表示大洲、大多数国家、城市、城镇、湖泊、山脉或大学。因此，我们说：

Africa, Asia, Europe India, Ghana, Peru, Denmark Addis Ababa, Hanoi, New York, Moscow Lake Victoria, Lake Superior, Lake Tanganyika Mount Everest, Mount Kilimanjaro, Mount Elbrus Cardiff University, Harvard University, Manchester University

Some countries are different. Country names with United have the. There are other countries which are exceptions too. So, we say: 有些国家有所不同。带有United 的国家/地区名称带有。还有一些国家/地区也是例外。因此，我们说：

the United Arab Emirates, the United Kingdom, the United States of America the Bahamas, the Gambia

Seas and oceans, mountain ranges and rivers have the: 海洋、山脉和河流具有the ：

the Atlantic, the Pacific, the Mediterranean the Andes, the Himalayas, the Alps the Nile, the Amazon, the Yangtze

Universities with of in the title also have the: 标题中带有of 的大学还具有the ：

the University of Cape Town, the University of Delhi, the University of Tokyo

Do this exercise to test your grammar again. 做这个练习来再次测试你的语法。

Grammar test 2

1. I'm still at__work but I'll leave soon.

2. I'm going to__prison to see my uncle.

3. __University of Nottingham is in__United Kingdom.

4. Every Friday my grandad goes to__prison to teach a maths class.

5. She was born in Japan, but she went to__university in__Bahamas.

6. My daughter does piano classes after__school.

7. I'm going to__school for a parents' meeting.

8. The Danube flows from__Germany, through__Central Europe to__Black Sea.

ChatGPT

分析如下：

1. I'm still at - work but I'll leave soon.

   • 正确：work 是不可数名词，不加冠词。

2. I'm going to the prison to see my uncle.

   • 正确：the prison 表示特指某一个监狱，符合语境，因为说话者是去探望亲人，而不是作为囚犯。

3. The University of Nottingham is in the United Kingdom.

   • 正确：the University of Nottingham 是特指大学名称，需要使用冠词 the；the United Kingdom 表示特指国家，需要冠词。

4. Every Friday my grandad goes to the prison to teach a maths class.

   • 正确：这里使用 the prison 表示特指的监狱，表明说话者的爷爷去某个特定的监狱授课。

5. She was born in Japan, but she went to - university in - Bahamas.

   • 错误：-（Bahamas）

   • 解释：

     • university 前不加冠词是正确的，因为是泛指。

     • Bahamas 是地名，通常加冠词 the，改为 in the Bahamas。

6. My daughter does piano classes after - school.

   • 正确：school 在这里是泛指上学的概念，不需要冠词。

7. I'm going to the school for a parents' meeting.

   • 正确：the school 表示特指的学校，表明家长要去孩子所在的学校参加会议。

8. The Danube flows from - Germany, through - Central Europe to the Black Sea.

   • 正确：

     • Germany 和 Central Europe 是地名，不需要冠词。

     • the Black Sea 是特指海域名称，需要冠词 the。

错误总结：

• 第 5 句 错误在于未加 the，正确形式应为 in the Bahamas，因为 the Bahamas 是群岛国家，通常需要冠词。

总结

地理特征	是否使用冠词 the	解释
河流	是	强调特指性，传统命名习惯
湖泊	否	名称前有 “Lake”，无需冠词
山脉	是	复数形式或特指
单个山峰	否	独立特征，不加冠词

记忆小贴士

• 如果地名是以 “River” 形式命名或表示自然特征（如海洋、河流、山脉），通常使用 the。

• 如果地名是单一实体、具体名称（如湖泊、城市、大学），通常不使用 the。