Definite article THE with geographical names

English Grammar is not as difficult as the Grammar of other languages.

The topic of our lesson today is a good example to prove this idea.

Does this bus stop at the river Thames?

Well, if it doesn’t stop there will be a big splash.

What are English grammar articles?

An article is a word that is used before a noun to show whether the noun refers to something specific or not.

There are two types of articles in English language.

Definite article.

“Definite” means “clear, obvious”. The speaker/listener talks about a particular (or known) thing.

Indefinite article.

“Indefinite” means something which is not clear, obvious or exact.

The speaker/listener talks about unfamiliar things that haven't been mentioned before.

Now look through these words and think what proper names they are?

the Alps               ‘Everest

the Baikal            Lake Ontario

the USA               Portugal

the Earth              Saturn |ˈsat(ə)n|

the North             North America

They are all geographical names.

It’s quite confusing, isn’t it? Why the same notions like countries or lakes, for example, are used with or without definite article?

In the lesson today you’ll get to know the usage of definite article the with geographical names.

Examples in this lesson are listed in groups under the two headings:

No article!

Article the!

And you’ll meet this sign for exceptions of the rule.

It is much easier to memorize articles with geographical names in this way.

And you’ll practice the usage of definite article the in the given situations.

Continents and geographical areas

We do not normally use the definite article with names of continents:

Europe

Africa

South America

North America

Australia

Asia

We put the definite article before poles and hemispheres:

the North Pole (the Arctic)

the South Pole the Antarctic

the Western Hemisphere

the Eastern Hemisphere

the Northern and Southern Hemisphere

Regions are also used with the:

the Far East

the Middle East

the Highlands

the Crimea

the Caucasus

the Riviera

the Lake District

the Tyrol

Oceans, seas, gulfs, bays, lakes

We use the definite article with names of oceans, seas, gulfs and bays:

the Atlantic Ocean

the Pacific Ocean

the Arctic Ocean

the Indian Ocean

the Southern Ocean

the Mediterranean Sea, the Caribbean Sea, the Red Sea, the Black Sea, the Caspian Sea, the North Sea, the Baltic Sea, the Yellow Sea

the Gulf of Mexico, the Bay of Bengal, the Gulf of Finland, the Persian Gulf.

The exceptions are: Hudson Bay, San Francisco Bay.

If there is a word lake before the word we don’t use the. But without the word lake the is necessary.

Lake Baikal / The Baikal

Lake Huron / The Huron

Lake Superior / The Superior

Lake Geneva / The Geneva

Lake Ontario / The Ontario

We use definite article the before Rivers, straits, canals, currents, waterfalls

the Amazon / the Amazon River

the Nile / the Nile River

the Mississippi / the Mississippi River

the Yangtze / the Yangtze River

the Thames / the Thames River

the Amur / the Amur River

the Dnepr / the Dnepr River / the Dnieper

the Volga / the Volga River

canals, streams, currents

the Strait of Gibraltar

the Strait of Dover (Pas de Calais)

the Bering Strait

the English Channel (La Manche)

the Mozambique Channel

the Suez Canal

the Panama Canal

the Gulf Stream

the Japan Current (the Kuroshio)

We can use waterfalls with or without the. But the second variant is more common.

the Victoria Falls / Victoria Falls

Niagara Falls / the Niagara Falls

Islands, peninsulas, capes

We don’t add the definite article before the individual islands, peninsulas and capes

Greenland, Java, Cyprus, Madagascar, Hokkaido, Jamaica, Sakhalin,

But: The Isle of Man, the Cape of Good Hope.

The names of groups of islands are used with the:

the Kuril (or Kurile) Islands / the Kurils

the Bahamas / the Bahama Islands

the Philippines / the Philippine Islands

However if there is a word peninsula before the word the definite article is necessary.

the Kamchatka Peninsula

the Balkan Peninsula

the Italian Peninsula

Mountains, volcanoes, hills

The names of individual mountains, peaks and hills are typically used without the:

Everest / Mount Everest

Mount Fuji / Fujiyama

Kilimanjaro / Mount Kilimanjaro

Elbrus / Mount Elbrus

Vesuvius / Mount Vesuvius

Mont Blanc

Lassen Peak

Capitol

Telegraph Hill

But: The Kilauea Volcano

Article the is used with mountain chains and hills:

the Himalayas, the Rocky Mountains, the Balkan Mountains, the Urals, the Caucasus

the Andes, the Pyrenees, the Alps

the Black Hills, the Berkshire Hills

Deserts, valleys

Article the is normally used with the names of deserts and valleys.

the Sahara / the Sahara Desert, the Kalahari / the Kalahari Desert, the Arabian Desert, the Gobi / the Gobi Desert, the Kara Kum

the Ruhr Valley, the Nile Valley, the Valley of the Kings

The exceptions are: Death Valley, Silicon Valley.

Countries, states

We don’t add the definite article before countries and states.

Australia, England, Canada, New Zealand

Brazil, China, Egypt, Germany, India, Iran, Japan

Mexico, Norway, Russia, Spain, Turkey, Angola

But: The Congo, the Sudan, the Vatican

Article the is added to the countries whose names include words like kingdom, states, union, federation, emirates or republic:

the United States (the U.S.), the United Kingdom (the UK), the Russian Federation, the United Arab Emirates, the Soviet Union

or to the countries which have plural nouns as their names:

the Netherlands; the Philippines

Cities, towns

There is No definite article before cities and towns.

Amsterdam, Athens, Barcelona, Berlin, Brussels, Cairo, Delhi, London, Los Angeles, Madrid, Moscow, Oslo, Paris, Prague;

Rome, Saint Petersburg, Stockholm, Sydney, Tokyo, Toronto, Vienna, Warsaw

Atlantic City, New York City (NYC), Mexico City, Cape Town / Capetown

But: The Hague

However if there is a word combination city of before the word the definite article is necessary:

the city of Moscow, the city of Oslo, the city of Rome, the city of Tokyo, the town of Bedford

Now it’s time to practice the usage of definite article with geographical names.

Where do these places and what do you know about them?

Make a sentence using the map and the words below.

Example: The United Kingdom is in Europe. People speak English in the UK.

The United States of America is in North America. It is famous for its Lake District.

Egypt is in Africa. The longest river – the Nile flows through it.

Sochi is in Eastern Europe. The 2014 Olympics took place there.

Brazil is in South America. It is known for Rio Carnival.

The Hawaii is in the Pacific Ocean. Mount Kea is the highest in the world.

What do you know about France?

Fill in the where necessary and answer the questions of the quiz.

Is Paris the capital of France? Yes, it is.

Remember we do not add the before cities and countries.

Where are the Alps? In southern France.

We use definite article the before mountain chains. We do not add the before countries.

Is Mont Blanc the tallest mountain in Europe? Yes, it is.

Remember we do not add the before individual mountains and continents.

One of the oldest French palaces is located in the French Riviera. Yes, it is.

No article before regions.

What French gift stands at the gateway of New York City? The Statue of Liberty

We do not add the before the names of cities.

Is Corsica in the Mediterranean Sea? Yes, it is.

No articles before individual islands.

We use definite article the before seas.

What are the water borders of France? the Atlantic Ocean, the English Channel.

We don’t use definite article the before countries.

We add it to oceans and canals.

Does the Seine River flow through Lion? No, it doesn’t.

We don’t use definite article the before the names of towns.

We use the with the names of rivers.

Hopefully, the information of the lesson was useful to you, guys. Today you’ve won another top of English Grammar.