Intermediate The III

Table of Contents

  • With Continents
  • With Countries and States
  • With Cities
  • With Islands
  • With Regions
  • With Mountains
  • With Lakes
  • With Oceans, Seas & Rivers

With Continents

One does not use the with the names of continents.

Examples:

  • He went to work in Europe.
  • Europe is smaller than Africa.

With Countries and States

For simple names of countries and states, the is not used, but it is used when republic, union, statesor kingdom are included in the name.

Examples:

  • The government of the United Kingdom finance the health service..
  • It is a public holiday today in Spain.
  • It is difficult to get a work visa for the United States of America.
  • Texas is well known for its veterinarians.

The is also used with plural names.

Examples:

  • She comes from the Netherlands

With Cities

The is not used , except for The Hague

Examples:

Madrid is  the capital of Spain

With Islands

Groups of islands usually have plural names and the is used, but for individual islands with singular names , the is not used

Examples:

  • One can catch a ferry to the Canaries from Spain.
  • There are many beautiful coves in Sicily.

With Regions

With the north, the south, the west, the east, the Far East or the Middle East one uses the. However with northern Spain, southern France etc. one does not use the.

Examples:

  • He has gone to work as a journalist in the Middle East.
  • In southern Spain there is very high unemployment.

With Mountains

Mountain ranges usually haave plural names and take the, but individual mountains don’t usually take the.

Examples:

  • The snow is very good this year in the Alps.
  • We climbed Ben Nevis in the last week of September.

With Lakes

Lakes usually don’t take the

Examples:

How big is Lake Victoria?

With Oceans, Seas & Rivers

Oceans, seas, rivers and canals take the.

Examples:

  • He crossed the Atlantic Ocean single handed.
  • We were going on a trip down the Nile for our holidays.
  • The Suez Canal was of great political importance.
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