THE VS. ZERO ARTICLE We sometimes use the with a singular countable noun to talk about something in general.

This happens, for instance, with the names of ANIMALS, FLOWERS, PLANTS,... e.g. The dolphin is an intelligent animal When we are talking about things or people ( plural ) in general, we use zero article and when we are talking about either one particular thing or person people or things ( plural ) we use the: e.g. Tom sat down on the chair nearest the door ( particular thing in singular ) We took the children to the zoo ( particular people ) Children learn a lot from playing ( people in general ) ( singular ) or particular

Some common expressions with the have a general meaning : ( * ) THE TOWN, THE SKY, THE SEA ( SIDE ), THE GROUND, THE COUNTRY( SIDE ), THE MOUNTAINS, THE RAIN, THE WIND, THE SNOW, THE ENVIRONMENT, THE SUN ( SHINE ), THE MOON,... e.g. I enjoy going for long walks in the country. ( * ) But with SPACE, we say space ( zero article ) when we mean space in the universe and the space when we mean room e.g. There are millions of stars in space I tried to park my car but the space was too small We use the with MUSICAL INSTRUMENTS: e.g. Peter plays the flute We use the with RADIO, CINEMA and THEATRE but zero article with TELEVISION ( as a scientific invention ) e.g. I am listening to the radio Which do you prefer, the cinema or the theatre? I am watching television ( but the television set is broken as a machine ) We use zero article with MEANS OF TRANSPORT: e.g. I usually go to school by bus We use zero article with SPORTS: e.g. I love playing football We normally use zero article with the NAMES OF MEALS: e.g. When would you like to have dinner ? ( But we use the when we specify e.g. I enjoyed the dinner we had last night ) We often use zero article with the following nouns: SCHOOL, UNIVERSITY, COLLEGE, HOSPITAL, PRISON, CHURCH, BED, WORK, HOME,... e.g. I studied History at university. Mr. Woods has gone into hospital ( for medical treatment ) What time do you usually go to work ? Anyway, we use the when we do not think about the main purpose of the place: e.g. I sat down on the bed ( particular piece of furniture ) The school was painted last month ( the building ) We use the + adjective ( without a noun ) to talk about groups of people: e.g. The young, the rich, the sick, the old, the poor, the elderly, the homeless, the dead, the injured, the unemployed, the English, the French, the Japanese, the Swiss,...

GEOGRAPHICAL TERMS AND THE VS. ZERO ARTICLE

PLACE-NAMES WITH ZERO ARTICLE
CONTINENTS: e.g. Africa, Europe, Asia,...

PLACE-NAMES WITH THE

PLACE-NAMES WITH THE WORDS UNION, REPUBLIC, STATES, KINGDOM, ISLE: e.g. The Soviet Union, The Republic of Ireland, The United States, The United Kingdom, The Isle of Wight,... COUNTRIES, STATES, DEPARTMENTS, etc: PLURAL PLACE-NAMES: e.g. England, Florida, Hampshire,... e.g. The Netherlands CITIES, TOWNS and VILLAGES: VARIOUS OTHER PLACE-NAMES: e.g. Sydney, Bilbao, Waterlooville,... e.g. The Arctic, The Far East, The North Pole, The Costa Brava,... INDIVIDUAL ISLANDS: OCEANS, SEAS, RIVERS, CANALS , STRAITS and DESERTS: e.g. Crete, Majorca, Long Island,... e.g. The Pacific, The Mediterranean, The Nile, The Panama Canal, The Straits of Gibraltar, The Sahara,... LAKES: ISLAND GROUPS: e.g. Lake Michigan, Lake Como,... e.g. The Canaries, The Maldives, ... INDIVIDUAL MOUNTAINS: MOUNTAIN RANGES: e.g. Mount Everest, Mount Aneto,... e.g. The Alps, The Rocky Mountains,... STREETS, ROADS, LANES, etc: HOTELS, CINEMAS, MUSEUMS, CLUBS, GALLERIES, RESTAURANTS, e.g. Oxford Street, North Road,... PUBS, and OTHER TOURIST ATTRACTIONS: e.g. The Plaza Hotel, The Alphaville Cinema, The British Museum, The Black Cat Club, The Tate Gallery, The Hard Rock Caf, The Spinning-Wheel ( pub ) PLACES, BUILDINGS, etc named after the people who started them + the THE + NAME + OF: possessive s e.g. The University of Edinburgh, The Leaning Tower of Pisa, The Statue of e.g. Macys Hotel Liberty,... SAINTS + POSSESSIVE S : e.g. St Pauls Cathedral, St Peters Church,... (Newly designed)