Using Articles 3

Articles and Names

Rivers, lakes, seas, countries, mountains, planets, streets, hotels, newspapers. Do they need an article? Check this list.

1. Rivers usually do need an article: the Seine, the Thames, the Mississippi River, the Yellow River, the Ganges.

2. Lakes usually do not need an article: Lake Geneva, Lake Michigan, Lake Baikal.

3. Oceans and seas usually do need an article: the Atlantic Ocean, the Pacific, the Mediterranean Sea, the North Sea, the Straight of Girbraltar.

4. Countries usually do not need an article: England, France, Brazil, India. Exceptions include The Netherlands and The Gambia.

5. Mountains usually do not need an article: Mount Everest, Kilimanjaro, Ben Nevis, Ayer's Rock.

6. Mountain ranges usually do need an article: the Andes, the Alps, the Himalayas, the Rockies.

7. Planets do not need an article: Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars, Saturn, Jupiter, Neptune, Uranus, Pluto. Sometimes 'the Earth' is used with an article.

8. Heavenly bodies usually do have articles: the sun, the moon, the Milky Way, the Galaxy.

9. Streets usually do not need an article: Baker Street, Park Avenue, Chiltern Drive. Exceptions include the High Street and the Strand.

10. Named landmarks usually do not need an article: St Peter's Square, Buckingham Palace, Rembrandt's House. But there are many exceptions: the White House, the Rijksmuseum, the Pyramids.

11. Hotels and cinemas/theatres usually do need an article: the Dorint, the Hilton, the Dorchester; the Odeon, the National Theatre, the Globe.

12. Newspapers usually do need an article if part of the original title: The Times, The Economist, The International Herald Tribune. Also these titles are usually written with italics. Titles in other languages are kept in the original: Pravda, De Volkskrant, Le Figaro.

13. Titles do not need an article if the name of the person is included: President Bush, Foreign Secretary Jack Straw, Chief Prosecutor Carla del Ponte, Sir Bob Geldof. But articles become necessary if the title only is given to refer to the person: the foreign secretary, the prime minister, the president of the United States, the chief prosecutor of the ICTY, the organiser of Live8.

14. Organisations vary greatly in the use and non-use of articles, often depending on where the place name is put: Cambridge City Council, but the Greater London Council; the London Borough of Hackney, but Hackney Residents' Association; Sarajevo University, but the University of Sarajevo; the United Nations ICTY, but Interpol; the European Union, but NATO.

15. Some special names which usually do need an article: the Pope, the Vatican, the Crown, the Queen (but not in Queen Elizabeth II), the Dalai Lama.