Countries (use «the» when they have a plural name and are viewed as unions)
Canada, France, Ukraine
the Philippines, the United Kingdom
(the) USA
Geographic areas (regions)
the Orient, the Middle East, the Crimea
Continents
Europe, Asia, South America, Africa
Mountains, mountain peaks
Mount Everest
Exception: the Matterhorn
Mountain ranges
the Rocky Mountains, the Alps
Lakes
Lake Michigan
Lakes when they form a set
the Great Lakes
Rivers
the Danube
Oceans and seas
the Atlantic Ocean,
the Black Sea
Gulfs
the Gulf of Mexico
Bays
San Francisco Bay
Chapter 1 15
Canals
the Erie canal
Planets
Mars, Venus
Exceptions: the Sun, the Moon, (the) Earth
Separate islands
Jamaica
Chains of islands
the Canary Islands
Deserts
the Gobi desert
Parks
Central Park
Tourist attractions, famous buildings, monuments,
Exception: Disneyland
the White House, the National Gallery,
Museums, libraries
the Library of Congress
with universities, colleges, schools beginning with a proper noun
Harvard University, Lambton college
with universities, colleges, schools beginning with «university», «school», «college»
the University of Virginia, the college of arts and sciences
Names of magazines
Time magazine
Names of historic documents
the Treaty of Geneva
Names of wars (except World Wars)
World War I
the War of Independence
names of ships, Trains, airplanes
the Orient express
names of scientific methods: a) well-known and established (the) b) those still not recognized by everyone (Ø)
Green method
the Montessori method
proper names a) denoting family as a whole (the) as opposed To separate name (Ø) b) specifying maiden name (a)
Ann Johnson
the Johnsons
She was a Brown before marriage.
Exercise 7. Fill in the blanks with «the», «a», «an», or leave blank.
1. May I have a look at ___ book that I brought yesterday?
2. She is ___ chemist.
3. John likes __ rice.
4. Ann has decided to become ___ engineer, while Mike and Andrew would rather become __ geographers.
5. Where is ___ coffee that we bought last week?
6. ___ teachers want ___ students to succeed.
7. ___ water is essential for life.
8. Please pass ___ pepper.
9. ___ word processors can check ___ spelling.
10. In 1816 a Scottish natural philosopher invented ___ kaleidoscope.
Chapter 1
Exercise 8. Insert correct article or leave blank.
___ Oriental Art Museum, ____ Asia, _____ Great Lakes, __ Tampa Bay, __ Green Park, ___ Capitol, _____ Amazon River, ______ Andes, _____ White Street, _____ Netherlands, ___ John Hopkins University, __ Discovery Park, ___ Great Salt Lake, _____ Old Dominion University ___ Washington monument, __ Mediterranean Sea, ____ Golden Gate Bridge, ____ Greece ____ California, ___ University of Washington, _____ Philadelphia,
