• 2-minute read
• 23rd October 2014

The Rules Governing Articles and Place Names

Although it might seem natural to precede certain place names with the definite article (‘the’) and omit it before others, there are specific rules regarding when it should be used. Below, we set out a few helpful guidelines you can use in your academic writing.

Geographical Place Names

There is not usually any need to use ‘the’ for large areas, such as continents or countries, or smaller-but-distinct areas, like regions, counties, towns and cities. Some examples of such places include:

• Continents: Asia, Europe, North America
• Countries: Great Britain, France, Germany
• Counties: Yorkshire, Devon, Norfolk
• Cities: London, Norwich, New York

However, if the place name refers to a group of places (even if it is one country), it should be preceded by ‘the’. Thus, while we say ‘Great Britain’, we say ‘the British Isles’ or ‘the United Kingdom’. Further examples include:

• The United States
• The West Indies
• The Philippines
• The Maldives

‘The’ should also be included when the word ‘Republic’ appears in the name of a country, like ‘the Czech Republic’ or ‘the People’s Republic of China’.

Lakes and Mountains

We have seen that single locations do not usually take the definite article, while names that refer to a collection of distinct regions do. Continuing this trend, lakes and mountains are typically presented without ‘the’ when referred to individually, but groups or ranges usually require ‘the’.

For example, ‘Lake Erie’ is one lake, while ‘The Great Lakes’ is a group of lakes. Likewise, ‘Mount Everest’ is one mountain, but ‘The Alps’ is a mountain range.

Buildings and Monuments

Unfortunately, there are no specific rules regarding articles and buildings. Some monuments and landmarks take ‘the’, but others don’t:

• The Eiffel Tower
• The London Eye
• Buckingham Palace
• Windsor Castle

The best thing to do here is look up the building or monument if you’re unsure about whether or not to add ‘the’.

However, when discussing buildings which are home to museums, pubs, hotels, theatres and galleries, ‘the’ should generally be used. For example:

Shall we go to the National Portrait Gallery at the weekend?

Street Names

Street names don’t usually take an article, although some famous streets, like ‘The Mall’ in London, are exceptions. Again, the main thing here is to check if you’re unsure.

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