English Grammer

F. Omission of the

1. The definite article is not used:

1a. before names of places except as shown above, or before names of people.

1b. before abstract nouns except when they are used in a particular sense:

Men fear death but The death of the Prime Minister left his party without a leader.

1c. after a noun in the possessive case, or a possessive adjective:

the boy's uncle( = the uncle of the boy)

It is my (blue) book (= The (blue) book is mine.)

1d. before names of meals:

The Scots have porridge for breakfast but

The wedding breakfast was held in her father's house.

1e. before names of games: He plays golf.

1f. before parts of the body and articles of clothing, as these normally prefer a possessive adjective: Raise your right hand. He took off his coat.

-but notice that sentences of the type:

She seized the child's collar. I patted his shoulder.

The brick hit John's face.

could be expressed:

She seized the child by the collar. I patted him on the shoulder.

The brick hit John in the face.

-similarly in the passive:

He was hit on the head. He was cut in the hand.

2. Note that in some European languages the definite article is used before indefinite plural nouns but that in English the is never used in this way:

Women are expected to like babies. (i.e. women in general)

Big hotels all over the world are very much the same.

-if we put the before women in the first example, it would mean that we were referring to a particular group of women.

3. nature, where it means the spirit creating and motivating the world of plants and animals etc., is used without the: If you interfere with nature you will suffer for it.

G. Omission of the before home, before church, hospital, prison, school etc. and before work, sea and town

1. home

-when home is used alone (is not preceded or followed by a descriptive word or phrase), the is omitted:

-home used alone can be placed directly after a verb of motion or verb of motion + object, i.e. it can be treated as an adverb:

He went home. I arrived home after dark. I sent him home.

-but when home is preceded or followed by a descriptive word or phrase it is treated like any other noun:

They went to their new home. We arrived at the bride's home.

For some years this was the home of your queen.

A mud hut was the only home he had ever known.

2. bed, church, court, hospital, prison, school/college/university

-the is not used before the nouns listed above when these places are visited or used for their primary purpose. We go:

to bed to sleep or as invalids to hospital as patients

to church to pray to prison as prisoners

to court as litigants etc. to school/college/university to study

-similarly we can be: .

in bed, sleeping or resting in hospital as patients

at church as worshippers at school etc. as students

in court as witnesses etc.

-we can be/get back (or be/get home) from school/college/university. We can leave school, leave hospital, be released from prison.

-when these places are visited or used for other reasons the is necessary:

I went to the church to see the stained glass.

He goes to the prison sometimes to give lectures.

3. sea

-we go to sea as sailors. To be at sea = to be on a voyage (as passengers or crew). But to go to or be at the sea = to go to or be at the seaside. We can also live by/near the sea.

4. work and office