SPECIAL USE OF ARTICLES/ EXCEPTIONS TO

THE GENERAL RULES

Priority-I

1. The + Countries/States/Provinces…correct
a. Geographic description in the meanings of the name
of state / province / country
b. Plural names
c. Preposition “of”
d. The word of Adjective…united, great, repulic
The United Kingdom; the Great Britain; the Kingdom of Nepal; the United States;
the United Arab Emirates; the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia; the Islamic Republic of
Pakistan; the People’s Republic of China; the Netherlands; the Hague (Capital
city of the Netherlands); the Philippines; the Maldives; the West Indies; the
Americas; the Punjab
Note: The + continents (Incorrect); but – the Sub-continent is correct.

The + names consisting of NOUN + OF + NOUN

1. The Gulf of Mexico
2. The Bay of Biscay
3. The Cape of Good Hope
4. He is the Nelson Mandela of Pakistan.

2. The + Special Geographic/Cultural Regions

The South; the East; the West; the North Pole; the South Pole; the Equator; the
Middle East

Exception:
No article with: South Africa, North America, South Korea, North Korea, West
Germany

The + Direction
1. East / west / north / south as adverb: no article
2. East / west / north / south as area / region: article THE
3. Verb + Direction (No article)
4. Preposition + The + Direction (correct)
5. I walked to the south. The store is on the right.

Examples:
1. I walked south.
2. I drove north all day.

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NATIONAL OFFICERS ACADEMY, ISLAMABAD | RAWALPINDI.
 3. I walked to the south. The store is on the right.

4. He went north (adverb)…correct

5. He lives in the north (= area in the north)…correct
6. Peshawar is to the north of Islamabad…correct

3. The + Mountain Ranges (Chains) / Groups of Islands / Rivers /

Seas / Oceans / Canals / Holy Books / Newspapers / Nations /
Deserts / Celestial bodies
the Himalayas; the Marglas; the Atlantic Ocean; the Indian Sea; the Panama
Canal; the Bible; the Holy Quran; The Times; The Washington Post; the Jang;
the Express; the Nile; the Indus; the Ravi; the Japanese; the Chinese; the moon;
the sun; the Thar; the Thames; the Sahara
Note: With nationalities or ethnic groups that end in "-ans" THE is not usually
used. Examples: Americans; Mexicans; Hawaiians

4. The + Singular Common Noun (when we make

generalizations) / (representation of the whole class of animals
or things, not humans)
animals (the leopard, the elephant); musical instruments (the piano, the guitar);
plants (the coconut palm); inventions (the steam engine, the plane); currencies
(the dollar, the euro, the rupee); body parts (the head, the eye, the ear)

1. The whale is in danger.

2. The dog is a faithful animal.

Man and woman

No article with MAN representing the human race

MAN and WOMAN can be used in a general sense without
articles

1. A man is mortal
2. The man is mortal
3. I met man. Man was great warrior.
4. Man and woman were created equal.

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 5. Men and women have similar abilities and needs.
6. How did man first discover fire?

Additional point

A man Vs man
The man Vs man
A man = any male person
The man = one specified male person
Men = male persons
Man = human = insaan

5. The + Adjective= plural Noun (Group of People)…..correct

The blind: blind people in general
The rich: rich people in general

Examples:
The rich people must not hate the poor people
The rich must not hate the poor.

The + Place (when a place is used or visited for primary

purpose)…incorrect

The + Place (other purposes)…correct

Place: Mosque; church; court; hospital; prison; school; college; university;
market; park; airport; railway station; bed; etc.
01. We go to bed to sleep.
02. We go to hospital as patients.
03. We go to school / college / university as students.
04. We go to church / mosque to pray.
05. We go to court as litigants.
06. Be in bed
07. Be in hospital
08. Be in court
09. Be at school
10. Be at college
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 11. Be at church
12. We can get back from college / university / hospital, etc.
13. We can leave college / university / church, etc.

Examples:

1. He went to university to attend his classes.

2. He went to the university to see his son.
3. He went to the church to see his friend.
4. He went to the prison to preach morality.

Work and office

1. No article with WORK (= place of work)
2. THE with OFFICE (= place of work)
3. No article with OFFICE ( = official position particularly
political)
Examples:
1. He is at work.
2. She is on way to work.
3. He is at the office.
4. He is in the office.
5. The PML(N) is out of office.

The + Home
1. No article when home is used alone
2. No preposition TO when home is used alone
3. Article THE + HOME when home is preceded or followed by
a descriptive word or phrase

Examples:
1. He is at home.
2. They went home.
3. They went back home.
4. They went to their new home.
5. We arrived at the bride’s home.

7. The + Title + Name ….incorrect

The + Common Noun + Name …correct
1. The scientist Newton
2. The fighter Qasim
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 3. The King George…incorrect
4. The Queen Elizbith…incorrect
5. The Prophet Muhammad(PBUH)…incorrect
6. The Prophet (PBUH)…correct
7. Prophet Muhammad(PBUH)…correct
8. The quaid-e-azam …correct

The President Zardari is an honest man….incorrect

8. The + Large Organizations (Not commercial enterprises)

The United Nations; The Commonwealth; the EU; the WHO, the BBC; the IAEA;
the PTV

9. Time Expressions
The + Decades / centuries
The seventies; the 1820's; the 1990’s
The + Time Expressions
In the morning; in the afternoon; in the evening; during the night; during the day;
the day before yesterday; the day after tomorrow; the fall; the summer; the spring
A/An/The + time expression
a/the whole day; a/the whole month; an/the entire year; an/the entire decade

Time expressions without article

at night; at noon; at midnight; all day; all night; all month; every month; every
year; last night; last Friday; yesterday; tomorrow; winter

Days, Months or Season: ‘THE’ is used when they are particular, not in
general.
But= the spring, the summer - may be in general.

We use articles with the names of days of the week and months when we are
talking about particular days and months.
i. We met on a wet Monday in June.
ii. It was the January after we went to America.

10. The + Nouns – modified by ranking or ordering expressions

The first; the second; the third; the next; the last; the previous; the following
Example:
1. This is the sixth day of our exam.
2. I'll pay the next time.

11. Do not use articles with the names of:

individual lakes; individual islands; beaches; waterfalls individual mountains;
streets; public squares; hospitals; stadiums; malls; parks; churches; temples;

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universities; colleges; languages; religions; days; months; holidays; towns;
streets; stations; airports

12. Physical Environment – everyone is familiar with what we

are talking about
The town; the mountains; the fog; the country; the rain; the weather; the sea; the
wind; the night; the seaside; the future; the universe

13. Double Expression-------No article

With knife and fork; day after day; from top to bottom; inch by inch; husband and
wife; on land and sea; arm in arm; with hat and coat;

14. “Both” and “All”: we often leave out “THE”

Both students; all day; all night; all week; all year; all winter
Example: I haven’t seen her all day.
 Both (the) students are good at math.
And we often leave out the between “all” and “a number” and “time”.
 All (the) three brothers were arrested.

15. Uncountable Nouns – which can be used with “a / an” –

when their meanings are particular:
We need a secretary with a special knowledge of English.
She has been a great help.
I need a good sleep.

Note: weather or progress cannot be used in this way.

We are having a terrible weather. (Incorrect)
You have made a very good progress. (Incorrect)

16. Use of Determiners

Many + ---------------- + -----------------
Many a +-------------- + -----------------
A great many + --------------- + --------------
A number of + countable noun + ----------------plural verb
The number of + countable noun + --------------singular
A lot of + countable noun + -------------------plural
A lot of + uncountable noun + ----------------- singular
None of + the + countable noun + ---------------plural
None of + the + uncountable noun + -------------singular
The rest of + the + countable noun + -------------------plural
The rest of + the + uncountable noun + -----------------singular
All of + (the) + countable noun + -------------------plural
All of + (the) + uncountable noun + ------------------singular
All + (the) + countable + -------------------plural
All + (the) + uncountable + -----------------singular
Some of + the + countable noun + -----------------plural
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Some of + the + uncountable noun + -----------------singular
The + some + noun + ----------------- incorrect
Some + countable noun + -----------------plural
Some + uncountable noun + -----------------singular
Most of + the + countable noun + -----------------plural
Most of + the + uncountable noun + -----------------singular
The most of + noun + -----------------incorrect
The + most + noun + -----------------incorrect
Majority of + countable noun + -----------------plural
The half year….incorrect
A half year….incorrect
Half the year….correct
Half a year….correct

17. Use of the word “WHOLE”

The whole + proper noun….the whole Pakistan …incorrect
The whole of + proper noun…the whole of Pakistan…..correct
The whole + common noun….the whole nation…correct

18. Use of the word “Future”

In future: from now on: I forgive you last time. You must be careful in future.
In the future: for the time to come. Let’s see how Pakistan’s economy grows in
the future.

19. Use of “Few” and “Little”

Few: almost nothing / negative
A few: some / positive
The few: some…speicified
Little: almost nothing: there was a little hope of his recovery.
They were disappointed because there was little hope of his recovery.
A little: some
The little: some specified,

20. Amount and Number

“THE” is dropped after the amount / number of.

Examples:
i. I was surprised at the amount of money collected.
ii. The number of unemployed is rising steadily.

Kind of
We usually leave out A/AN after kind of, sort of, type of and similar
expressions

Examples:
1. What kind of person is she?
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 2. Have you got a cheaper sort of computer?
3. They have developed a new variety of rice.
4. This is a funny sort of watch.
5. What sort of book is that?
6. These sort of cars are expensive.

21. The Comparative Degree in pairs / The + Comparative Degree

+ of
 The more we get; the more we desire.

Priority-II
1. The + Well Known Buildings and Works of Art
The Empire State Building; the Taj Mahal; the Mona Lisa; the Vietnam Memorial;
the Eiffel Tower; the Pakistan Monument

3. The + system or service / The + scientific instruments,

inventions, musical instruments
The train; the radio; the subway; the piano
The + Forms of Entertainment ( Not – THE + TV)
The cinema; the theatre; the circus; the ballet; the opera; the radio
When means TV set = The + T. V. The cat is on the TV.
When means program = TV. What’s on T. V?
Example: I always listen to the radio.
Note: Not “THE” – when we talk about these institutions as art forms or
professions.
Example: Cinema is different from theatre in several ways. He’s worked in radio
all his life.

Musical Instruments
We often use the + singular when we talk about musical instruments in general or
about playing musical instruments.
i. The violin is really difficult.
ii. Who’s that on the piano?
But “THE” is often dropped when talking about jazz or pop, and sometimes when
talking about classical music.

The + names of choirs / orchestras / pop groups

1. The Bach Choir
2. The New York Orchestra
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4. Illness or Diseases
The names of illnesses are usually uncountable in standard British English.
“THE” can be used informally before the names of some common illnesses such
as the measles, the flue, others have no article.
i. I think I have got (the) measles.
ii. Have you had appendicitis?
iii. I am getting toothache (US…. A toothache)
Exceptions: a cold, a headache (US also an earache)
i. I have got a horrible cold.
ii. Have you got a headache?

5. The + Names of Hotels, Pubs and Restaurants

The Islamabad Hotel; the Indus Hotel; the Margla Motel; the Golden Hotel
Example: He stayed at the Golden hotel.
Note: We do not use the definite article if the name of the hotel or restaurant is
the name of the owner.

6. By + The + Measurement
By the kilo
By the dozen
By the month
By the hour

Expressions with OF and without OF

1. Nineteenth-century-music (correct)
2. The music of the nineteenth century (correct)
3. African butterflies (correct)
4. The butterflies of Africa (correct)

Parts of the body

Possessive pronouns + someone’s body part
Preposition + the + body part
Examples:
1. His coat was over his arm.
2. The robber was shot in the leg.
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 3. She looked him in the eye.
4. He hit me in the stomach.
5. He is broad across the shoulders.

No article

Article + meals
1. No article in general meanings
2. Article is used when preceded by an adjective
3. Article is used when it is a special meal to celebrate something or in
someone’s honour
Examples:
1. They have breakfast at nine.
2. They gave me a good breakfast.
3. They were invited to dinner.
4. They were invited to a dinner given to welcome the new minister.
5. The wedding dinner was held in a marriage hall.

Article + names of games

No article should be used with the names of games
Examples:
1. He plays cricket.
2. They play football.

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