By properly including and omitting articles with geographical location, the reader will better understand the place being referred to in the sentence. The most important article to be concerned with relating to geographical location is the. Let’s look at some rules of when to include the and when to omit it.

Geographical uses of the include:

• Geographical areas or regions (the Middle East, the South)
• Deserts, forests, gulfs and peninsulas (the Sahara, the Persian Gulf)
• Names of rivers, oceans, and seas (the Nile, the Atlantic)
• Points on the globe (the Equator, the South Pole)

Do not use the before:

·        Names of countries (England, Mexico, China)
Except: the Netherlands, the United States, the Republic of China

·        Names of cities, towns, or states (Victoria, Houston)

·        Names of streets (Red River, Navarro)

·        Names of individual lakes and bays (Lake Austin, Lake Erie)
Except: groups of lakes (the Great Lakes)

·        Names of individual mountains (Mount Everest, Mount Rushmore)
Except: ranges of mountains (the Andes or the Rockies)

·        Names of continents (North America, Asia)

·        Names of individual islands (Fiji Island, Maui)
Except: island chains (the Canary Islands)

Along with our own website, www.uhv.edu/ac, we recommend the following site: Hunter College Reading/Writing Center. This website has a page of several questions you can ask yourself to choose the right article.

Visit this site at http://rwc.hunter.cuny.edu/reading-writing/on-line/choosing-the-right-article.html.

Test your understanding by correcting, if needed, the following sentences.

1. Have you ever crossed _____ Mississippi River?

2. I can’t wait to visit ______ Europe.

3. Washington state touches _____ Pacific.

4. We will get married in ______ Virgin Islands.

5. I will be going to _____ Romania soon.

Answers

1. Have you ever crossed the Mississippi River?

2. I can’t wait to visit Europe. (No article is needed.)

3. Washington state touches the Pacific.

4. We will get married in the Virgin Islands.

5. I will be going to Romania soon. (No article is needed.)

Grammatically Correct is a grammar tip of the week created by Academic Center Peer Writing Tutors at the University of Houston-Victoria in Victoria, Texas.

Comments about this newsletter should be directed to Summer Leibensperger, leibenspergers@uhv.edu.

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