If you have watched the movie ‘English Vinglish’ starring the late diva Sridevi, then you will remember this memorable scene when her character Shashi asks her English tutor the following question with much curiosity:
“Why India, not the India; why America, the United States of America?”
Why indeed? Why do we use the definite article ‘the’ for some geographical names but not for others? Are there any specific rules governing the usage of the same?
To be frank, there is no particular logic, but just a categorization that we need to remember for different geographical names and whether ‘the’ is used with them or not.
For some geographical entities, ‘the’ is used, while for others, it isn’t.
Let’s first see the different groups for which THE ARTICLE is used:
Rivers: The Amazon, The Ganges, The Hudson, The Missouri, The Yamuna
Deserts: The Sahara, The Kalahari, The Thar, The Atacama
Mountain Ranges: The Alps, The Andes, The Himalayas, The Appalachians
Oceans and Seas: The Indian Ocean, The Pacific Ocean, The Atlantic Ocean, The Arabian Sea, The Gulf of Mexico, The Caribbean Sea, The Gulf of Oman
Group of Islands: The Florida Keys, The Pacific Islands
Points on the globe: The Equator, The North Pole, The South Pole
Geographical areas: The East, The Midweast, The Northeast
Following are the groups for which NO ARTICLE is used:
Countries: India, Australia, New Zealand, Sri Lanka, Germany, France
Exceptions: Countries which are in plural form or include the words ‘states’, ‘kingdom’, or ‘republic’ USE ‘The’:
E.g. The Netherlands, The United States, The United Kingdom, The Dominican Republic
Lakes: Lake Nainital, Lake Superior, Lake Michigan
Mountains: Mount Everest, Alps, Mount K2, Mount Kailash
Continents: Asia, Africa, Europe, Antarctica
Counties, states, provinces: California, Ohio, Michigan, Texas
Cities, towns, villages: New York, Los Angeles, New Delhi, Kolkata, Mumbai, Paris, London
Islands: Bali, Tahiti, Ibiza, Borneo, Sumatra
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