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English Articles

When to use the definite article with proper nouns in English?

By: Erin Kuester Thu Sep 12 2024
English
Articles, Nouns

In English, some proper nouns (specific names for things) are always used with the definite article the. For example:

the Empire State Building

the United States

the Panama Canal

the Beatles

But other proper nouns can never be used with a definite article:

New York

Annabelle

The New York

The Annabelle

In this article we will discuss:

  • What a definite article is in English

  • What a proper noun is

  • When we use the definite article with a proper noun

Ready to get started? Let’s jump in and learn about definite articles and proper nouns in English!

Table of Contents

    What is the definite article in English and how do we use it?

    The definite article in English is the word the. We use it before a singular or plural noun to show that you are talking about a specific noun. Let’s look at a few examples and see why we use or don’t use a definite article:

    • I like books.

      No definite article because this sentence is discussing any books, not a specific book.
    • I didn't like the book you gave me.

      We use a definite article because in this sentence we are referring to one specific book that you already know about.
    • I left the books for my homework at school!

      We can use a definite article in front of plural nouns, as long as they are a specific group of things that we already know about.

    What is a proper noun?

    A proper noun in English is a very specific name for something. For example, book is a common noun but the title of a specific book, such as Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone, is a proper noun.

    Tip

    Remember that proper nouns should be capitalized, and common nouns should not be capitalized!

    Usually, a proper noun cannot be used with a definite article, even though a proper noun refers to something specific:

    Today I’m eating lunch with Luna.

    Today I’m eating lunch with the Luna.

    However, there are some nouns that are always used with definite articles. Let’s have a look at some of the kinds of nouns that use the.

    When do I use the definite article with a proper noun?

    We use the definite article before a proper noun when the is part of the noun’s specific name. Here are some of the categories of proper nouns that often have a definite article as part of their name.

    • Proper nouns with “of” in their name

      the United States of America the University of Texas , the People’s Republic of China

      the Republic of Korea, the Strait of Gibraltar, the Isle of Man, the Gulf of Mexico

    • Countries or groups of countries that include Republic, Kingdom, Union, Federation, Confederation, or State

      the United Kingdom, the Dominican Republic, the European Union

      the Russian Federation, the United Mexican States, the Swiss Confederation

      → These are sometimes shortened versions of proper nouns with “of” (e.g. United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland).
    • Names for island chains

      the Philippines, the Bahamas, the Hebrides

      the Channel Islands, the British Isles, the Florida Keys

      → Usually only applies to plural names for islands. Island chains with singular names (like Hawaii) do not usually have a definite article.
    • Rivers, canals, oceans, seas

      the Nile River, the Panama Canal, the Indian Ocean, the Red Sea

      the Thames (River), the Mississippi (River), the Erie Canal, the Amazon (River)

      → Though groups of lakes (e.g. the Finger Lakes) often have a definite article, singular lakes (e.g. Lake Victoria) usually do not.
      → We often do not say the word river, especially if the river is famous
    • Unique geography features (e.g. deserts, forests, gulfs, peninsulas, mountain ranges,...)

      the Rocky Mountains, the Andes (Mountains), the Sahara (Desert), the Balkan Peninsula, the Persian Gulf, the Black Forest

      the Continental Divide, the San Andreas Fault, the 45th Parallel, the Blue Grotto, the Great Lakes, the Finger Lakes, the Great Barrier Reef

      → Notice, most of these have the format: description + type of geographical feature
      → We often do not use the word mountains and instead just use the plural form of the word that describes them:

      the Rocky Mountains → the Rockies

      the Appalachian Mountains → the Appalachians

      the Andes Mountains → the Andes

      → We do not usually use a definite article if the name for the geographic feature comes first (e.g. Mount Everest, Lake Michigan) or if the descriptor is a person (e.g. Hudson Bay, Pikes Peak, Carlsbad Caverns).
    • Proper names for groups of people (e.g. families, bands, sports teams…)

      the Smiths

      the Smith family

      the Joneses

      the Jones family

      the Yankees

      a baseball team

      the Patriots

      a football team

      the Beatles

      a band

      the Ramones

      a band

      the Marines

      a military group

      the Navy SEALs

      a military group
      → Names for families always have a definite article and are formed by taking the family’s last name and adding the plural -s.
      → Most of these are plural nouns, but there are exceptions (e.g. the Heat is a Miami basketball team).
    • Famous buildings and monuments

      the White House

      the Berlin Wall

      the Eiffel Tower

      the Jefferson Monument

      the Great Wall of China

      → Like with geographical features, these mostly have the form descriptor + building type

    • Newspapers

      the New York Times

      the National Inquirer

      the Sunday Post

      the Chicago Tribune

      → These usually have the form descriptor + type of newspaper. Papers with other formats (e.g. USA Today) do not usually have a definite article.
    • Organizations

      the United Nations

      the Internal Revenue Service (IRS)

      the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI)

      the Humane Society

      the Girl Scouts

      the Audubon Society

      the Air Force

      the Red Cross

    • Historical time periods

      the 1800s

      the Reformation

      the Renaissance

      the 1920s

      the Age of Enlightenment

      the Turn of the Century

    Tip

    Sometimes proper nouns are shortened into acronyms or abbreviations, such as the US (United States) or the UN (United Nations). You should treat these acronyms the same as the full noun. So if the proper noun needs the, then the acronym also needs the.

    • My uncle works for the United Nations.

    • My uncle works for the UN.

    • I am visiting New York City next month.

    • I am visiting the NYC next month.

    When a proper noun requires the definite article, you always use the before it. You cannot use it without an article and you cannot use the indefinite article a/an or any other determiner like that or my.

    Let’s look at a couple examples!

    I am moving to the United States.

    I am moving to United States.

    I live very close to the Pacific Ocean.

    I live very close to that Pacific Ocean.

    Tonight we are eating dinner with the Garcias.

    Tonight we are eating dinner with some Garcias.

    Is ‘the’ capitalized in a proper noun?

    When a proper noun starts with the, we do not usually capitalize the unless it is at the beginning of a sentence.

    Exception!

    At the start of a title for a book, movie, song, etc. the word the is capitalized, e.g. The Tale of Two Cities. In titles, other function words like of, a, in, or the, are not capitalized.

    What is a proper adjective?

    Proper nouns can sometimes be turned into proper adjectives when they are used to describe another noun.

    Nouns that are described with proper adjectives will always have the in front of them, even if they are not proper nouns. For example:

    Last year I went to Hawaii.

    Last year I went to the Hawaiian Islands.

    I work for the Hawaiian government.

    (proper noun)

    (proper noun with proper adjective)

    (common noun with proper adjective)

    To learn more about why some common nouns always (or almost always) have a definite article, check out our post introducing definite and indefinite articles in English.

    Summary

    In this article we reviewed the definite article in English and how we use it. Then we talked when we use and don’t use the definite article with proper nouns. Typically, we don’t use the before a proper noun, except when the is part of the proper noun’s name. This is common in the names for:

    • Proper nouns with of in their name

    • Countries or groups of countries that include Republic, Kingdom, Union, Federation, Confederation, or State

    • Rivers, canals, oceans, seas

    • Deserts, forests, gulfs, peninsulas, mountain ranges

    • Plural names of people and places

    • Some famous buildings

    • Newspapers

    • Organizations, some universities

    Hopefully now you feel more confident in your knowledge of the definite article and proper nouns in English! Check out the extra practice activities to boost your knowledge!

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