Using Articles with Country Names

Using articles with country names seems difficult. But really it is not. There 3 clear rules that I can give you to help you know when you should use articles with country names.

Rule 1: we use ‘The’ if the county’s name includes a common noun.

For example, the United States of America has the common noun ‘States’ in its name, so we need to use ‘The’.

Here is another example: The Islamic Republic of Iran contains the common noun ‘Republic’, so we need to use ‘The’.

Below is a list of some more common country names that have common nouns and use the article ‘The’:

The Central African Republic

The Republic of Korea (South Korea)

The Russian Federation (Russia)

The Roman Empire (Rome)

Rule 2:‘the’ is used before any country name if the name contains ‘of’.

Here is the structure: The ___ of ___.

Look below at these examples:

(Countries with ‘of’)

The United States of America

The Republic of China

The Democratic People’s Republic of Korea

The Islamic Republic of Iran

Rule 3: we use ‘The’ if the country is an island country.

Look below at these examples:

(Island nations)

The Maldives

The Marshall Islands

The Philippine Islands (The Philippines)

Here is the summary:

Rule 1 is that we use ‘The’ if the county’s name includes a common noun.

Rule 2 is ‘The’ is used before any country name if the name contains ‘of’.

Rule 3 says we use ‘The’ if the country is an island country.

To learn more about Articles view our most recent blogs:

How to Use Articles in English 1 

How to Use Articles in English 2

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By Luke

ETO American English teacher

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How to Use Articles in English 2

In our last post, How to Use Articles in English 1, we learned 3 grammar rules about articles:

Rule 1: We use a/an when referring to someone’s job or occupation.

Rule 2: We use a, an or the (or another determiner like my, your, our etc.) for singular countable things.

Rule 3: We do NOT need an article to talk about things in general, that are usually true all the time.

In this post, we look at 3 new rules NOT talked about in the last post.

Rule 4: We do not use articles for certain special places.

Examples: 

1. I want to go home.
2. I am at university right now.
3. I do not want to go to jail / prison.
4. I am in bed; call me later please.

Note: Other special places include work, church & hospital, plus others.

Rule 5: We do not use articles for modes of transportation.

Examples:

1. I came by bus.
2. I will go by train.
3. You can get there by foot.
4. I went by motorcycle.

Rule 6: We do not use articles with country names, unless if the country name includes a common noun.

Examples:

1. Country without common noun in name: America
2. Country with common noun in name: The United States of America
3. Country without common noun in name: China
4. Country with common noun in name: The People’s Republic of China

For additional explanation of this rule reference our blog: Using Articles with Country Names.

Lastly,

Here is a quick summary of today’s post:

Rule 4: We do not use articles for certain special places.

Rule 5: We do not use articles for modes of transportation.

Rule 6: We do not use articles with country names, unless if the country name includes a common noun.

Like I said, there are many rules about articles, but try to remember the rules from parts 1 & 2 of How to Use Articles and you will have far fewer mistakes. That is for sure.

If you would like to improve your English in grammar, reading, writing or any other reason, please book a free trial class with ETO today!

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By Luke

ETO American English teacher

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How to Use Articles in English 1

There are many rules about how to use articles. We will not try to cover ALL grammar rules about articles; but we will cover the 3 most common rules you need to know. These 3 rules will represent most mistakes that most ESL speakers make.

Rule 1: We use a/an when referring to someone’s job or occupation.

Examples: 

1. He is an English teacher.
2. He is a policeman.
3. She was an actress.

Rule 2: We use a, an or the (or another determiner like my, your, our etc.) for singular countable things.

Examples:

1. I want to try a class online.
2. Do you want a glass of milk?
3. I loved the good English class last night.  (Note: We use the to talk about specific countable singular things)
4.  I ate a piece of the chocolate cake. (Note: We use the to talk about specific countable singular things)

Rule 3: We do NOT need an article to talk about things in general, that are usually true all the time.

Examples:

1. Dogs are good pets. NOT The dogs are good pets.
2. Ice melts in the hot sun. NOT The ice melts in the hot sun.
3. Cows eat grass. NOT The cows eat grass.

Lastly,

Like I said, there are many rules about articles, but if you can remember these 3 rules, you will have a good start:

Rule 1: We use a/an when referring to someone’s job or occupation.

Rule 2: We use a, an or the (or another determiner like my, your, our etc.) for singular countable things.

Rule 3: We do NOT need an article to talk about things in general, that are usually true all the time.

Please be sure to read the next post called How to Use Articles in English 2

If you would like to improve your English in grammar, reading, writing or any other reason, please book a free trial class with ETO today!

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By Luke

ETO American English teacher

 

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ESL learning: Articles a, an & the

The article “a” (which becomes “an” when the next word begins with a vowel – a, e, i, o, u) is called the indefinite article because the noun it goes with is indefinite or general. The meaning of the article a is similar to the number one, but one is stronger and gives more emphasis.

The article “the” is known as the definite article and indicates a specific thing. The difference between the sentences I sat on a chair and I sat on the chair is that the second sentence refers to a particular, specific chair, not just any chair.

Fill in the blank with the correct article: A, an or the

1. I just had __________ great idea.
2. She had ______ house so large that____ elephant would get lost without _____ map.
3. He was doing eighty miles __________ hour on __________ motorway.

We look forward to reading your answers below!

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