Articles: indefinite, definite, zero - Advanced cases: Geographical use

Basic explanation of the use of the articles with exercises:

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A more detailed explanation, with no exercises:

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Special Uses of The

There are some specific rules for using the with geographical nouns.

Do not use the before:

names of most countries/territories: Italy, Mexico, Bolivia; however, the Netherlands, the Dominican Republic, the Philippines, the United States
names of cities, towns, or states: Seoul, Manitoba, Miami
names of streets: Washington Blvd., Main St.
names of lakes and bays: Lake Titicaca, Lake Erie except with a group of lakes like the Great Lakes
names of mountains: Mount Everest, Mount Fuji except with ranges of mountains like the Andes or the Rockies or unusual names like the Matterhorn
names of continents (Asia, Europe)
names of islands (Easter Island, Maui, Key West) except with island chains like the Aleutians, the Hebrides, or the Canary Islands

Do use the before:

names of rivers, oceans and seas: the Nile, the Pacific
points on the globe: the Equator, the North Pole
geographical areas: the Middle East, the West
deserts, forests, gulfs, and peninsulas: the Sahara, the Persian Gulf, the Black Forest, the Iberian Peninsula

from https://owl.purdue.edu/owl/general_writing/grammar/using_articles.html

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Articles in Phrases and Idiomatic Expressions

Sometimes article usage in English does not follow a specific rule. These expressions must be memorized instead.

Here are some examples of phrases where article usage is not predictable:

Destinations: go to the store, go to the bank, but go to school, go to church, go to bed, go home
Locations: in school, at home, in bed, but in the hospital (in American English)
Parts of the day: in the morning, in the evening, but at night
Chores: mow the lawn, do the dishes, do the cleaning

There are also numerous idiomatic expressions in English that contain nouns. Some of these also contain articles while others do not.

Here are just a few examples:

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For more advanced uses of the articles see (includes exercises:

https://www.englishpage.com/articles/advanced-articles.htm

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Miscellaneous exercises: