There are certain situations where the definite article "the" is used with proper nouns. These include plural names, names followed by a qualifying phrase like "of", and names with adjectives. The article is also used with bodies of water (except lakes), regions, mountain ranges (but not individual mountains), public institutions, theaters/hotels/galleries. In general, singular count nouns do not take articles in certain contexts like names of languages, sports, academic subjects, and idiomatic phrases with "be" and "go". The indefinite articles "a" and "an" depend on the sound, not the spelling, of the following word.

1. Determiners – other cases

2. In general, proper nouns do not use articles. However, there are certain situations which will call for the use of “the” in front of the name. “ The" with Proper Nouns

3. “ The" with Proper Nouns Plural names The United States The Smiths The L.A. Lakers Newspapers The Washington Post The National Enquirer The New York Times

4. Names followed by “of” phrase The Republic of Brazil The Isle of Wright The South of France Names using a common noun The United Kingdom The Body Shop The Science Museum

5. Names with adjectives The White House The Open University The Red Room Bodies of water, except lakes The North Sea The Indian Ocean The Amazon River The Panama Canal, but Lake Ontario

6. Regions The Northeast The Middle East The Wetlands Mountain Ranges, but not mountains The Andes The Himalayas The Rockies, but Mount Everest Sugar Loaf Mountain

7. Public institutions/groups The Catholic church The Protestants The French Theaters/hotels/galleries The Mazda Gallery The Globe Theater The Cineplex

8. No articles with singular count nouns In general, all singular count nouns need to have an article, definite or indefinite. There are special situations, though, where we do not use any article.

9. No article Names of languages They speak French. Names of sports He plays basketball. Names of academic subjects Jason hates math.

10. No articles with singular count nouns Idiomatic expressions with be and go He ’ s in school/jail/church . She went to work by train. With meals/diseases/seasons He has pneumonia . They ate dinner out. We’ll travel in summer .

11. A or An Use “a” with one and once , because they begin with the sound of “w” as in wall a one-time thing a one-woman man Remember, the use of “a” or “an” depends not on spelling but on sound. “A” is used for consonant sounds, “an” for vowel sounds.

12. With abbreviations and acronyms, the use of the article will depend on the pronunciation of the letter: An FBI agent (eff) An MRS exam (emm) An OAS program (oh), but A PTA meeting (pee) A laser beam