names of banks,arenas...- articles

[njanja]

Hi,

Does anybody know any good sites where i can find the explanation of the correct use of articles with as many names as possible? Whenever i try to find this,there are the names of rivers,lakes,streets,towns,oceans,seas,churches,sq uares,parks...,and i think i need many more examples.I even have two good grammar books and can`t find everything i need.

For instance,i would like to know if the names of banks,arenas,hospitals,clinics,courts,malls,market s,clubs,nightclubs,schools,colleges and universities are used with the article "the" or not.

Thanks

[Tdol]

Banks- no
Arenas- no
Hospitals- yes
Malls- no
Markets- depends
Nightcilbs- no
Schools no
Colleges/universities- it depends- the Univeristy of Oxford, but Oxford University

However, all of these can changes if the definitie article is part of the name, so, for intance, in London, there is a nightclub called 'The Ministry of Sound', etc.

[shuja87]

Hi,

Does anybody know any good sites where i can find the explanation of the correct use of articles with as many names as possible? Whenever i try to find this,there are the names of rivers,lakes,streets,towns,oceans,seas,churches,sq uares,parks...,and i think i need many more examples.I even have two good grammar books and can`t find everything i need.

For instance,i would like to know if the names of banks,arenas,hospitals,clinics,courts,malls,market s,clubs,nightclubs,schools,colleges and universities are used with the article "the" or not.

Thanks

There's another dimension to this: For words like jail, prison, school, college, university, etc., we have to look at the situation to find out whether to use 'the' or not. Consider the following examples:
My brother had a heart attack; he went to hospital.
His friends came to the hospital to meet him.

The criminal went to jail/prison.
People came to the prison/jail to visit him.

Children go to school.
Parents go to the school to get their children's progress reports.

[Mariner]

Hi Njanja,
In adittion to the info given so far, you could also take a look at an earlier post of mine with relevant info:
http://www.usingenglish.com/forum/as...tml#post119312

[Humble]

Sorry, Tdol,
AFAIK bars and clubs do have articles.
Many a celebrity is to be seen at the Red Lion.
Sure enough your knowledge is first hand experience, but your statement contradicts my grammar books. Are they wrong?

[Tdol]

the Red Lion = a pub, and most pubs take the article. (How straightforward!) They are not the same as clubs.

[Tdol]

PS, Just to make things words, clubs that have the word club in their name tend to take the article.

[BobK]

the Red Lion = a pub, and most pubs take the article. (How straightforward!) They are not the same as clubs.

BUT, only one article ; we don't say "he had a drink in the The Red Lion", although "The Red Lion" may be what's painted on the door. (This is a bit of a trivial example, as many Red Lions just have "Red Lion" on the sign. But there are lots of pubs that have an invariable "The" in the name:

The Lamb and Flag
The Eagle and Child
The Case is Altered
The Elephant and Castle
etc etc)

b

[BobK]

And another thing. Sometimes there are 3 options:

He ate at McDonald's
He ate at the McDonald's in the High Street.
Wherever he was staying, he always ate at a MacDonald's.

b

[Humble]

Tnx, tdol and Bob,
I don't understand what was straightforward, though.