Use of the definite article relative to rivers.

:D I understand the definite article is not used in association with proper nouns; e.g. "Queen Elizabeth lives in the London". I believe names of rivers are proper nouns, however I notice a lot of people use the denfinte article in association with known rivers. For example "people swim in the Therms River". Is this correct?

Originally Posted by August-one

:D I understand the definite article is not used in association with proper nouns; e.g. "Queen Elizabeth lives in the London". I believe names of rivers are proper nouns, however I notice a lot of people use the denfinte article in association with known rivers. For example "people swim in the Therms River". Is this correct?

Yes, it is. :D

Although there are many exceptions, the is not used with most singular proper nouns. Do not use the with names of persons, streets, squares, parks, cities, states, names of continents and most countries, and names of bays and single lakes, mountains, and islands.

Exceptions to this rule include names of large regions, deserts, and peninsulas (the East Coast, the Sahara, the Iberian Peninsula) and names of oceans, seas, gulfs, canals and rivers (the Pacific, the Dead Sea, the Persian Gulf, the Panama Canal, the Amazon).

The is used to mark plural proper nouns: the United Nations, the Finger Lakes, the Andes, the Bahamas, the United States of America, and so on.

Does this help? :wink:

This helps a lot. Thank you.

Originally Posted by Augustone

This helps a lot. Thank you.

You're welcome. :)