Articles 2 

In Articles 1 we looked at the 3 golden rules of articles:

1. People’s jobs have a/an. He’s an architect.

2. Singular countable nouns have an article. That’s the woman I met last week.

3. Things in general – no article. Cats like mice.

Here we look at some other rules for the use of articles.

Special places

My son’s at university but my daughter still goes to school.

He was sent to prison for 10 years.

Now that winter’s here I find it difficult to get out of bed.

I go to work by bus but I go home on foot.

In expressions with a number of places there is no article after a preposition.

These places include: to/at school, to/at university/college, to/in church, to/in/out of prison, to/in

hospital, to/in/out of bed, to/at work, at home.

NOTE: While we say ‘go to school’ and ‘go to work’ etc, the expression ‘go home’ has neither

‘the’ nor ‘to’.

Transport

I go to work by bus but I go home on foot.

I hate travelling by train.

Modes of transport (by bus, by train, by car, by plane, by bicycle) don’t have an article. Notice

that on foot is different.

Geography

No article – continents (Africa, Asia etc.) countries (France, Germany, Slovakia etc - but the

Slovak Republic, the United States, the United Kingdom) towns & cities (Bratislava, London

etc.) lakes (Lake Victoria, Lake Balaton etc.) universities (Oxford University, Nitra University

etc.)

With ‘the’ – seas & oceans (the Atlantic, the Mediterranean etc.) mountain ranges (the

Himalayas, the Tatras) rivers (the Amazon, the Danube etc.)

Other expressions

I don’t watch television very often but I listen to the radio all the time.

I’ve got a headache.

I’ve got a stomach-ache

I’ve got a cold.

BUT

I’ve got ‘flu.

I’ve got earache.

I’ve got toothache.

Other illnesses have no article.

- See more at: http://learnenglish.britishcouncil.org/en/node/1094#sthash.Bowa4Jl8.dpuf