The general rule of English is: we don’t use article with proper nouns – names of people and places and things.
However, some proper nouns are used with the definite article ‘the’. We use ‘the’ with the following proper nouns:
1. astronomical names: the Sun, the North Star, the Milky Way, the Great Bear, etc. But, we do not use ‘the’ before most planet names, like Saturn and Mars.
2. certain geographical names: the South Pole, the North Pole, the Arctic, the Netherlands, the Hague, the UK, etc.
3. mountain ranges: the Alps, the Pennines, the Urals. But, single mountains take no article: Everest, Mont Blanc, etc.
4. rivers, seas, oceans, canals: the Thames, the Amazon, the Danube, the Black Sea, the Pacific Ocean, the Panama Canal, the English Channel, etc. But, names of lakes are used without ‘the’, i.e. Lake Ontario, Lake Chad, etc.
5. some countries, areas, provinces: the Czech Republic, the Netherlands, the People’s Republic of China, the Philippines, the United Kingdom (UK), the United States of America (USA), the Ukraine, the Caucasus.
6. parts of towns: the West End, the Soho, the City (London), etc.
7. parts of the world: the South, in the North, to the West, etc.
8. deserts: the Sahara, the Gobi, the Karakum, etc.
9. names of public institutions (museums, hotels, restaurants), unique buildings and monuments: the White House, the National Gallery, the British Museum, the Hermitage, etc.
10. names of organizations, government, committees, associations, foundations, etc.: the Finance Committee, the British Parliament, the Teachers’ Association, etc.
11. names of vessels: the Titanic, the Discovery, etc.
12. names of many English-speaking newspapers: the Times, the Washington Post, the Guardian, etc.
13. names of families: the Forsytes, the Simpsons, etc.
Check out this video to learn when to use definite and zero article with names:
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