As far as I am aware no other countried are used an article before them, but people usually refer to Ukraine as "The Ukraine".   Why?
123077
Possible Duplicate:          Hearing the Ukraine used to make me unsure whether Ukraine was really a country.  Now though I have realized Ukraine to be a country on the same level as Austria, for instance, I still don't understand why it is often the Ukraine in English, but never the Austria or the Poland. Where did that odd phrase come from, and why is it in use?
102615
Why is there a comma after "his" in the headline? Does this mean his AND his wife's experience? Is it correct english, or slang?  "Man discusses his, wife's experience being injured during the Boston marathon bombings."  Source:
4654
I can’t for the life of me figure out where to use a and where to use the — and where there is no article at all. Is there a simple rule of thumb to memorize?   The standard rule you always hear:     “If a person knows which item you are talking about then use "the"   . . . doesn’t clear things up for me, as I have no idea whether or not they know.
100206
So, I'm writing a paper on the rise of communism in China. At one point I write the following:     "Today, it is well known that communism is responsible for more deaths than even national socialism."   Then, Word corrects it by capitalizing "National Socialism."   Is it always meant to be capitalized? I am simply referencing the ideology, not necessarily the Third Reich. Word didn't bother to correct "communism." I suppose since there was only one instance of Nazism (on a national scale at least) it could be considered a proper noun.
68297
What article should be used in the following sentence?     He was English by [a/the/] blood.   I feel there should be a zero article here, but I was taught that the zero article is impossible in English.
20969
In this sentence:     The commission commanded that work on the building should cease.   Why isn't the used before the word work? It seems that the work is specified by on the building.  Another example is,     Construction of the building will start next week.   I understand construction here is something like putting up the building, and so the construction isn’t general in meaning. But the definite article isn’t used here, either.  I’ve asked about this several times, but none gave me a good answer.
28027
Why do British speakers omit the article in constructions like "go to hospital" or "go on holiday"? Pretty much all American speakers would rephrase those as "go to the hospital" and "go on a holiday", I think. Is there any good reason, or forgotten sense behind those words that might explain why the articles are ommitted?  Are there other common constructions other than those two that the British use that drop the article?  EDIT: I just realized per Kosmonaut's comment that Americans do much the same thing with a few nouns, so this isn't all that special.   Do grammaticists designate nouns that can have their article dropped with anything, i.e. do they have anything in common?
102269
Suddenly, to everybody's surprise, the silent Mr.Smith swung around and addressed Barbara.   The dinner was served by a silent Mrs. Keats.   I saw an infuriated Jennifer, who started shouting at me the moment I opened the door.   It seemed Walter didn't pay any attention to a tearful Kitty.   She hasn't got lovely eyelashes like marvellous Monica.   I bet your Mum kept you well clear of horrible Jesse.      The rule I learned at university said that the is used when the adjective a permanent quality of the person in question. E.g. 'I met the wicked Matilda the other day' would suggest that Matilda is inherently wicked.  The indefinite article a/an, on the other hand, would denote the mood or an unusual quality of the person described.  However, recently I've come across a lot of examples where no article is used with names modified by adjectives (see examples 5 and 6 above).   Can anyone explain why there are no articles in sentences 5 and 6?
92016
that when we put an article before president (a), we are referring to a specific position, but when we don't put an article, that means we are referring to a general position.      Trump was elected president.    Is president here is a general position?
15555
I'm writing a leaflet for children from primary schools who will visit our school.  Is it correct to write:     the "amerigo vespucci" school is waiting for you!!!!   Is the use of the definite article correct in this case? I am defining which school is waiting for them, I'm saying we and no others but us are willing to meet them?
18582
Can't we ask instead, Have you ever had a surgery? Is surgery a countable noun? I guess we can speak of surgeries in the plural form. Why should we use zero article in this sentence?  Update: What about the phrase, You will not be emperor.  is a countable noun according to the Cambridge dictionary. Why should we use zero article in this case?
59429
Last week in college, a student [with a thick South Asian accent] asked me:     "Excuse me, where can I find the room 401?".   I realized that to my native English ears, the word "the" sounded non-native. This had me realize that we sometimes use no article.  I am learning French; in French, we seem to always use some kind of article before nouns. It surprised me, at that moment, to realize that English doesn't always do the same! (That, and using the definite article in "the room 401" seems to make sense if I think about when definite articles are used).  Is there a grammatical name or concept for this "no article" aspect of our language? Are there any websites that can explain this to me?
41335
I am traveling from the US, and the only language I really know is American English. I will be visiting cities in various districts of Ukraine: Kiev, Chornobyl, Cherkassy, Kherson, etc. I will be traveling with a native Ukrainian who is fluent in English.  I probably have 5-10 hours a week for the next few weeks before I leave to learn some basics of the languages. Should I focus only on Ukrainian, Russian, or some of each?  I understand Ukrainian is the official language and the most common native language of the population, and that Russian is the second most common language. I realize I won't learn much in just a few weeks, but I figure any bit I learn will help me understand more than I otherwise would.  Edit: @Karlson: Maybe I am kidding myself to think I will be able to learn enough even to be better than nothing. Am I just wasting my time? I wouldn't mind learning some greetings and maybe some basics of the writing and distinguishing one language from the other.
88902
Why is the team from Germany called "Germany National Team", not "German National Team"? On official Internet sites, it is the same for every official national team; Germany National, France National, Poland National, Russia National etc. etc. What truthfully bothers me is why not German, French, Polish, Russian etc?
74574
For instance, to refer to the place you were born you say "my hometown." How about when referring to the house where you were born? I thought of "my parents' house", but I think it'll sound strange if one of the parents no longer lives there?
26598
I noticed an infinite article; ‘a’ was used before ‘defeated Napoleon’ in the following sentence of Jeffery Archer’s novel, "Fales Impression" :  “General Sir Harry Wentworth sat at the right hand of the Iron Duke that night, and was commanding his left flank when a defeated Napoleon rode off the battlefield and into exile."  I’m curious to know why it should be “a defeated Napoleon,” not “the defeated Napoleon” or simply “defeated Napoleon.” Isn’t it only one Napoleon who was defeated the battle and exiled (to St. Helena). It looks like as though there were many (defeated) Napoleons who were exiled.  It’s always headache for me to handle articles as we Japanese (I think Chinese too) don’t have article as the basic part of speeches in our language system. I’ve studied it on English grammar text books at school, but have never reached full understanding of the usage of articles, because we don’t have that practice. Is there any special knack to master how to use articles?
26401
What is the rule for omitting/including the definite article in the following sentences:     I used to play piano.   I used to play the piano.   I would pick the first sentence, but I've heard people say the second sentence even when they are not referring to a specific piano. Which one is correct?