When to use ‘the’ with country names (+ lakes, rivers, and more)

by Alex

Below is a list of countries which use the definite article. In English, we use "the" if a country has a political title in its name, or if it refers a group of islands. There are also countries, such as the Netherlands, which people commonly attach the definite article to even though it does not follow the two rules above.

For bodies of water, we frequently add the definite article to rivers, oceans, and seas.

For single mountains, we don’t typically add the definite article. However, for groups of mountains, we do.

You’ll find many examples of these rules below, as well as a list of other geographical features which use the definite article.

    Countries

  • the Bahamas
  • the Cayman Islands
  • the Central African Republic
  • the Channel Islands
  • the Comoros
  • the Czech Republic
  • the Dominican Republic
  • the Falkland Islands
  • the Gambia
  • the Isle of Man
  • the Ivory Coast
  • the Leeward Islands
  • the Maldives (the Maldive Islands)
  • the Marshall Islands
  • the Netherlands
  • the Netherlands Antilles
  • the Philippines
  • the Solomon Islands
  • the Turks and Caicos Islands
  • the United Arab Emirates
  • the United Kingdom (of Great Britain and Northern Ireland)
  • the United States (of America)
  • the Virgin Islands

    Rivers

  • the Amazon
  • the Colorado
  • the Columbia
  • the Danube
  • the Don
  • the Euphrates
  • the Ganges
  • the Huang
  • the Hudson
  • the Indus
  • the Jordan
  • the Lena
  • the Mackenzie
  • the Mekong
  • the Mississippi
  • the Missouri
  • the Niger
  • the Nile
  • the Ob
  • the Ohio
  • the Orinoco
  • the Po
  • the Rhine
  • the Rhone
  • the Rio Grande
  • the St. Lawrence
  • the Seine
  • the Tagus
  • the Thames
  • the Tiber
  • the Tigris
  • the Volga
  • the Yangtze

    Gulfs, Oceans, Seas, Straits

  • the Adriatic Sea
  • the Aegean Sea
  • the Arabian Sea
  • the Arctic Ocean
  • the Atlantic (Ocean)
  • the Baltic (Sea)
  • the Black Sea
  • the Caribbean (Sea)
  • the Caspian (Sea)
  • the Coral Sea
  • the Gulf of Aden
  • the Gulf of Mexico
  • the Gulf of Oman

    Mountain Ranges

  • the Alps
  • the Andes
  • the Appalachians
  • the Atlas Mountains
  • the Caucasus
  • the Himalayas
  • the Pyrenees
  • the Rockies (the Rocky Mountains)
  • the Urals

    Other Features

  • the equator
  • the Far East
  • the Gobi (desert)
  • the Kalahari (desert)
  • the Middle East
  • the Near East
  • the North Pole
  • the Occident
  • the Orient
  • the Panama Canal
  • the Sahara (desert)
  • the South Pole
  • the Suez Canal
  • the Tropic of Cancer
  • the Tropic of Capricorn
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