Articles of English, part five

Hi everybody. This is the fifth post on the articles of English. I am going to continue the subject by discussing other situations in which we need article the.

9. With gerunds and abstract nouns:

• With gerunds                           The instructing of young children is difficult.
• With abstract nouns                The instruction of young children is difficult.
• But                                          Instructing young children is difficult.

Note: The second and the third sentence are preferable.

10. With place names (general rules):

a.       With names composed entirely or partially of common nouns. The last noun usually refers to a political union or association.

             ·         The Soviet Union                                   The United Kingdom

             ·         The Dominican Republic                       The British Commonwealth 

b.      With names composed of common nouns plus proper nouns contained within of phrase.

·         The Republic of China               The Union of South Africa

·         The State of New York             The Republic of Iran

c.       With plural names.

·         The United States                      The Philippine Islands 

·         The Rocky Mountains                The Great Lakes

d.      With names for special points on the globe.

·         The North Pole       The equator        The Southern Hemisphere