Ampersand Lab

Intermediate grammar · Lesson 78 · B1

Names with and without the 2

Streets, parks and two-word names such as Cardiff Castle take no the, while most hotels, theatres, museums, names with of, newspapers and organisations do. Shops and companies named after people usually take no the.

Start the lesson

18Steps · about 33 minutes

In this lesson

Streets, parks and two-word names: no theA2 screens of questions
Most other buildings: theB2 screens of questions
Names with of: theC1 screen of questions
Shops and churches named after people: no theD1 screen of questions
Newspapers and organisations: the. Companies: no theE1 screen of questions
Put it together+4 screens of mixed questions

Point A of 5

Streets, parks and two-word names: no the

We do not use the with the names of most streets, roads, squares and parks: Queen Street (not the Queen Street), Ecclesall Road, George Square, Roundhay Park.

Many public buildings and institutions, such as airports, stations, universities and castles, have two-word names. The first word is the name of a place or a person, and these names usually take no the:

Leeds Bradford Airport, Waverley Station, Durham Cathedral, Cardiff Castle, Kensington Palace, Keele University.

Compare: Kensington Palace (no the) but the Royal Palace. Royal is an adjective, not a name like Kensington.

  • Our office is in Queen Street, above the bakery.
  • We had a picnic in Roundhay Park.
  • The train from Waverley Station was forty minutes late, which surprised nobody.
  • Have you ever been round Cardiff Castle?

Point A · Exercise 78.1 · part 1 of 2

A visitor asks you about places on a town map. Write the name of the place and the street it is in. Use the if necessary. Remember that maps do not normally print the.

  1. Example

    The map shows a cinema called Regal in Church Lane.

    Where's the nearest cinema? the Regal, in Church Lane.

    AnswerWhere's the nearest cinema? The Regal, in Church Lane.

  2. The map shows a supermarket called Hartley's in Bridge Street.

    Where's the nearest supermarket? , in .

  3. The map shows a hotel called Station Hotel in Albert Road.

    Where's the nearest hotel? , in .

  4. The map shows St Anne's Church in Mill Lane.

    Where's the nearest church? , in .

  5. The map shows a museum called Railway Museum in Park Road.

    Where's the nearest museum? , in .

Point A · Exercise 78.1 · part 2 of 2

A visitor asks you about places on a town map. Write the name of the place and the street it is in. Use the if necessary. Remember that maps do not normally print the.

  1. The map shows a bookshop called Barker's in Market Street.

    Where's the nearest bookshop? , in .

  2. The map shows a restaurant called Rossi's in Queen Street.

    Where's the nearest restaurant? , in .

  3. The map shows Victoria Park at the far end of Albert Road.

    Where's the nearest park? , at the end of .

Point B of 5

Most other buildings: the

Most other buildings have names with the:

Type Examples
hotels the Grand Hotel, the Ritz
theatres and cinemas the Crucible (Theatre), the Electric (Cinema)
museums and galleries the Natural History Museum, the Tate
other buildings the Shard, the Taj Mahal, the Angel of the North

We often leave out the noun: the Grand (Hotel), the Crucible (Theatre).

Some names are only the + noun: the Vatican, the Colosseum, the Louvre.

  • We're staying at the Grand in Scarborough.
  • The snooker is on at the Crucible this week.
  • Have you been up the Shard?

Point B · Exercise 78.2 · part 1 of 2

Where are these places? Use the where necessary.

Use these

AlhambraBrandenburg GateColosseumLouvrePrinces StreetRed SquareSchiphol AirportShard

  1. Example

    Red Square is in Moscow.

    AnswerRed Square is in Moscow.

  2. is in Paris.

  3. is in London.

  4. is in Rome.

  5. is in Edinburgh.

Point B · Exercise 78.2 · part 2 of 2

Where are these places? Use the where necessary.

Use these

AlhambraBrandenburg GateColosseumLouvrePrinces StreetRed SquareSchiphol AirportShard

  1. is in Berlin.

  2. is in Granada.

  3. is near Amsterdam.

Point C of 5

Names with of: the

Names containing of usually take the: the Houses of Parliament, the Museum of Liverpool, the Statue of Liberty, the Palace of Westminster.

Note the difference: the University of Leeds but Leeds University (no the).

  • The Houses of Parliament are being repaired, and have been for some time.
  • My brother studied at the University of Leeds.
  • My brother studied at Leeds University.

Point C · Extra practice

Write the name in brackets, with the only if it needs it.

  1. We visited on a school trip. (Houses of Parliament)

  2. My brother studied at . (University of Leeds)

  3. My sister studied at . (Leeds University)

Point D of 5

Shops and churches named after people: no the

Many shops, restaurants and businesses are named after the people who started them. These names end in -'s or -s, and we do not use the: Sainsbury's (not the Sainsbury's), Greggs, Nando's, Harry Ramsden's.

Churches are often named after saints (St = Saint), and these take no the either: St Mary's Church, St David's Cathedral.

  • I'll meet you outside Sainsbury's at ten.
  • We had fish and chips at Harry Ramsden's.
  • The wedding is at St Mary's Church.

Point D · Extra practice

Write the name in brackets. These names do not take the.

  1. I'll meet you outside at ten. (Sainsbury's)

  2. The wedding is at . (St Mary's Church)

  3. We got a sausage roll from . (Greggs)

Point E of 5

Newspapers and organisations: the. Companies: no the

Newspapers, and plenty of organisations, carry the in their names: the Guardian, the Yorkshire Post, the Times, the NHS, the United Nations, the RSPCA.

The names of companies, airlines and so on are usually without the: Toyota (not the Toyota), Samsung, Ryanair, Penguin Books.

  • My grandad reads the Yorkshire Post from cover to cover.
  • She's been a nurse with the NHS for twenty years.
  • Ryanair have cancelled our flight.
  • He works for Toyota in Derby.

Point E · Extra practice

Write the name in brackets, with the only if it needs it.

  1. My grandad reads every morning. (Yorkshire Post)

  2. She's worked for for twenty years. (NHS)

  3. He works for in Derby. (Toyota)

Put it together · Exercise 78.3 · part 1 of 4

Which is right? Write the correct form in each gap.

  1. Example

    Have you ever been to the Natural History Museum (Natural History Museum / the Natural History Museum)?

    AnswerHave you ever been to the Natural History Museum?

  2. Visitors to Cardiff often go to see (Llandaff Cathedral / the Llandaff Cathedral).

  3. The biggest park in Sheffield is (Graves Park / the Graves Park).

  4. I'd love to go to India and see (Taj Mahal / the Taj Mahal).

  5. (Bristol Airport / The Bristol Airport) is about eight miles from the city centre.

Put it together · Exercise 78.3 · part 2 of 4

Which is right? Write the correct form in each gap.

  1. "Which theatre are we going to tonight?" " (Lyceum / The Lyceum)."

  2. Megan is a student at (Newcastle University / the Newcastle University).

  3. You should visit (Science and Industry Museum / the Science and Industry Museum). The kids would love it.

  4. If you're after a sausage roll, I'd recommend (Greggs / the Greggs).

Put it together · Exercise 78.3 · part 3 of 4

Which is right? Write the correct form in each gap.

  1. Nadia is a pilot. She works for (Ryanair / the Ryanair).

  2. "Which paper do you want?" " (Yorkshire Post / The Yorkshire Post), please."

  3. We went to London and saw (Houses of Parliament / the Houses of Parliament).

  4. Her first novel was published by (Penguin Books / the Penguin Books).

Put it together · Exercise 78.3 · part 4 of 4

Which is right? Write the correct form in each gap.

  1. The building on the corner is (School of Music / the School of Music).

  2. (Grand Hotel / The Grand Hotel) is in (King Street / the King Street).

  3. (Tower of London / The Tower of London) stands right next to (Tower Bridge / the Tower Bridge).

Lesson 78 · Result

How you did

Next lesson: Singular and pluralBack to the course

–Right

Each point

A. Streets, parks and two-word names: no the–Not checkedB. Most other buildings: the–Not checkedC. Names with of: the–Not checkedD. Shops and churches named after people: no the–Not checkedE. Newspapers and organisations: the. Companies: no the–Not checkedPut it together–Not checked