There is no article:
1. With names of countries (if singular)
- Germany is an important economic power.
- He's just returned from Zimbabwe.
- (But: I'm visiting the United States next week.)
+ Names of languages
example
- French is spoken in Tahiti.
- English uses many words of Latin origin.
- Indonesian is a relatively new language.
2. With people's names (if singular):
- John's coming to the party.
- George King is my uncle.
- (But: we're having lunch with the Morgans tomorrow.)
+ With titles and names:
- Prince Charles is Queen Elizabeth's son.
- President Kennedy was assassinated in Dallas.
- Dr. Watson was Sherlock Holmes' friend.
- (But: the Queen of England, the Pope.)
3. After the 's possessive case and possesive adjective
- His brother's car.
- Peter's house.
4. With professions:
- Engineering is a useful career.
- He'll probably go into medicine.
5. With years:
- 1948 was a wonderful year.
- Do you remember 1995?
6. With things in general
(uncountable nouns or plural count nouns)
- Rice is the main food in Asia.
- Milk is often added to tea in England.
- War is destructive.
- It’s astonishing what gymnasts can do.
7. With most names
+ of meals.
- Lunch is at midday.
- Dinner is in the evening.
- Breakfast is the first meal of the day.
+ of individual mountains, lakes and islands:
- Mount McKinley is the highest mountain in Alaska.
- She lives near Lake Windermere.
- Have you visited Long Island?
+ of states, towns, streets, stations and airports:
- Victoria Station is in the centre of London.
- Can you direct me to Bond Street?
- She lives in Florence.
- They're flying from Heathrow.
+ of sports, games, subjects :
examples:
- He plays soccer every morning.
- Lucy like playing cards.
- mathematics, sociology,...
+ names of shops:
- I'll get the card at Smith's.
- Can you go to Boots for me?
8. Noun + number
- He’s staying at the Hilton hotel in room 221.
- The train to Paris leaves from platform 2.
- My English class is in room 6 on the first floor. (First is an adjective in this sentence. It describes the floor.)
9. Acronyms
An acronym is an abbreviation (a short form) of a name. It uses the first letter of each word to form a new word.
+ If the acronym is pronounced as a word, don’t use the.
- NATO ambassadors met to discuss the situation.
- UNESCO was formed in 1946.
You need to use the before acronyms when the letters are pronounced individually, not as a word.
- The UN was created after the Second World War.
- the EU
- the US
- the CIA
- the FBI
Do not use the before university acronyms
- John Smith got his MBA at UCLA.
- She has a Ph.D. from MIT.
8. in some fixed expressions, for example:
- by car
- by train
- by air
- on foot
- on holiday
- on air (in broadcasting)
- at school
- at work
- at University
- in church
- in prison
- in bed