English language article the with geographical names. Articles with geographical names in English

Red Square, the Volga River or the USSR - are articles needed in English when we talk about geographical names? There are some rules for countries, others for streets and squares, and others for rivers and seas. Moreover, for each of the categories there are a number of exceptions when the rules do not apply. Articles are used or not used with geographical names simply because “it happened that way.” Let's try to figure it out.

Countries

The article is needed only in two cases - firstly, if the name of the country contains what is called a “form of government” - union, kingdom, states, republic, and so on. Therefore, there is a definite article in the names of such states, as the United States of America, the United Kingdom(the article remains in abbreviations - the USA, the UK). For lovers of exoticism and skyscrapers – we’ll add it here the UAE – the United Arab Emirates, and for those who remember the 1980 Olympics and the Berlin Wall – the USSR, the GDR. For modern Russia everything is simple - Russia(no article) or the Russian Federation(with an article, since a federation is a form of government).

I'm back in the USSR. You don’t know how lucky you are, boys. I'm returning to the USSR. Guys, you yourself don’t know how happy you are here (The Beatles song full of irony).

The second case when an article is needed with countries is when the name of the country is a plural noun. Usually these are islands lost in the ocean - for example, the Philippines(Philippines) or the Bahamas(Bahamas). There is also a non-island state whose name has a plural - the Netherlands, Netherlands.

An exception that is unlikely to be useful in life is a small African country The Gambia(Gambia), she is perhaps the only one who is written with the article “just like that.”

An interesting situation has developed with Ukraine - Ukraine or The Ukraine? Until 1991, Ukraine was part of the USSR, and in this case different grammatical rules apply - and until 1991, indeed, the form was common The Ukraine. And since 1991, Ukraine, having become an independent state, is officially written without an article - Ukraine.

Cities

Lesson 9. Using Articles (Continued)

In this lesson we will look at the use of articles with proper names. As you remember, there are two articles in English: definite and indefinite. And we can talk about the so-called “zero” article, that is, about cases when the article is not used.

We have already noted in the Elementary level lessons that the article performs a semantic distinguishing function. The presence or absence of an article can greatly affect the translation of a sentence. The article is the most ambiguous thing in English grammar. The article, more than other grammatical phenomena, is used “by intuition.” And to develop this intuition, you need to know the basic rules for using articles and exceptions. Only after this you will be able to freely navigate the articles.

Interestingly, the article can be used (or not used) even when it is prohibited by the rules! But only if you can explain Why You used one or another article. In newspapers and other literary sources you will come across aspects of the use of articles that were not described in textbooks. And most often this will not be a mistake. It’s just that not everything is covered in textbooks.

Having solid basic knowledge, you will easily understand the nuances of using the article. In the case of geographical names and titles, it cannot be said for sure that the article is used only this way and not otherwise. Therefore, when explaining rules, “usually” or “usually” is added.

This lesson provides information about the classic use of the article.

Topic 1. Repetition. Use of articles by geographical names

As you already know, articles are usually not used with names of countries and cities.

But, there are exceptions:

1. The Hague (The Hague)

   countries (for historical reasons):

   The Sudan, The Yemen, The Argentina - these names of countries can be used without an article. Also The Netherlands (Netherlands), since the name has a plural for historical reasons.

   The Philippines (essentially the name of a group of islands)

   Countries whose names contain terms such as States, Republic, Federation, Kingdom... that is, not proper names: The United States of America, The United Kingdom, The Russian Federation. The definite article is also used with abbreviations of these names: The USSR.

   Note

   The definite and indefinite articles can be used with the names of cities and countries, but only in the presence of a special context.

   It was the Paris of my youth. This was (the same) Paris of my youth.

   "of my youth" is the context necessary for using the definite article.

   When he returned twenty years later, he found a new America. - When he returned 20 years later, he discovered (some kind of) new America.

Names of continents, (peninsulas), mountains, deserts and regions.

As a rule, when a geographical name has the ending -s, that is, an allusion to the plural, the definite article is used with it.

1. Continent names: Africa, Europe, America. Even if these names are preceded by definitions, the article is still not used: Western Europe, Southern America.

   Mountain ranges and ridges: The Urals, The Alps, The Andes.

   The name of island groups is always preceded by a definite article: The Canaries (Canary Islands), The Kuriles (Kuril Islands).

   If there is only the name of the peninsula, then it is used without articles.

   Kamchatka is famous for its geysers.

   If after the name there is the word peninsular (peninsula), then the definite article is already placed before the name.

   The Taimyr peninsular is a very cold place.

   The names of individual mountain peaks and islands are used without articles.

   Mountains: Elbrus, Everest; Haiti, Cuba, Kilimanjaro.

   For historical reasons, the names of some regions are used with the definite article: The Crimea, The Caucasus, The Ruhr, The Tyrol.

   When the name of an area contains a plural or a common noun, then, as a rule, the definite article is used with such names: The Highlands, The Lake District, The Far East.

Preview:

“Secrets” of using the article in geography

There are two types of articles in English: definite and indefinite. The indefinite article is a or an (if the word it precedes begins with a vowel). It originates from the word one (one) and is used before singular nouns, and they must be countable. The objects before which this type of article is used are indefinite in context and unknown to the speaker and listener. In other words, this article means “some”, “one of many”.
Already from the name it is clear that the definite article the the opposite of indefinite. The came from the word this (this). It can be used with both singular and plural nouns, both countable and uncountable. A noun preceded by a definite article is usually well known or understandable from the context to the listener. The means - this one.

You may mistakenly think that if it doesn’t fit a (an ), then you can safely use the opposite type. However, it is not. There are cases in English when the article is not needed at all. Its absence before nouns is usually called the case of using the zero article. Thus, it turns out that in English there are special rules for using each of the three types.
Today we will highlight only those moments when we need a definite article before the names of rivers, oceans, lakes, countries, cities, etc.

Definite article the in geographical names

1. The following geographical names need to be preceded by the definite article:

• Oceans
  The Indian Ocean
• Seas
  The Black Sea
• Rivers
  The Amazon River
• Lakes
  The Retba
• Channels
  The Suez Canal
• Straits
  The Bosphorus; The Dardanelles
• Massifs and mountain ranges
  The Rwenzori Mountains
• Deserts
  The Atacama Desert
• Plains, plateaus, canyons, plateaus, highlands
  The Central Siberian Plateau
  The Iranian plateau

1. Before the names of countries where there are such words:

• kingdom - kingdom
• union - union
• states - states
• republic - republic
• federation - federation
• commonwealth - commonwealth

• The Republic Moldova
  The Soviet Union

1. Countries whose names are in the plural

• The Emirates

1. Island groups (Archipelagos)

• The Aldabra group

1. Parts of countries and 4 parts of the world

• The West of England
• The north (north); the east (east), etc.

1. Constructions with preposition of , which look like this:common noun+ of + proper noun

• The City of York
• The Gulf of Alaska

1. Before the names of countries, cities and continents, if together with them there is a definition that individualizes them

• The Russia of the 19th century (Russia of the 19th century)
• The Petersburg of Dostoyevsky (Dostoevsky's Petersburg)

When the article the is not needed

There is no need to use the definite article before the following geographical names:

1. Parts of the world, provided that they are expressed through adjectives

• Northern (northern); eastern (eastern); south-eastern (south-eastern)

1. Islands taken separately

• Shikotan, Crete

1. Names of regions and countries that consist of one or two words

• Italy, Greece, North Canada

1. Mountains and peaks taken separately

• Mountain Athos, Mountain Rushmore, Makalu

1. Lakes, if the name is preceded by lake (lake)

• Lake Ritsa, Lake Victoria

1. Cities

• Paris, Madrid

1. Waterfalls

• Iguazu Falls, Angel Falls

1. Peninsulas

• Labrador Peninsula, Florida Peninsula

1. Continents

• Europe, Asia

1. States

• Texas; California

However, there are no rules without exceptions. There are a small number of cases when, according to the rules with the geographical names given in the list, the article is not needed, but they represent exceptions to a number of the rules above.

Exceptions

The following names are preceded by a definite article (but there is a tendency to omit it):

Countries

the Ukraine - Ukraine

the Senegal - Senegal

(the) Lebanon - Lebanon

(the) Congo - Congo

the Argentina - (but: Argentina) Argentina

the Vatican - Vatican

Provinces, regions, etc.

the Crimea - Crimea

the Caucasus - Caucasus

the Transvaal - Transvaal

the Ruhr - Ruhr

the Tyrol - Tyrol

the Riviera - Riviera

the Soar - Soar

Cities

the Hague – The Hague

Preview:

Exercise on articles

Exercise 1. Place the necessary article before the names of water spaces.

Exercise 2.

Interesting facts about waterspaces.

1. ___ Bermuda Triangle is located in ___ Atlantic Ocean.
2. The longest river of the world is ___ Nile River.
3. The lowest lake of the world is ___ Dead Sea, the deepest lake is ___ Lake Baikal, the longest lake is ___ Tanganyika.
4. ___ Lake Superior is the largest of ___ Great Lakes.
5. In ___ Atlantic Ocean, ___ American Mediterranean Sea is the combination of the seas of ___ Gulf of Mexico and ___ Caribbean Sea.
6. ___ Victoria Falls is the largest waterfall in the world. ___Tugela Falls is the world’s second tallest. Europe’s highest waterfall is ___ Utigard in Norway.

Exercises on setting the article with the names of continents, countries, cities and villages.

Exercise 1. Place the necessary article before the names of the countries.

Exercise 3. Place the correct article before the names of cities and villages

Exercise 4. Insert the appropriate article into the sentences.

1. During our unforgettable tour across ___ Europe we visited many countries: ___ France, ___ Belgium and ____ Netherlands in ___ Western Europe; ___ Spain and ___ Italy in ___Southern Europe; ___ Poland and ___Belarus in ___ Eastern Europe.
2. The country I liked most of all was ___ amazing Italy. I got to know much about its history and culture. During the numerous excursions, I learned that ___ Medieval Italy was a real center of art.
3. The capital city of ___ Italy is ___Rome. It is a city that is full of history. Walking in its streets you can easily imagine ___ Rome of ancient times, because there are a lot of historical evidence of those times.
4. ___ Rome of today is a modern beautiful city with charming and hospitable inhabitants and a lot of tourists that are eager to do the sightseeing and to visit ___ Vatican.
5. Next year I want to visit ____ South America and to ____ Buenos Aires in ____ Argentina.

Exercises on setting the article with the names of islands and peninsulas.

Exercise 1. Place the required article before the names of the islands and peninsulas.

Exercise 2

1. ___ Island of Madeira is historically Portuguese territory.
2. ___ Arctic Archipelago extends from Canada to the northernmost of ___ Ellesmere Island.
3. A journey to ___ Greenland may appear to be unbelievably interesting.
4. ___ Virgin Islands, also known as ___ British Virgin Islands or ___BVI, is a British territory to the east of Puerto Rico. The islands make up a significant part of ___ Virgin Islands archipelago; the remaining islands make up ___ US Virgin Islands and ___ Spanish Virgin Islands.
5. ___ Borneo is situated in the waters of the South China Sea

Exercises on placing the article before with the names of mountains, hills, volcanoes.

Exercise 1. Place the necessary article before the names of mountains, hills and volcanoes.

Exercise 2 . Insert the appropriate article into the sentences.

1. ___ Himalayan range is home to the highest peaks, including ___ Mount Everest. ___ Himalayas include more than a hundred mountains exceeding 7,200 meters. By contrast, the highest peak outside Asia – ___ Aconcagua, in ___ Andes – is 6,961 meters tall.
2. ___ Bakanovi volcano is an already extinct volcano located 16 km east of ___ Bagana volcano.
3. ___ Victory Peak is a mountain in___ eastern Kakshaal Range of ____ Tien Shan.
4. ___ Chogori is the highest mountain peak in ___ Karakoram range. ___ Mt. Chogori rises to 8,611 m and is the second highest mountain in the world after ____ Chomolungma.

Article with names of areas, regions and natural objects. Exercises.

Exercise 1. Place the necessary article before the names of areas and natural regions.

Exercise 2. Insert the appropriate article into the sentences.

1. ___ Death Valley is located near the border of ___California and ___Nevada, in ___ Great Basin.
2. There are two lighthouses near or in ___ Cape Horn.
3. ___ Texas is the second most populous (after ___ California) and the second-largest (after___ Alaska) state. Located in ___ south central part of the country, ___ Texas borders on ___ Mexican states of ___ Chihuahua, ___ Coahuila, ___ Nuevo León, and ___ Tamaulipas to ___ south.
4. ___ Gobi covers part of ___ northern and ___northwestern China, and part of ___southern Mongolia. ___ Gobi is bounded by ___ Hexi Corridor and ___Tibetan Plateau to ___ southwest, by___ North China Plain to ___southeast. ___ Gobi is notable in history as part of ___ Silk Road.

Exercises on setting the article with parts of the world, directions and poles.

Exercise 1. Insert the appropriate article into the sentences.

1. ___ North Pole is also known as ___ Geographic North Pole or ___Terrestrial North Pole It is defined as the point in ___ Northern Hemisphere where ___ Earth"s axis of rotation meets its surface. Don’t confuse it with ___ North Magnetic Pole.
2. ___East is one of the four compass points. It is the opposite of ___west and is perpendicular to___ north and ___south.
3. We went from ___ East to ___West
4. ___ North Pole lies diametrically opposite ___ South Pole
5. My dwelling is in ___ South of the country.
6. Go straight ___ north.

Generalization exercises on the topic Articles before geographical names.

Exercise 1. Insert the required article.

Exercise 2. Insert the appropriate article into the sentences.

1. ___ Europe is bordered towards the north by ____ Arctic Ocean, towards ___ south by ___ Mediterranean Sea and ___ Black Sea, towards ___ west by ___ Atlantic Ocean and ___ east by ___ Asia.
2. The largest fresh water lake in ___ Europe is ___ Lake Ladoga in ___ north-western Russia.
3. We"ve booked a holiday for three weeks in ___ Canary Islands.
4. Located to _____ east of ___ Mariana Islands in ___ western Pacific Ocean, ___ Mariana Trench is the deepest known area.
5. ___ Astrachan is located on ___Caspian Sea.
6. Once I went for my holidays to ___ Lake Baikal. It was great!
7. In ___North of ___ Britain there are higher lands and mountains.
8. ___ Pennines is a chain of mountains which is known as the backbone of ___England.
9. The longest river in ___United States is ___Mississippi.
10. ___ Urals divide ___Asia and ___Europe.
11. ___ Appalachian mountains in ___United States are very old.
12. Which is longer: ___ Volga or ___Danube?
13. Is ___ Everest the highest mountain in the world?
14. Is ___ Amsterdam in ___ United States or in ___ Netherlands?
15. ___ Loch Ness is a lake in ___ Scotland.
16. I went to ___ France last year, but I haven’t been to ___ Netherlands yet
17. ___ USA is the fourth largest country in the world after ___ Russia, ___ Canada and ___Republic of _-- China.
18. ___ English Channel is between ___ Great Britain and ___ France.
19. ___ Thames flows through ___ London.
20. ___ United Kingdom includes ___ Great Britain and ___ Northern Ireland.

Indefinite article with common nouns

So, once again, the indefinite article a/an is only used before singular countable nouns. This must be remembered.

Common nouns are nouns that denote the name (common name) of an entire class of objects and phenomena that have a certain common set of characteristics, and name objects or phenomena according to their belonging to such a class. Common nouns are signs of linguistic concepts and are contrasted with proper names. The transition of common nouns to proper names is accompanied by the loss of a linguistic concept by the name (for example, “Desna” from “gums” - “right”). Common nouns can be concrete (table), abstract or abstract (love), real or material (sugar), and collective (students).

There are several cases of using the indefinite article with common nouns. Let's look at each of them in more detail.

1. If a noun is mentioned for the first time, then after the phrase there is/was/will be, as well as after the constructions this is and have got, the indefinite article a/an is used:

There was a big garden behind the house.

I have got a car.

2. In the meaning of any, everyone, everyone:

A pupil must do homework.

A car is a comfortable means of transport.

3. When designating a profession or describing characteristic properties:

My mother is a doctor.

She is a kind person.

It's a nice film.

4. In exclamatory sentences after what, such:

What a nice day!

He is such a clever boy!

5. In meaning one:

I"ll be back in an hour.

I work eight hours a day.

6. In a number of stable expressions denoting one-time actions:

to make a mistake - make a mistake

to take a seat - sit down

to give smb a lift - throw

to go for a walk - go for a walk

to catch a cold - catch a cold

to give a look - take a look

to have a rest - to rest

Definite article with geographical names

There are several cases of using the definite article with geographical names.

The article is not used:

in the names of parts of the world and continents: Europe, Asia, Africa, Australia, North (South) America

with region names: Latin America, Northern Africa, South-East Asia

in country names: Great Britain, England, Russia

in city names: London, Moscow, Paris

in the names of some lakes, if the word Lake is used: Lake Seliger, Lake Baikal

in the names of mountain peaks and some islands: Everest, Elbrus, Cyprus, Cuba

The definite article is used:

in the names of the following regions: the Far East, the Middle East, the Caucasus, the Ruhr, the Tyrol, the Arctic, the Antarctic, the Crimea, the Lake District

in the official names of countries. in the presence of the words federation, republic, union, state, kingdom: the Russian Federation, the German Republic, the United States of America, the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland

in plural country names: the Netherlands, the Philippines

in the names of rivers, seas, oceans, straits, lakes, canals, waterfalls: the Atlantic Ocean, the Black Sea, the Thames, the English Channel, the Gulf Stream, the Suez Canal, the Niagara Falls

in the names of deserts, mountain ranges and island groups: the Sahara Desert, the Pamir, the Urals, the Hawaii, the Bermudas

Exceptions:

The definite article is used in the names of some countries: the Vatican, the United States of America, the United Kingdom, the Ukraine, the United Arab Emirates, the Commonwealth of Independent States, the Congo, the Lebanon, the Hague.

Articles with names, surnames, titles

The article is not used if:

the noun is preceded by a word denoting a person's first or last name: Tom Sawyer, Mr Brown, old John, little Tommy;

before the name there is an address, title, profession: Miss Marple, Professor Higgins, Doctor Watson, Queen Elizabeth, Prince Charles, Lord Byron, Admiral Nelson.

The article the is used if:

We're talking about all the family members: The Browns, the Smiths.

The Browns will visit us next week.

it is used to mean the same:

Is this man the Poirit?

The article a is used if:

We are talking about one of the family members:

He is a true Rockefeller.

it is used to mean some:

There is a Mr Brown waiting for you.

the name denotes a work or prize:

He has got a Renoir in his collection.

This film won an Oscar.

Use of articles with geographical names

The use of articles with geographical names is only part of the topic “Articles with proper names”. With place names we use either the definite article or no article at all. In order to clearly understand in which variants the article should be used in English and in which not, it is necessary to divide all cases into two large groups and use examples to see how to act in a given situation. I dare say that you will have to memorize the examples in order to correctly use this or that word at the right time. One small nuance - on geographical maps, names are usually given without articles.

The definite article is used with geographical names that mean:

Cardinal points:

the North

the South

the East

the West

But keep in mind that if you indicate a direction, a definite article with a geographical name is not needed.

Poles, hemispheres:

the North Pole

the South Pole

the Western Hemisphere (Western Hemisphere)

the Eastern Hemisphere (eastern hemisphere)

the Arctic (Arctic)

the Antarctic

Regions:

the Far East (Far East)

the north of Canada (north of Canada)

the Middle East

the Highlands (northwest Scotland)

the south of England (south of England)

the Crimea (Crimea)

the Caucasus (Caucasus)

Countries whose names are plural nouns:

the Philippines

the Netherlands

the Unites States of America (USA)

the Baltic States

Countries whose names contain the words kingdom (kingdom), republic (republic), union (union), federation (federation):

the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland (United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland)

the Kingdom of Denmark

the United Arab Emirates

the Republic of Cuba

the German Federal Republic (German Federal Republic)

the Russian Federation (Russian Federation)

the Czech Republic

the People's Republic of China (People's Republic of China)

Oceans, straits, seas, rivers, canals / channels, waterfalls, currents:

the Atlantic Ocean

the Pacific Ocean

the Indian Ocean

the Black Sea

the Dead Sea

the Red Sea

the Thames

the Volga

the Don (Don)

the Suez Canal

the Victoria Fall

the Niagara Fall

the Strait of Magellan

the Bosporus (Bosphorus Strait)

the Bering Strait

the English Channel (English Channel)

the Panama Canal

the Strait of Dover (Strait of Dover / Pas de Calais)

the Strait of Gibraltar

the Amazon

the Nile (Nile)

the Gulf Stream

the Sea of ​​Japan

Peninsulas (peninsulas), capes (capes):

the Indochinese Peninsula (Indochina Peninsula)

the Balkan Peninsula (Balkan Peninsula)

the Iberian Peninsula (Iberian Peninsula)

the Cape of Good Hope

Cape Horn

Cape Chelyuskin (Cape Chelyuskin)

Groups of lakes:

the Great Lakes

the Seliger (Seliger)

the Great Salt Lake

But

if the word is used next to the name of the lakelakeThe definite article with a geographical name is not needed here:

Lake Baikal

Lake Ontario

Lake Geneva

Groups of islands:

the Virgin Islands

the Canaries

the British Isles

the Bahamas

the Azores (Azores)

the Falkland Islands

Chains of mountains, hills:

the Black Hills

the Apennines

the Rocky Mountains

the Andes

the Urals (Ural Mountains)

the Alps

the Himalayas

But: Capitol Hill

Plains (plains), valleys (valleys), desert (deserts):

the Great Plains

the Mississippi Valley

the Sahara Desert (Sahara Desert)

the Kara-Kum (Karakum desert)

the Kalahari Desert (Kalahari)

the Arabian Desert

Exceptions:

Death Valley

Silicon Valley

Bays (gulfs/bays). The definite article is used in construction with the preposition of. If it is not there, the article is not needed:

the Gulf of Mexico

the Gulf of Finland

the Gulf of Aden

the Bay of Bengal

Persian Gulf

Hudson Bay

San Francisco Bay

These are just some of the geographical names that are used with the definite article in English. And here is a small list of the same names that do not require an article.

The following are used without the article:

Names of continents:

Europe

Africa (Africa)

South America

North America

Australia

Countries whose names are singular nouns, cities (cities), sat down (villages), states (states), provinces (provinces):

Ukraine (Ukraine)

France (France)

Spain (Spain)

California

London

Beijing (Beijing)

Balabino

Florida

Quebec

Exceptions:

the Hague (The Hague)

the Vatican

the Congo

And also when using the construction “the city of”:

the City of Moscow (city of Moscow)

the City of Rome (city of Rome)

Names of individual islands, mountains, volcanoes:

Greenland (Greenland)

Cyprus (Cyprus)

Madagascar (Madagascar)

Jamaica

Vesuvius (Vesuvius)

Mount Goverla

Elbrus (Elbrus)

Kilimanjaro

Volcano Etna (Etna volcano)

Fujiyama

Please note this point: if a geographical name has an individualizing or descriptive definition, then this name will be used with a definite or indefinite article, respectively. For example:

This isn’t the Moscow I used to love. – This is not the Moscow that I once loved.

There will always be an England for me. “England will always be there for me.”

There are two types of articles in English: definite and indefinite. The indefinite article is a or an(if the word it precedes begins with a vowel). It originates from the word one(one) and is used before singular nouns, and they must be countable. The objects before which this type of article is used are indefinite in context and unknown to the speaker and listener. In other words, this article means “some”, “one of many”. the English articles It is already clear from the name that the definite article The the opposite of indefinite. this came from the word The(this). It can be used with both singular and plural nouns, both countable and uncountable. A noun preceded by a definite article is usually well known or understandable from the context to the listener. Means -.

this one a(an), then you can safely use the opposite type. However, it is not. There are cases in English when the article is not needed at all. Its absence before nouns is usually called the case of using the zero article. Thus, it turns out that in English there are special rules for using each of the three types.
You may mistakenly think that if it doesn’t fit

Today we will highlight only those moments when we need a definite article before the names of rivers, oceans, lakes, countries, cities, etc. the in geographical names

1. article the
   • The following geographical names must be preceded by the definite article: Oceans
   • Seas
     The Indian Ocean
   • Rivers
     The Black Sea
   • Lakes
     The Amazon River
   • Channels
     The Retba
   • Straits
     The Suez Canal
   • Massifs and mountain ranges
     The Bosphorus; The Dardanelles
   • Deserts
     The Rwenzori Mountains
   • Plains, plateaus, canyons, plateaus, highlands
     The Atacama Desert
     The Central Siberian Plateau
2. Before the names of countries where there are such words:
   • The Iranian plateau
   • kingdom - kingdom
   • union - union
   • states - states
   • republic - republic
   • federation - federation
   • The Republic Moldova
     commonwealth - commonwealth
3. Countries whose names are in the plural
   • The Soviet Union
4. Island groups (Archipelagos)
   • The Emirates
5. Parts of countries and 4 parts of the world
   • The Aldabra group
   • The West of England
6. The north (north); the east (east), etc. of Constructions with preposition common noun + of + , which look like this:
   • proper name
   • The City of York
7. Before the names of countries, cities and continents, if together with them there is a definition that individualizes them
   • The Gulf of Alaska
   • The Russia of the 19th century (Russia of the 19th century)

The Petersburg of Dostoyevsky (Dostoevsky's Petersburg) the When the article

not needed

1. Parts of the world, provided that they are expressed through adjectives
   • There is no need to use the definite article before the following geographical names:
2. Islands taken separately
   • Northern (northern); eastern (eastern); south-eastern (south-eastern)
3. Names of regions and countries that consist of one or two words
   • Shikotan, Crete
4. Mountains and peaks taken separately
   • Italy, Greece, North Canada
5. Lakes, if the name is preceded by lake (lake)
   • Mountain Athos, Mountain Rushmore, Makalu
6. Cities
   • Lake Ritsa, Lake Victoria
7. Waterfalls
   • Paris, Madrid
8. Peninsulas
   • Iguazu Falls, Angel Falls
9. Continents
   • Labrador Peninsula, Florida Peninsula
10. States
    • Europe, Asia

However, there are no rules without exceptions. There are a small number of cases when, according to the rules with the geographical names given in the list, the article is not needed, but they represent exceptions to a number of the rules above. Some countries and regions still need this “fickle” three-letter word. You can download a list of exceptions, of which, to our common joy, there are not so many.
Good luck!

Educational video.