Proper Nouns and Countability.

Proper Nouns

The Vatican is in Rome.

- ‘the Vatican’

- cities => 0

We flew to New York from Gatwick Airport.

- airports > 0

John works for IBM.

- company name => 0

We stayed in a small hotel near Washington Square, not far from NY University.

- squares => 0

- universities when the proper name precedes the common name ‘university’ => 0

There are two restaurants here: Mario’s Diner and the China House.

- restaurants, hotels, galleries, etc. => ‘the’

- restaurants with possessive in the name => 0

The Hague is the capital of the Netherlands.

- ‘the Hague’

- states with plural in the name => ‘the’

Poland lies in eastern Europe.

- states => 0

- continents with no adjective in the proper name => 0

- continents or their parts with an ADJ in the proper name => ‘the’ (‘the Middle East’)

We are members of both NATO and the EU.

- acronyms => 0

- ‘the EU’

Is Buckingham Palace in London and the Eiffel Tower in Paris?

- historical buildings => 0

- towers => ‘the’

The highest mountain in the Alps is Mont Blanc.

- ranges of mountains in PL => ‘the’

- peaks => 0

What would you like to see: Christmas Island, the Sahara or the English Channel?

- islands => 0

- deserts => ‘the’

- water channels => ‘the’

I love to shop on Fifth Avenue.

- streets => 0 (x BUT: ‘the Main Street’)

Lake Superior reminds me of the Mediterranean Sea.

- lakes => 0

- seas => ‘the’

In which city is Victoria Station?

- train stations => 0

You can’t say the University of Harvard, you must say Harvard University because it is named after the first benefactor, John Harvard.

- universities when the proper name precedes the common name ‘university’ => 0

- universities named after people => no prepositional case in the proper name

Let’s meet for a pint at the King George.

- pubs (social places) => ‘the’

In front of Westminster Hall there is a bronze statues of Oliver Cromwell.

-church halls => ‘the’

Major concerts are usually held at the Albert Hall.

-halls designed as social places => ‘the’

After crossing the Ukraine we came to the Crimea.

-‘the Ukraine’

- peninsulas => ‘the’

The Spanish-style Furnace Creek Inn is built against the eastern wall of Death Valley.

- pubs (social places) => ‘the’

- valleys => 0

 

Countability

We had lovely weather yesterday.

She speaks decent German.

Critics left with egg on their faces.

This is really bad news.

She’s making good progress with her German.

She gave me advice on where to go in Paris.

I had great fun reading this book.

You’ll need special equipment to do it.

I won’t have enough time by Friday because I’ve got homework to do every day.

I’ve been doing research into this for over ten years.

Normally, women with dry skin have little need for a toning lotion.

He had a tanned complexion and was in denim shirt and jeans.

When buying a new skin care product, remember to get instruction.

I’m afraid he’s in great trouble.

Forty per cent of asthmatic children live in areas with heavy traffic.

Take this and sleep with it under you pillow and it’ll bring good luck to you.

They saw him with a trolleyload of expensive luggage.

Next door is a pretty guest room with lilac floral wallpaper.

His home is crammed to overflowing with antique furniture which he enjoys collecting.

He should start to look for new accommodation.

You’ve got egg on your tie.

When the fire alarm rang, there was total chaos.

Did you hear a noise just now? (= a strange sound) x I hate noise.