Article or Not: School, Transport, Time, Countries
Practice the hardest article decisions: institutional nouns (school vs the school), 'by' + transport, clock times vs parts of the day, and country names with 'the'.
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I go to ___ school every day.
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—
'Go to school' (no article) = as a student. 'Go to the school' = visiting the building.
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We travelled by ___ train from Paris to London.
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—
No article with 'by + transport': by train, by bus, by car, by plane.
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The bank is on ___ left.
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the
Directions use 'the': on the left, on the right, at the top, at the bottom.
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I usually go for a walk in ___ morning.
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the
Parts of the day use 'the': in the morning, in the afternoon, in the evening. But: at night (no article).
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The meeting is at ___ three o'clock.
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No article with clock times: at three o'clock, at 5 pm, at half past two.
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Have you ever been to ___?
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the Czech Republic
Countries with Republic/Kingdom/States need 'the': the Czech Republic, the UK. Simple names don't: France, Japan.
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She plays ___ tennis in the morning and ___ piano in the evening.
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— ... the
Sports: no article (play tennis). Instruments: 'the' (play the piano). Two different rules in one sentence.
Article or Not: The Hardest Choices
This section targets the article decisions that persist as errors even at B2 level, because the rule cannot be predicted from the noun's meaning alone — it depends on grammatical purpose, fixed idiom, or a specific naming convention.
Institutional Nouns: Purpose Changes the Article
By + Transport
Directions and Times of Day
I usually go for a walk in the morning. (part of the day — 'the')
Clock Times: No Article
Country Names with a Political Word
Sports vs Instruments in the Same Sentence
Common Mistakes
✗ We travelled by the train. → ✓ We travelled by — train.
✗ The meeting is at the three o'clock. → ✓ The meeting is at — three o'clock.
✗ Have you been to — Czech Republic? → ✓ Have you been to the Czech Republic.
Last updated: · Satori Editorial