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In my observations, names usually don't have articles like the, a, an. For example: Stack Exchange (not The Stack Exchange); Facebook, (not The Facebook). However:

  • There are cases when the name really have the "the", but people drop it. For example, people refers to the newspaper The New York Times as New York Times
  • There are cases when there is no "the" in the names, but people add it. For example, people refers to the newspaper Daily Star as The Daily Star

I wonder if there is any rule for this? I suppose that with time, the article will gradually be dropped. So if it isn't, then probably there is a stronger reason that it sticks to the name. What would that reason be?

Also, what about names that consist only regular words, like house, book, etc? Since it can be confused with the actual object, would it's more natural to have "the" in the name? Would they say:

- I pick a book from Book

or

- ­I pick a book from The Book

?

Meta: Is asking about a name of a product (not naming it) on-topic?

Ooker
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    Names are names. Even when names don't have The, the article is regularly used (eg the British newspaper called "Daily Star", which is invariably called "The Daily Star"). The Meta question you link to implies that this is not an on-topic question. How is this a real problem which you face? – Andrew Leach Jan 31 '21 at 12:47
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    I just want to check my understanding. I though this is about the usage of English language? – Ooker Jan 31 '21 at 12:51
  • Just to clarify, we like to spend our energies on actual issues being faced, rather than an imagined usage of possible concerns. Of English. – Yosef Baskin Jan 31 '21 at 12:54
  • @YosefBaskin is the edit better? – Ooker Jan 31 '21 at 13:05
  • If you look at lists of magazines, you will get a feel for how often the definite article is included in a title, and certain restrictions on its inclusion / its omission. Here is Wikipedia's list of art magazines. I'd just point out that (1) 'The Flash Art' doesn't sound too good; (2) neither does 'Art Journal'; (3) whereas 'Drama' and 'The Frontrunner' would seem very reasonable alternatives to the chosen titles. 'How it sounds' is a vital factor, but familiarity breeds acceptance, so we have positive feedback loops. – Edwin Ashworth Jan 31 '21 at 14:51
  • @EdwinAshworth This contagious capitalization of common articles before proper nouns is inarticulate, and distressingly common as well. :) – tchrist Jan 31 '21 at 15:10
  • @tCHRIST Associating The Times with common articles may land a person in trouble. Up The Little Duck Creek (NC) without a paddle. – Edwin Ashworth Jan 31 '21 at 15:19
  • The only thing I can think of called House is the TV series. It would not be appropriate to use an article for that because the title is a man's name. – Kate Bunting Jan 31 '21 at 15:20
  • @EdwinAshworth and tchrist: I want to understand your conversation, but I get lost. Can you explain? – Ooker Jan 31 '21 at 15:34
  • Sorry, Ooker. Hijacking your post. There's been a recent (or revived) question concerning capitalisation of articles in say 'The/the Thames', where CED and CMoS give advice which seems at odds with (I'd insert very) common usage. Is the article part of the title (or one form of the title), as in 'The Lord of the Rings'? // tchrist prefers a non-standard form of moniker. – Edwin Ashworth Jan 31 '21 at 15:40
  • @EdwinAshworth what are CED and CMoS? Yes, I initially talk at the article as a part of the name, but I also want to know more about the case where it's a real modifier – Ooker Jan 31 '21 at 15:49
  • @EdwinAshworth Isn’t this where The North Sea gets into a heated argument with The Thames, or where The Mississippi gets dumped into The Atlantic? Or don’t you read that publication? :) – tchrist Jan 31 '21 at 15:56
  • Ooker, look at Ricky's answer, the related City-names question, the various lists etc ... there's no clear-cut answer as to why many individual usages occur, never mind your title question. @tchrist Almost certainly not. And have you been watching the Statue of Liberty / Klinger / MacArthur MASH episode? Get thee to Slughorn's Potions class at once. You look far too happy over there. – Edwin Ashworth Jan 31 '21 at 16:20
  • " For example, people refers to the newspaper The New York Times as New York Times"= Buzzer. Some people use a lower-case the in writing but no one drops the determiner among native speakers. In fact, that would be a red flag. – Lambie Oct 16 '22 at 19:15
  • The issue of whether to include a definite article recently (within the last several years) became a major topic of discussion with U.S. colleges and universities, especially "the" Ohio State University. – MarcInManhattan Oct 16 '22 at 20:10

2 Answers2

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There is no rule. Tradition, the sound, history, and some other factors are what matters.

Consider:

Bath, a city in England, was actually the Bath up until the Nineteenth Century, when the article was dropped.

Facebook was initially the Facebook.

There's some logic behind the New York borough called The Bronx: it was named after the family of Jonas Bronck, i.e. the Broncks. However, no one is quite sure why the Hague is called the Hague, and there are also the Vatican and the Stonehenge.

.

You need to use the definite article with these:

the Royal Albert Hall, the John Hancock Center, the Kennedy Center of the Performing Arts

But not with these:

Carnegie Hall, City Hall, Avery Fisher Hall, Radio City Music Hall, Rockefeller Center, Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts, Epcot Center, Canterbury Cathedral, Westminster Abbey.

Also, compare:

London Bridge, yes, but: the Brooklyn Bridge.

Ricky
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  • City names/articles have been discussed at City names with articles. – Edwin Ashworth Jan 31 '21 at 15:25
  • I suppose that with time, and especially with a lot of non-native speakers, the article will gradually be dropped? Also, if it's in the name, shouldn't it be capitalized? – Ooker Jan 31 '21 at 15:33
  • @Ooker: Let's not get crazy. – Ricky Jan 31 '21 at 15:38
  • what do you mean? – Ooker Jan 31 '21 at 15:40
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    @Ooker: I mean, let's not exaggerate. Non-native speakers whose mother tongues do not include articles have been using "telegraphic English" for centuries. This has not affected the basic structure of the English language one bit, gradually or otherwise. – Ricky Jan 31 '21 at 15:50
  • What in the world was The Facebook? – tchrist Jan 31 '21 at 15:57
  • @tchrist: From the "Social Network" script: SEAN (signing the check) Oh, hey. Drop the "the". Just Facebook. It's cleaner. – Ricky Jan 31 '21 at 16:02
  • To nitpick the examples, I have never heard anyone say "the Stonehenge", and Google n-grams suggests it's never been particularly common: https://books.google.com/ngrams/graph?content=Stonehenge%2Cthe+Stonehenge&year_start=1800&year_end=2019&corpus=26&smoothing=3&case_insensitive=true – IMSoP Jan 31 '21 at 21:24
  • if the article is a part of the names, why don't you capitalize it? Also, can you comment about names that consist only regular words, like house, book, etc? – Ooker Feb 01 '21 at 16:20
  • The jury's still out on whether, in some cases, the article needs to be capitalized. It is, I believe, a matter of taste and/or tradition. In case of the Vatican (to pick an example at random), no capitalization is necessary. – Ricky Feb 01 '21 at 17:04
  • No article in Random House. – Ricky Feb 01 '21 at 17:05
  • Or Buckingham Palace. – Ricky Feb 01 '21 at 17:05
  • Can't think of any Book examples where the article isn't used. The Jungle Book. The Book of Job. Etc. – Ricky Feb 01 '21 at 17:05
  • It's The Ohio State University, as anyone from there will tell you. – Mitch Oct 16 '22 at 20:07
  • Book Six of The Aeneid? Book of the Dead. Not sure. I would say "I've read the Book of the Dead", but perhaps I should say "I've read The Book of the Dead" I have two Bibles, one called Holy Bible and the other The Holy Bible. – Stephen James Oct 26 '22 at 21:59
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"I work for BBC. I got my job there after I left Post Office." Not ok.

"I work for the ITV. I got my job there after I left the DHL." Not ok.

It has to be the BBC and the Post Office. It can never be the ITV and the DHL. Nobody knows why.

The possessive is also tricky. You can shop at Tesco's although the shop is named 'Tesco'. You could never shop at Ikea's. Again, nobody knows why, or, if they do, they aren't telling.

United Kingdom is an interesting case. People who have moved to the UK may say, for example, "I have lived in UK for ten years." That's logical. The name of the country is "United Kingdom" and the abbreviation is "UK". But a native speaker would be far more likely to refer to "the United Kingdom" or "the UK", as in "I have never been outside the UK", "England is part of the UK", "It's a relief (or a pity) that the UK has left the EU", etc.

Stephen James
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  • what about names that consist only regular words? – Ooker Jan 31 '21 at 16:59
  • BBC stands for British Broadcasting Corporation, which includes an explicit word for the kind of entity it is, and ITV stands for Independent Television, which does not; the Corporation is more natural than the Television in such a sense. – Anton Sherwood Oct 17 '22 at 05:11