The table of with and without the definite article.

with the definite article	without the definite article
To talk about sth specific, that is, something we have already mentioned before or which is already known	Uncountable and plural countable nouns in general meaning
There is a house on High street. The house is big.	Koalas live in Australia.
With nationalities and family names in the plural	names of persons on the singular, relatives
the French; the Smiths	Anna, aunt Mary
public buildings, institutions, means of transport (definite)	public buildings, institutions, means of transport (indefinite)
The school that Helen goes to is old. The bus to London leaves at 7.40. The round church in Klingenthal is famous.	Helen doesn't like school. I go to school by bus. Some people go to church on Sundays.
names of countries in the plural; mountain ranges; deserts; regions	names of countries in the singular; cities; streets; parks; bridges; squares; stations; islands; lakes; summits of mountains; continents; towns
the United States of America, the Netherlands; the Highlands, the Rocky Mountains, the Alps; the Middle East, the Sahara, the west of Australia	Brazil, London, Oxford Street; but (the High Street); Hyde Park; London Bridge; Leicestor Square; Charing Cross Station; Lake Geneva; Mount Whitney;Europe; Cairo
groups of islands	single islands
the Virgin Islands	Rhodes
name with of-phrase; oceans; seas; rivers	the words this/that/these/those
the Atlantic; the Mediterranean; the Amazon	this boy, those trees
months, days of the week (definite)	months, days of the week (indefinite)
I always remember the Tuesday when I had an accident. The July of 2001 was hot and dry.	The weekend is over on Monday morning. July and August are the most popular months for holidays.
with nouns which are unique	two-word names when the first is the name of a person or place
the sun; the moon; the earth	Heathrow Airport
with the names of musical instruments and dances	names of meals; sport games; months; celebrations; colours drinks and languages when they are not followed by the word language.
the guitar; the waltz	dinner; football; july; Mardy Gras; green; tea. I speak Chinese; but the Chinese language is very difficult to learn.
with the names of museums; hotels; theatres; cinemas newspapers	possessive adjectives or possessive case
the National museum; the Hilton; the royal theatre; the Guardian	That isn’t my book. It’s Tom’s.
with historical periods/events
the Iron age; the second war; but (World War II)
with the words morning/afternoon/evening; station; city; village
in the morning; They drove into the village.
with adjectives used as nouns to refer to a group of people
the poor; the blind; the sick
with only, last, first used as adjectives and with the superlative degree of adjectives/adverbs
He is the most intelligent person I have ever seen. She was the first lady among them.
with titles when the name of the person is not mentioned
the President, the Prince; but (Prince Charles)

We use the seasons of the year (spring, summer, autumn, winter) with or without the definite article: in summer or in the summer. The American English word for autumn (fall) is always used with the definite article. Sometimes we use the article and sometimes we do not. It often depends on the context. Watch the following example: The student goes to school. The mother goes to the school. In the first sentence we do not use the definite article, in the second we do. The student goes to school for its primary purpose, so we do not use the article. The mother might talk to a teacher, for example. She visits the school for a different reason. That's why we use the definite article in the second sentence.

1. Fill in the where necessary.

e.g. I arrived in _____ USA yesterday. I arrived in the USA yesterday.

1) I like _____ flowers very much.

2) She loves _____ flowers in her garden.

3) See you on _____ Wednesday.

4) We always listen to _____ radio in the morning.

5) George goes to work by ____ taxi.

6) Don't be late for ____ school.

7) Listen! John is playing _____ guitar.

8) We often see our relatives over _____ Easter.

9) I have never been to _____ Alps before.

10) What about going to England in _____ August?