8. Don’t use THE with names of continents

Eg: This is my first time in Asia.

9. Don’t use THE when talking about academic subjects

Eg: My daughter is having trouble with maths. / I studied Art.

10. Don’t use THE when discussing sports

Eg: I haven’t played baseball since I was young.

11. Don’t use THE when referring to languages or talking about someone’s nationality

Eg: We’ve been learning Italian since April. / I just found out that I have Japanese ancestry.

Note: The exception is when we say the … language.

Eg: The Italian language / I’m studying the English language

12. Don’t use THE when we have a noun followed by a number

Eg: She and her husband will find you on platform 3.

13. Don’t use THE with acronyms

Eg: We are still waiting to hear what NATO has to say

Note: You do use THE with initialisms – acronyms in which you pronounce each letter individually.

Eg: The FBI is investigating this situation. 

 

There are also some common places and locations that typically do not require the use of an article.

1. Home

Eg: She is on her way home.

2. Work

Eg: Can you pick me up from work today?

3. School, university

Eg: What time do you need to go to school?/ She’s in her first year of university.

4. Church

Eg: My friend and I met at church when we were 12.

5. Hospital (in British English) – the hospital (in American English)

Eg: Dad’s in hospital at the moment. – I need to go to the hospital.