Narration:

Now we will look at some of the more complicated rules of using no article.

When we are thinking of the purpose of a place, we do not use an article. For example, we would say ‘Criminals should be sent to prison’ because we are thinking of the purpose – to keep the criminal locked up as punishment for a crime. To compare, in the sentence ‘Turn left at the shops and go past the prison’, we are talking about a building or landmark, not about the actual purpose of the building.

With the names of most countries, we do not use an article, such as Australia, Spain, New Zealand. The same applies to continents Europe, Africa, Asia. However, North America and South America are sometimes referred to together as ‘the Americas’. Names of Lakes and mountains do not have an article with the exception of ranges of mountains such as the Andes or the Himalayas.

If we are talking generally, we do not use an article with school subjects. However, if we are specific then we use the, as can be seen in this example.