Geographical oppositions

• The definite article is used with a number of nouns which indicate geographical alternatives, for example ‘the town’ – ‘the country’ and ‘the sea’ – ‘the land’. We are not referring to a particular place, for example a particular town or forest. We are talking about the types of landscape or geographical environments where people live, work, or go for holidays. Here is a list of words that can be used like this:

the city the desert the land the sea

the country the forest the mountains the seaside

the countryside the jungle the plains the town

• ‘Town’ when used with prepositions has a zero article when it means the centre or business part of a town, or the nearest town to a country place, or the town we live in:

to be in town to come back to town to leave town

to go to town to return to town to be out of town

to live in town to stay in town

• The noun ‘country’ as an antonym to ‘town’ takes the definite article:

to go to the country

to be in the country

to come from the country

• ‘Sea’ is used with the indefinite article if it has a descriptive attribute; with a zero article in certain prepositional expressions:

  • ...after he'd gone to sea.

...the main danger to naval forces and shipping at sea.

Exercise 1. Insert articles where necessary.

1. I’ve got to get out of__ town. (J.H. Chase)

2. I don’t think it would do any harm if I quietly let it be known down in Kerrith and in __ country that __ London doctor has supplied us with a motive. (D. du Maurier)

3. So I drove into__ town. (J.H. Chase)

4. __ callous countryside watched us with indifference. (D. du Maurier)

5. When I reached __ town, I bought a couple of Sunday newspapers and took a quick look at the headlines as I walked back to the Buick. (J.H. Chase)

6. Her back was toward him as she faced the lights of __ town. (F. Sc. Fitzgerald)

7. But someone was saying he was the best barman in __ town. (J.H. Chase)

8. Amory was bored, as he usually was in __ country. (F. Sc. Fitzgerald)

9. The bus was the same that had taken her into__ town. (F. Sc. Fitzgerald)

10. I thought nothing of it at the time even though it kept behind me all the way back to __ town and only passed me when I pulled up outside my office block, but I was to remember it later. (J.H. Chase)

11. And after it was blown up you immediately left__ town. (H. Fielding)

12. I am going to __ country for tomorrow. (F. Sc. Fitzgerald)

13. I just arrived in__ town. (S. Sheldon)

14. “Mr. Adler is out of__ town on tour. Can I help you?” (S. Sheldon)

15. He drove fast down the street, heading out of__ town. (J.H. Chase)

16. Monsignor wasn't in __ town. (F. Sc. Fitzgerald)

17. Finally, at about ten o’clock, rather earlier than I’d intended, I started out for __ town. (G. Orwell)

18. Let’s have a weekend in __ mountains.

19. A farm is an irregular patch of nettles bounded by short-term notes, containing a fool and his wife who didn’t know enough to stay in __ city. (S.J. Perelman)

20. I am not the type who wants to go back to __ land; I am the type who wants to go back to the hotel. (F. Lebowitz)

Exercise 2. Choose one of these nouns to complete each of the following sentences. (You will need to use some of the words more than once). Use an appropriate article.

city country countryside desert jungle land mountains plains seaside

1. Gorillas can only be found deep inside ………….. .

2. Finland is ………….. that is famous for its lakes.

3. Lions are often called ‘kings of …………..’ although in fact they live on ………….. .

4. Camels have been called ‘ships of …………..’.

5. We have found a lovely little cottage in ………….. .

6. When we were kids we loved the beach so we used to spend all our holidays at ………….. , but now we prefer ………….. , especially the Alps.

7. The value of property in ………….. has increased greatly.

8. I prefer living in ………….. ; it’s quieter than the town.

9. We have to act now to save ………….. for future generations.

10. People who live in towns often dream of getting back to ………….. .

Exercise 3. In the sentences below, only one of the underlined alternatives is appropriate. Cross out the one that is wrong.

1. Was the boat in a state to put to sea/ the sea? (D. du Maurier)

2. When one is in love, and things go all wrong, one’s terribly unhappy and one thinks one won’t ever get over it. But you’ll be astounded to learn what sea/ the sea will do. Love isn’t a good sailor and it languishes on a sea voyage. You’ll be surprised when you have the Atlantic between you and Larry to find how slight the pang is that before you sailed seemed intolerable. (W.S. Maugham)

3. I think I am the only man who knows how his staid old mind is really at sea/ the sea and longs for a sturdy spar like the Church to cling to. (F. Sc. Fitzgerald)

4. The sea/ sea, he thought, had treasured its memories deeper than the faithless land. (F. Sc. Fitzgerald)

5. Primrose leaned her head against the rock, and gazed out at the/ a dull, lead-coloured sea. (K. Saunders)

6. I should have perhaps warned you we would be putting out to sea/ the sea. (H. Fielding)

7. It was past four and under a blue-grey sky the first fishing-boats were creaking out into a/ the glaucous sea. (F. Sc. Fitzgerald)

8. Too much rubbish is being dumped in sea/ the sea.

9. The best thing I know between France and England is – sea/ the sea. (D. Jerrold)

10. She plunged into a sea/ the sea of platitudes, and with the powerful breast stroke of a channel swimmer made her confident way towards the white cliffs of the obvious. (W.S. Maugham)

11. Man is the only creature that seems to have the time and energy to pump all his sewage out to sea/ the sea, and then go swimming in it. (M. Kington)