It was at seventeen that he decided to leave school.

She went to College in the North. ( Gow and D’Usseau)

to go to the school – not as a pupil (the building is meant)

to leave the building –to leave the building

She worked at a school in Siberia

b) Bed

to go to bed- ложиться спать

to be in bed

And now you had better go to bed. Good-night. (Voynich)

to be in the bed an article of furniture is meant.

to be on the bed

Her portrait was on the wall beside the bed. (Voynich)

c) Prison, jail…

to be in prison (in jail) –to be a prisoner

to be sent to prison as a prisoner

to be put in prison

Mr. Dorrit was in prison many years.

Mr. Dorrit was sent to prison for debt.

to be in the prison not as a prisoner (the building is meant)

to go to the prison

The prison proper dated from 1822. (Dreiser)

The Use of Articles with the Noun Town

The noun town when used with prepositions does not take an article:

a) when we mean the nearest town (if we live in the country) or the town we live in.

Ex.: You cannot go to town to-morrow. (Austen)

b) when the noun town is opposed to the noun country.

Ex.: He was not used to country life, having spent twenty years in town.

Otherwise the noun town is used with the definite or indefinite article.

Ex.: I want to go to the town where I was born.

The Use of Articles with the Names of meals.

Names of meals are used without articles.

Ex.: When did you have dinner?

Ex.: Is dinner ready?

Ex.: Mother is cooking dinner.

The definite article is used when the nouns are modified by a particularizing attribute or when the situation makes them definite.

Ex.: The dinner we had to-day was very substantial.

Ex.: The dinner was a success.

The indefinite article is used if the name of a meal is modified by a descriptive attribute.

Ex.: After a hearty breakfast the four gentlemen sallied forth to walk to Gravesend.

The Use of Articles with Names of Languages

Names of languages when they are not followed by the noun language are used without articles:

Ex.: She knows French.

Note the peculiar use of the definite article in:

1. It is a translation from the English.

2. What is the English for ‘сосна’.

The Definite article is used if the noun is modified by a particularizing attribute:

The English of America differs from the English of England.

The Use of Articles with Nouns Modified by Certain

Adjectives, Pronouns and Numerals

Most

a) Most+ adj.

The definite article is used when most serves to form the superlative degree of an adjective.

Ex.: This is the most interesting chapter in the book.

The use of the indefinite article shows that a high degree of a quality is meant. Most has the same meaning as very, exceedingly.

Ex.: Caroline found that the old maid had been a most devoted daughter and sister. (Ch. Bronte)

*The form of the superlative degree does not express comparison, but a high degree of a quality.

Ex.: He listened with the deepest attention.

b) Most+ of+ Noun

When definite people or things are meant the noun is used with the definite article and most is followed by the preposition of.

Ex.: Most of the flowers in the garden were planted by the schoolchildren.

We say most, not most of the, when we do not mean definite people or things. The noun is used in a general sense.

Ex.: Most flowers smell sweet.