Grammar-Quizzes › Noun Phrases › Determiners › Articles–The › The w/ Country Names
The with Country Names
Recognize when to include the with country names
Bolivia—the Plurinational State of Bolivia
Article Use with Country Names
| NO ARTICLE | |
|---|---|
No article is included when referring to a country (1) with a single name (except The Gambia) or with merged single-named states Bosnia and Herzegovina. Note that most countries have an official title that includes the kind of state, for example, the republic, the kingdom, the principality, the commonwealth, the union, the confederation, and so on. |
|
| SINGULAR NAME | KIND OF UNION |
Belize Burkino Faso Canada Georgia Grenada Hungary Iceland Ireland Jamaica Japan Libya Mongolia Montenegro New Zealand Romania Santa Lucia Turkmenistan Tuvalu Ukraine (not "the Ukraine") |
——— (no secondary title) ——— ——— ——— ——— ——— ——— ——— ——— ——— ——— ——— ——— ——— ——— ——— ——— ——— ——— |
| DOUBLE NAME | KIND OF UNION |
Antigua and Barbuda Bosnia and Herzegovina Saint Vincent and the Grenadines |
——— ——— ——— |
Saint Kitts and Nevis |
the Federation of Saint Christopher and Nevis |
Trinidad and Tobago |
the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago |
| EXCEPTION—SINGLE NAME | KIND OF UNION |
Sudan (no article¹ ) |
the Republic of the Sudan (article) |
| THE | |
|---|---|
Include the before countries (1) with plural names (the Philippines, the Maldives and the Netherlands); (2) with names containing a noun stating the kind of state (the Republic, the Democratic, the State(s), the Union, the Confederation, the Kingdom, the Commonwealth, the Principality). Capitalize the when it is included in the official name (The Bahamas). |
|
| PLURAL NAME | KIND OF UNION |
the Cook Islands the Maldives the Netherlands the Philippines the Seychelles the Solomon Islands Saint Vincent and the Grenadines |
——— ——— ——— ——— ——— ——— ——— |
| "THE" PLURAL NAME | KIND OF UNION |
The Bahamas (capital The) |
the Commonwealth of The Bahamas |
the Comoros |
the Union of the Comoros |
the Marshall Islands |
the Republic of the Marshall Islands |
the Seychelles |
the Republic of Seychelles |
| EXCEPTIONS | KIND OF UNION |
Barbados (pl. without the) |
——— |
The Gambia / Gambia (includes The)
|
the Republic of the Gambia |
| SHORT NAME | KIND OF UNION |
United States (USA abbreviation) |
the United States of America |
Democratic Republic of Congo (Kinshasa) (DRC) |
the Democratic Republic of the Congo |
Congo (Brazzaville) |
the Republic of the Congo |
Dominican Republic |
the Dominican Republic |
United Arab Emirates (UAE) |
the United Arab Emirates |
United Kingdom (UK) |
the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland |
¹ an article is used when referring to the region or an area surrounding a river, such as the Sudan, the Arctic, the Gambia, and formerly the Ukraine (region) which as of 1991 is called Ukraine.
Resources
- "Countries: Designations and Abbreviations to Use." Interinstitutional Style Guide,7.1.1.18 Sep 2018. publications.europa.eu/code/en/en-370100.htm. Accessed 4 Dec. 2018.
- "Independent States in the World." U S Department of State, 22 July 2016, www.state.gov/s/inr/rls/4250.htm.
- "List of sovereign states." Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia, 6 June 2016. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_sovereign_states. Accessed on 7 June 2017. (includes details regarding sovereignty disputes)
- "UNGEGN World Geographical Names." United Nations Statistical Division. 1 Nov. 2018, unstats.un.org/unsd/geoinfo/geonames. Accessed on 10 Dec. 2018. (authoritative data-base)
The with Country Names
Kind of Union
| THE REPUBLIC OF COUNTRY [NOUN] | |
|---|---|
When referring to a country whose name is of the pattern Republic of Country [N] include the before title. Note that these names may include modifiers such as federative, federal, democratic, Islamic, people's, oriental. |
|
| COUNTRY | REPUBLIC OF [NOUN] |
(Taiwan¹) sovereignty in dispute |
the Republic of China (ROC) |
Congo Republic/ Congo-Brazzaville² |
the Republic of the Congo |
El Salvador (Spanish article) |
the Republic of El Salvador |
North Macedonia |
the Republic of North Macedonia |
Myanmar |
the Republic of the Union of Myanmar |
South Korea |
the Republic of Korea |
| COUNTRY | [ADJ] REPUBLIC OF [NOUN] |
Afghanistan |
the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan |
Brazil |
the Federative Republic of Brazil |
China |
the People's Republic of China (PRC) |
Ethiopia |
the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia |
North Korea |
the Democratic People's Republic of Korea |
Uruguay |
the Oriental Republic of Uruguay |
Venezuela |
the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela |
Vietnam (Viet Nam) |
the Socialist Republic of Vietnam |
| THE COUNTRY [ADJ] REPUBLIC | |
|---|---|
When referring to a country whose name is of the pattern Country [Adj] Republic include the before title. This pattern rarely includes other modifiers. The official name does not include the. |
|
| COUNTRY | [ADJ] REPUBLIC |
Argentina |
the Argentine Republic |
Czechia |
the Czech Republic |
——— (same) |
the Dominican Republic |
France |
the French Republic |
Gabon |
the Gabonese Republic |
Greece |
the Hellenic Republic |
Italy |
the Italian Republic |
Kyrgyzstan |
the Kyrgyz Republic |
Laos |
the Lao People's Democratic Republic |
Lebanon |
the Lebanese Republic |
Portugal |
the Portuguese Republic |
Slovakia |
the Slovak Republic |
Syria |
the Syrian Arab Republic |
Togo |
the Togolese Republic |
Tunisia |
the Tunisian Republic |
¹Taiwan is officially called the Republic of China (ROC) or Chinese Taipei in the Olympic Games. Its political status as an independent state is in dispute. See Nagoya Resolution. Both the ROC and PRC continue to claim to be the legitimate government of all China.
²Congo Republic/ Congo-Brazzaville (former colony French Congo)
Other countries with the pattern—Republic of Country[N]: Islamic Republic of Afghanistan, People's Democratic Republic of Algeria, Republic of Angola, Republic of Armenia, Republic of Austria, Republic of Azerbaijan, People's Republic of Bangladesh, Republic of Belarus, Republic of Benin, Republic of Botswana, Federative Republic of Brazil, Republic of Bulgaria, Republic of Burundi, Republic of Cameroon, Republic of Cabo Verde, Republic of Chad, Republic of Chile, Republic of China (Taiwan), Republic of Costa Rica, Republic of Croatia, Republic of Cyprus (Greek part), Republic of Djibouti, Democratic Republic of Timor-Leste, Arab Republic of Egypt, Republic of El Salvador, Republic of Equatorial Guinea, Republic of Estonia, Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, Republic of Fiji, Republic of Finland, Republic of The Gambia, Federal Republic of Germany, Republic of Ghana, Republic of Guatemala, Republic of Guinea, Co-operative Republic of Guyana, Republic of Haiti, Republic of Honduras, Republic of India, Republic of Indonesia, Islamic Republic of Iran, Republic of Iraq, Republic of Ireland, Republic of Côte d'Ivoire, Republic of Kazakhstan, Republic of Kenya, Republic of Kiribati, Democratic People's Republic of Korea (North Korea), Republic of Korea (South Korea), Republic of Kosovo, Republic of Latvia, Republic of Liberia, Republic of Lithuania, Republic of North Macedonia, Republic of Madagascar, Republic of Malawi, Republic of Maldives, Republic of Mali, Republic of Malta, Republic of Marshall Islands, Islamic Republic of Mauritania, Republic of Mauritius, Republic of Moldova, Republic of Mozambique, Republic of the Union of Myanmar, Republic of Namibia, Republic of Nauru, Federal Democratic Republic of Nepal, Republic of Nicaragua, Republic of the Niger, Islamic Republic of Pakistan, Republic of Panama, Republic of Paraguay, Republic of the Philippines, Republic of Poland, Republic of Rwanda, Republic of San Marino, Democratic Republic of São Tomé and Príncipe, Republic of Senegal, Republic of Serbia, Republic of Seychelles, Republic of Sierra Leone, Republic of Singapore, Slovenia, Federal Republic of Somalia, Republic of South Africa, Republic of South Sudan, Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, Republic of the Sudan, Republic of South Sudan, Republic of Suriname, Republic of Tajikistan, United Republic of Tanzania, Republic of Trinidad and Tobago, Republic of Turkey, Republic of Uganda, Oriental Republic of Uruguay, Republic of Uzbekistan, Republic of Vanuatu, Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela, Socialist Republic of Vietnam, Republic of Yemen, Republic of Zambia, Republic of Zimbabwe.
Other countries with the pattern—Country[Adj] Republic: Republic of Albania, Central African Republic, Central African Republic, Czech Republic, Dominican Republic, French Republic, Gabonese Republic, Hellenic Republic, Kyrgyz Republic, Lao People's Democratic Republic, Lebanese Republic, Portuguese Republic, Slovak Republic, Syrian Arab Republic. Togolese Republic, Tunisian Republic.
| STATE OF | |
|---|---|
When referring to a country whose name is of the pattern State of Country [N] include the before title. The singular name may include a modifier such as independent and plurinational(!) |
|
| COUNTRY | STATE(S) |
Bolivia |
the Plurinational State of Bolivia |
Cyprus (Turkish) |
the Turkish Federated State of Cyprus |
Eritrea |
the State of Eritrea |
Israel |
the State of Israel |
Kuwait |
the State of Kuwait |
Palestine |
the State of Palestine |
Samoa |
the Independent State of Samoa |
Libya |
the State of Libya |
Papua New Guinea |
the Independent State of Papua New Guinea |
Qatar |
the State of Qatar |
Vatican City |
the Vatican City State |
| [ADJ] STATES OF | |
|---|---|
When referring to a country whose name is of the pattern [Adj] States of Country [N] include the before title. The plural name includes a modifier such as united or federated. |
|
| COUNTRY | STATE(S) |
——— (USA abbreviation) |
the United States of America |
Mexico |
the United Mexican States |
Micronesia |
the Federated States of Micronesia |
| KINGDOM / PRINCIPALITY / COMMONWEALTH | |
|---|---|
When referring to a country whose name is of the pattern commonwealth, kingdom, or principality include the before title. |
|
| COUNTRY/COUNTRIES | KINGDOM / PRINCIPALITY / COMMONWEALTH |
Andorra |
the Principality of Andorra |
Denmark |
the Kingdom of Denmark |
England, Northern Ireland, Scotland, and Wales |
the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland |
Jordan |
the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan |
Lesotho |
the Kingdom of Lesotho |
Liechtenstein |
the Principality of Liechtenstein |
Luxembourg |
the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg |
Monaco |
the Principality of Monaco |
Netherlands |
the Kingdom of the Netherlands |
Norway |
the Kingdom of Norway |
Oman |
the Sultanate of Oman |
Tonga |
the Kingdom of Tonga |
Spain |
the Kingdom of Spain |
Other kingdoms and the like include: Bahrain, Belgium, Bhutan, Denmark, Morocco, Netherlands, Cambodia, Saudi Arabia, Spain, Swaziland, Sweden, Thailand, Tonga. |
|
| OTHERS | |
|---|---|
Other country names with union, united, commonwealth, nation, federation also include the before title. |
|
| COUNTRY | COMMONWEALTH |
Australia |
the Commonwealth of Australia |
The Bahamas |
the Commonwealth of The Bahamas (official) |
Dominica |
the Commonwealth of Dominica |
| FEDERATION / CONFEDERATION | |
Russia |
the Russian Federation |
Saint Kitts and Nevis |
the Federation of Saint Christopher and Nevis |
Switzerland |
the Swiss Confederation |
| UNION | |
the Comoros |
the Union of the Comoros |
——— |
the United Arab Emirates |
| NATION | |
Brunei |
the Nation of Brunei, Abode of Peace |
Bolivia |
the Plurinational State of Bolivia |
Also see Articles w/ Nationality Names (Demonyms).
"Countries: Designations and Abbreviations to Use." Interinstitutional Style Guide, 18 Sep 2018. publications.europa.eu/code/en/en-370100.htm.
Practice
Articles in the Names of Countries
Decide whether to use the with the informal (unofficial) country name.
- Select the response from the list that best completes the sentence.
- Compare your response to the feedback by clicking the "check" button.
Practice 2
Countries & Features
Decide whether an article is needed.
- Select the response from the list that best completes the sentence.
- Compare your response to the feedback by clicking the "check" button.