If I want to write the name of a region like "(the) Middle East" or "(the) Northern Africa", do I have to put the definite article in front of that? Is there a general rule?
Thank you.
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2I would say "the Middle East" and not "the Northern Africa" and I don't know why I use "the" in one case and not the other!– djnaApr 25 at 5:19
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2Does this answer your question? The usage of the articles 'a' and 'the' for describing natural things– MarcInManhattanApr 25 at 6:26
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"The Middle East" is not a determiner for "the East", but "Northern Africa" is a region of what we otherwise call "Africa" (and not "The Africa").– JoachimApr 25 at 9:20
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1 Answer
I am speculating here.
I also say "the East Midlands" and not "the West Yorkshire" when referring to regions in England. That leads me to note that we say "the Midlands" and not "the Yorkshire".
So I speculate that the difference is that Africa and Yorkshire are formal names and we don't use "the" with formal names. We don't say
the David
we do say
the young man
East and Midlands are descriptive terms that have become nouns.
