@@MuhammadShahid-xd4ry Go here: book.englishquickfix.com/, enter your email address, and you'll receive it via email (check your spam / trash folder if you don't see it!)
In America we always use "the" with university and hospital. (A dialectal difference here.) In all the other examples given, American and UK usage are identical.
Yeah I was going to say the same thing. You can't say its incorrect when it technically isn't. It may not be how people speak British English but it is correct in regards to American English.
Yes, in North America, this advice sounds very strange. I live in Canada, and the building across the street from me is "the hospital" -- not "hospital". Therefore I would be "in the hospital" if I was a patient there.
@@stevecarson4162 Probably from Scots influence , I suspect. We'd say " he's at the school" when we mean he's old enough to be attending school. " you'll get the jile ( jail) for that " meaning you'll get sent to jail for doing that. See the Billy Conolly song " If It Wisnae Fur Wer Wellies" , where he sings " you'd be in the hospital or infirmaree".
I’ve been teaching ESL for 17 years. When teaching something like “in hospital” versus “in the hospital” you should always acknowledge the difference between different accents or dialects. Characterizing a dialectic variation as “wrong” because it’s not your native dialect is just setting up students for confusion later if they encounter it in a different context.
Absolutely! Saying a dialectical variation or accent variation is "wrong" is also a characteristic of prescriptivism, which is generally looked down upon as being close-minded by most modern linguist anyways. Language shifts and changes, both due to distance and time. If we all spoke "correctly", we'd still be speaking Old English.
Thank you! We all aren't going around speaking in Shakespeare's English, so obviously language changes, dialects diverge, and no one dialect is objectively "correct."
I generally agree that you should take account of regional variations but I can't think of an example of how that applies to "hospital" and "in the hospital". Do you know a country/region where it doesn't apply?
@@grahamjohn3198 In the United States, we almost always put "the" in from of the word hospital. It would be exceedingly rare to hear anyone born and raised here to say, "in hospital". Actually, the same could be said about the example given for "university" as well.
@@Firguy_the_Foot_Fetishist In prison or in jail doesn’t get “the” because prison and jail refer to more of a state of being than specific location. Jailed, imprisoned. But say you were referring to a “jail house” or a “state prison” then you would say in the jail house or in the prison. But you can’t say stuff like factoried or buildinged because those are places not states of being. Hope that makes sense.
Hi Greg, great lesson! I'm 73 and I'm writing from Tuscany Italy. I'm trying to improve my low english level. You speak slowly and clearly so that everyone can understand. You're a great teacher! Thanks a lot
The only exceptions I use in my American dialect are "in the hospital" (sick) vs. "at the hospital" (visiting), and most speakers I know, including myself, drop the definite article before instruments ("I play piano, She's great at playing guitar, etc.).
As far as I'm taught, the definitive article simply means you are referring to a definitive thing (hence the name). Saying "I'm in the hospital" refers to "the" specific hospital you are in/referring to. Conversely, saying you play "the" piano wouldn't make sense as you can (presumably) play all pianos roughly as well. Though I think there are people who use "the" with instruments too, for instance, "she plays the piano and he's our drummer," which in this case you refer to the specific piano in the band
@@dirremoire American English is a dialect of English. Any location-based variation of a language is a dialect, regardless of its speaker population or status in society.
Several people have mentioned that in the U.S. we say "the hospital," but another distinction is not only would we say someone is "in the hospital" if they were a patient, we would say "*at* the hospital" if they were working there or visiting there. We don't typically say someone is in university, we say they're in college, and they go to (which very well may be a university). Some universities have "The" in their name, some do not, but if the first word of the institution's name is "University" we will put a "The" in front of it when referring to it, e.g. I went to the University of Michigan. If I referred to its abbreviated form, I'd say "I went to U of M," not "I went to the U of M." To make things more confusing, here in Minnesota, the University of Minnesota is referred to as "the U." The thing is, these distinctions can be regional. Different states refer to Interstate Highways in different ways. In California, they'll say, "Take the I-5 north out of Los Angeles." In Michigan, we'd say, "I took I-75 south when I drove to Florida." In Minnesota, not only do we omit "the" from the name of the Interstate highway, we skip saying the "I." I took 94 east to go to St. Paul." No one's going to misunderstand you, though!
Texas English Speaker here: We say: He's in the hospital. (He's sick, etc) She's at the hospital. (She's visiting someone, or she works there and is currently there.) We also say: I'm going to the grocery store. But: I'm at Kroger. OR I'm at Walmart. (exception: some people in East Texas say I'm at the Walmart. OR I'm at Walmarts.)
Interesting. As an American and an Anglophile I've often wondered why the Brits say don't use "the" with university or hospital. You've helped me understand this. It still of course sounds very strange to an American ear, but at least I now know why.
Watching British TV and movies from 50 or 60 years ago, the British commonly said, "queue up", as a verb, similar to American, "line up", but more recently many Brits simply say, "queue", even when used as a verb. Grammatically, both might be, "correct" with, "in the hospital" and "in hospital" likely both being grammatically correct as well. I don't think the difference is separately by any grammar rules, but only by common usage.
Hi Greg! I am a taiwanese student trying to improve my English skills recently. Thanks for sharing these useful knowledge so that I can speak more natively.
Thanks for the good clarification Greg. I had no idea how much difference there is in the phrase with the use of THE - 'in THE hospital' and 'in hospital'. Thank you!
Also please keep in mind that this is British English. He’s not taking into consideration other Englishs like American, Canadian, South African, Australian, etc English. I know at least American English uses “in the hospital.” An American English teacher would consider it wrong to say “in hospital” in school. Most adults would assume your British though, I think.
@@Sophie-dd5xr That's because American English isn't even important. It's just a mutation. It shouldn't be used as THE standard for students to learn English. English comes from England. End of. Get over it And if you don't like it, stop speaking mutated English. Start speaking native American. At the end of the day, that's the native language of the lands you freely roam. English is just an invasion force
@@marioluigi9599 That’s like saying Spain Spanish is the best model even though there are more Spanish speakers in the US than Spain, let alone the millions more in the central and south Americas whose dialects and accents are closer to each other than Spain Spanish. What a prick-ish way to think about things. No dialect is better than the other. Knowing the differences in pronunciation and grammar between dialects is key. You’re the one who seems to think there is one superior language dialect which is honestly a heap of bologna.
@@Sophie-dd5xr Of course the Spain Spanish is better. And that's the one that should be taught. If we followed your advice, we'd all be talking in a stupid indian accent because of the billions of Indians in India who speak English. YEAHHHHH, no thanks. I'm thankfully not as libbed out as you are.
@@marioluigi9599 My opinion has nothing to do with political party. That says a lot about you actually. How much you don’t understand about language… I’m a language teacher. My degrees are in education and language. You’re opinions are so wrong, it’s saddening. I hope to god you’re not an educator.
As a native speaker I find this so fascinating. You just don't think about these things but it's so true. If you say 'he's in hospital' you know he's a patient and is staying there. If he's just gone to visit somebody or has gone for an appointment but is coming home, you'd say 'he's at the hospital'. I think you'd say 'at' rather than 'in' although both are correct. 'At' just sounds more normal.
Some exceptions- you can say “I go to the bed in the corner of the room and sit.” Or “once I get to the home of my brother’s family.” Or “I go to the work meeting at 9 a.m.” because those are all instances where one needs “the” to indicate that it is something specific being referred to. You kind of touched on that with the banana thing but the rule can be applied to a lot of the “words you can’t use the with” so, maybe this makes it a little more clear. Also, at least in the USA, we would use the word “the” with school- “the school has a new policy.” “He left the school at 3 p.m.” in the situation you mention it would not be used, but I think that is the exception and not the rule, at least in the USA Another exception is the percent rule. This one is more idiomatic, but a lot of times you hear people make reference to “the one percent,” meaning rich people. A lot of other people mentioned how weird it would be to hear someone in the USA say “I’m in hospital” and that’s probably why a lot of native English speakers such as myself clicked on this video.
Yup. 'In hospital' sounds very strange to me. 'In school' is the only time I can think of where we drop the 'the' (if you are a student), but keeping the 'the' is fine too.
You're right for the most part, but the reason we use "the" in "I go (I'm going?) to the work meeting" is because in this sentence, "work" is an adjective describing the type of meeting. However you could say "the work" as a noun when referring to a specific job, project or time/labour used, for example "the work I did last week".
Extraordinary information, I must listen the lesson for several times to understand the gist of it! Thank you, again and again, that the information that you have delivered to us!
HI Greg!!! I am from Argentina. I studied English for a long time. In any case, your classes are very useful to me. I can always improve and learn something new. I hope I have not made any mistake, I don't want to use translators.😂Thanks.
@@isabelsilviaelola562 Your English is very good. Would you mind a couple friendly suggestions from a native speaker? In your introduction, I would have said "I *have* studied English" since the present perfect suggests that your studies have not completely ended. And second, I think the plural "mistakes" fits that sentence better. I hope you find that helpful--I only offer it as a friend, so I hope you are not offended.
Having studied English in a Catholic School in N.Y. I was taught strict. To be a great orator you must be in control of what you say. You are an educated and knowledgeable young man. (Am 72)
The rules for country names is a lot more complicated. There are some nations made up of many parts that don't use "the", like Indonesia, Micronesia, or Malaysia. There are also a lot of countries that do use it, like The Democratic Republic of the Congo, The Democratic People's Republic of China, The Gambia, The Netherlands, The Czech Republic, The Sudan, The Ivory Coast, The Ukraine, etc. You really just have to know each one as you go.
@@zory6509 It sometimes does, depending on context and source. I think it might be rooted more in the land than the country, but either way. Sudan is very similar in that way.
Countries that are plural like the Philippines and the Netherlands have 'the'. And countries with "kingdom", "republic" or "states" in thei name have 'the'. With these rules you get a long way. Some of African examples have "republic" in their official name, so that could be the reason. Ukraine, as an independent country it is today, is just Ukraine, without 'the'.
I would say the difference in pronunciation of the (/ðə/ and /ði:/) depends on whether it's followed by a vowel sound, rather than just a vowel. I wouldn't say the /ði:/ unicycle.
Thanks for another helpful video Greg. In American English it sounds very British to me to say “taken to hospital.” I think the default in America would be to use the in this situation.
Lol if if you say taken to THE hospital, it means you're talking about a PARTICULAR hospital. You don't say THE when you're just generally talking about someone who fell ill and had to go to hospital. I mean, do you say "I had to go to school" or "I had to go to THE school" if you're a student there? Do you really say "I've got to go to THE work"? Instead of just "work"? That doesn't even make no sense. You only say THE if you're talking about the particular place. "The school I go to", "the place I work at", "the hospital I need to visit". Otherwise you don't say it. "I need to go to school/to work/to hospital".
@@marioluigi9599 In American English, "Grandma is in the hospital" does mean your grandma is ill or hurt, and it does not require the listener to know which hospital you're talking about. This is an exception compared to school or work.
@@marioluigi9599 Not just in (United States of) America. In Canada we say the hospital, and health care is paid for out of our taxes, just like yours in England. If someone is learning English to live in North America, they should ignore that part of the lesson. It's wrong.
I give a big thumbs up to you. Because the articles are existing confusion to most of us. You have cleared up any doubt or confusion about it. I appreciate that. Cheers!
Hi Greg Tks for this video on the usage of "THE". It's quite simple and very informative. Looking forward to having such videos in the near future. Bi from Ananthram until the next video
I have a question that I Hope you can clear up for me... "I'm learning Spanish for filming" is a correct absence of the word the, right? But wouldn't "I'm learning the Spanish for the filming" also be a correct inclusion? And if not then which is right? But if so, well when should one form be used over the other and why are they both able to be right at the same time?
In Gujarati language there is no articles so I always forget to use articles but now i understood it very clearly. Thank you for giving us trick to remember when to use and when not to use. Thank you
Two quick suggestions: First, at 4:55, American usage always includes "the" with hospital, whether the person there is a patient, a visitor, or an employee. Whenever an American hears that someone is "in hospital," we immediately know it's a Brit offering that information. And that brings me to my second observation. I believe the article ("the") is used for places or physical locations, but not for a state of being. So, we would say "he's in bed" because that is his current state of being, but we might say "just lay that clean laundry on the bed" since that's the location or destination of the laundry.
As a southern American saying he is in the bed is correct as well. I grew up learning to use the like that. Your points are good but I got use to the being used the way I did and nobody bats an eye.
@@cartergamegeek Fair enough--the U.S. is so large that regional usages are quite prevalent. Another example is that of lining up. In most of the U.S., when people line up for something, they get in line. In New York City, however, folks often say they get on line (or on the line).
Agree with your pronunciation depending on the first sound (vowel or constanant) of the next word, except for when you want to emphasise that something is literally "THE x", for example, "THE most common cause of death". "The" is already singular/a definite article, but pronouncing it louder and with the "thee" instead of the "thuh" (sorry don't know the alt codes for the fancy phoenetic characters you use) is used to emphasise it really is "the one". Using "the" is, put simply, used when there is only one (but could be more). It's a definite article. "The summer of 2021" is referencing a specific, singular summer. "Summer" refers to summers of any particular year. It's the plurality or lack thereof that is important. When you say, "the Greg" doesn't make sense, it's because you assume the person you're speaking to already knows of the singularity, so you may say, "the Greg we both know" as opposed to "my friend Greg" or "your friend Greg", or, "Greg from high school" (if there was only one Greg from high school so the singularity is assumed by the words that come afterwards). Re nouns, again, it's about plurality or lack thereof. For "I go to bed", the particular bed I go to is irrelevant because it's about the action, not the specific bed. For "I go to work", the work is irrelevant, again, because it's about the action, not the specific job. If I worked multiple jobs, and I wanted to specify which job I was going to work at, I may say, "I go to the office job at 9am but to Domino's at 7pm" (e.g. you work a day job in an office but then do pizza delivery at night). If you only have one office job, you could also say "my" instead of "the". This is as far as I got before I decided my post is long enough, so if you cover the above later in the video (up to 4:06), sorry. :)
A few exceptions: In US usage, we never say "in hospital" it's always "in the hospital" if you're a patient. If you're visiting or work there, it's generally "at the hospital." The Dominican Republic is not made of many parts like the US and the UK but it still gets "the." Mountains generally don't get "the" but The Matterhorn is the exception.
In America, if we are talking about a particular type of build, we will say 'the building'. I'm in the hospital. I'm in the office. Though, we would say we are 'in school' if we are a student, but it would be 'I'm in the school' if we are there outside of a learning context, like going to a school play. So it seems we only drop the 'the' if we are referring to a state of being rather than a particular building.
I haven't watched the vid yet, but I remember that about 50 yrs ago we were taught "In hospital - when the institution is meant, in the hospital - when the building is meant." Now I'm very curious what you will be saying. In movies, I've never heard anyone say "in hospital". Maybe that's because I watch mainly American movies. Now I'mna watch the vid. 😘
He's wrong about 'thuh' vs 'thee". For example, the hour should be pronounced 'thee' hour although h is a consonant. Proper rule is that 'thee' is used before a vowel sound (key part: sound).
Hi Greg, I thought that we could use the prepositions 'in' or 'at' to know whether a person is ill or just visiting someone. I'm at the hospital=I'm visiting someone I'm in the hospital= I'm ill Could you please clarify this? Many thanks. Cheers!
Hi Cathy. Sure... ✅ I'm at the hospital = I'm visiting someone ✅ I'm in the hospital = I'm visiting someone (specifying 'inside the building') ✅ I'm in hospital = I'm ill ❌ I'm at hospital = incorrect
Cathy, what you described is exactly how it works in American English. We don’t say “in hospital.” Just as you said in your example: In the hospital = you are a patient At the hospital = you are just there visiting or doing something else and you are NOT a patient. So if you’ve studied American English or your teacher was American, that’s probably why you had that understanding.
I came across this interesting video by chance. How DO foreigners master English? I continue to be amazed how fluently some people speak our language. Recently, for instance, TV reporters in the depth of Ukraine or even Afghanistan encounter locals who speak English effortlessly. Is the language relatively easy to learn? I speak several latin-based languages but once tried Hungarian; I gave up.
14:39 you pronounced "the" with an intonation that is used if "the" stands before a vowel (you taught it before), but in this case after "the" there is a consonant "twenty first, - T", why such intonation?
Very informative. I like the way you move your eyebrows to show how the English language is logical with specific orders, giving me a strong impression so that it's easy to remember. Thank you!
I was taught - and you mention it as well when talking about a specific thing, but not as an exception when talking about names - that you can use "the" also in certain cases with names of specific persons, like in: A: "Today I saw Amanda kissing with Greg." B: "The Greg?" (as in "That Greg") Is this correct? A small feedback: when talking about two ways how to pronounce "the" I was missing an example like "the universe" - which many people pronounce as of it started with a vowel - but actually it is pronounced with a consonant at the beginning. Thank you for this lesson.
Hi folks 👋🏻 Leave a comment using one of the rules in today’s lesson ⤵️
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With "bed" and "prison", " "hospital" there are examples where you must use "the" - the blanket is on the bed, and etc
Sir Greg how can I download this book .
@@MuhammadShahid-xd4ry Go here: book.englishquickfix.com/, enter your email address, and you'll receive it via email (check your spam / trash folder if you don't see it!)
Thank you 👍
Hi sir Greg. Im just confused with the " I wish i was in bed".. Should we really use "IN" for bed?
In America we always use "the" with university and hospital. (A dialectal difference here.) In all the other examples given, American and UK usage are identical.
Yeah I was going to say the same thing. You can't say its incorrect when it technically isn't. It may not be how people speak British English but it is correct in regards to American English.
I was thinking the same thing. 'In hospital' sounds wrong to me upon first hearing.
Yes, in North America, this advice sounds very strange. I live in Canada, and the building across the street from me is "the hospital" -- not "hospital". Therefore I would be "in the hospital" if I was a patient there.
that explains why it sounded strange to me at first
@@stevecarson4162 Probably from Scots influence , I suspect. We'd say " he's at the school" when we mean he's old enough to be attending school. " you'll get the jile ( jail) for that " meaning you'll get sent to jail for doing that. See the Billy Conolly song " If It Wisnae Fur Wer Wellies" , where he sings " you'd be in the hospital or infirmaree".
I’ve been teaching ESL for 17 years. When teaching something like “in hospital” versus “in the hospital” you should always acknowledge the difference between different accents or dialects. Characterizing a dialectic variation as “wrong” because it’s not your native dialect is just setting up students for confusion later if they encounter it in a different context.
Absolutely! Saying a dialectical variation or accent variation is "wrong" is also a characteristic of prescriptivism, which is generally looked down upon as being close-minded by most modern linguist anyways. Language shifts and changes, both due to distance and time. If we all spoke "correctly", we'd still be speaking Old English.
Also an ESL teacher and completely agree.
Thank you! We all aren't going around speaking in Shakespeare's English, so obviously language changes, dialects diverge, and no one dialect is objectively "correct."
I generally agree that you should take account of regional variations but I can't think of an example of how that applies to "hospital" and "in the hospital". Do you know a country/region where it doesn't apply?
@@grahamjohn3198 In the United States, we almost always put "the" in from of the word hospital. It would be exceedingly rare to hear anyone born and raised here to say, "in hospital". Actually, the same could be said about the example given for "university" as well.
"In THE hospital" is correct in American English. The British usage sounds extremely odd to Americans.
Yeah in the US any building gets "the"
@@Trifler500 Except for when we say somebody is "in prison" or "in jail"
@@Firguy_the_Foot_Fetishist
In prison or in jail doesn’t get “the” because prison and jail refer to more of a state of being than specific location. Jailed, imprisoned. But say you were referring to a “jail house” or a “state prison” then you would say in the jail house or in the prison. But you can’t say stuff like factoried or buildinged because those are places not states of being. Hope that makes sense.
@@Firguy_the_Foot_Fetishist True, but if we're talking about a specific prison or jail we do sometimes add "the"
@@Firguy_the_Foot_Fetishist In the slammer. In hell, not in the hell.
Hi Greg, great lesson! I'm 73 and I'm writing from Tuscany Italy. I'm trying to improve my low english level. You speak slowly and clearly so that everyone can understand. You're a great teacher! Thanks a lot
'English', not 'english'. I'm trying to improve my poor level of English... or low level of English proficiency.
Why do you need to improve your English at that age
Grande!!!!!
The only exceptions I use in my American dialect are "in the hospital" (sick) vs. "at the hospital" (visiting), and most speakers I know, including myself, drop the definite article before instruments ("I play piano, She's great at playing guitar, etc.).
As far as I'm taught, the definitive article simply means you are referring to a definitive thing (hence the name). Saying "I'm in the hospital" refers to "the" specific hospital you are in/referring to. Conversely, saying you play "the" piano wouldn't make sense as you can (presumably) play all pianos roughly as well. Though I think there are people who use "the" with instruments too, for instance, "she plays the piano and he's our drummer," which in this case you refer to the specific piano in the band
Americans in general don't use "Thee"
American English isn't a dialect of anything. It's just American English.
@@dirremoire are you an american, perchance?
@@dirremoire American English is a dialect of English. Any location-based variation of a language is a dialect, regardless of its speaker population or status in society.
Several people have mentioned that in the U.S. we say "the hospital," but another distinction is not only would we say someone is "in the hospital" if they were a patient, we would say "*at* the hospital" if they were working there or visiting there. We don't typically say someone is in university, we say they're in college, and they go to (which very well may be a university). Some universities have "The" in their name, some do not, but if the first word of the institution's name is "University" we will put a "The" in front of it when referring to it, e.g. I went to the University of Michigan. If I referred to its abbreviated form, I'd say "I went to U of M," not "I went to the U of M." To make things more confusing, here in Minnesota, the University of Minnesota is referred to as "the U." The thing is, these distinctions can be regional. Different states refer to Interstate Highways in different ways. In California, they'll say, "Take the I-5 north out of Los Angeles." In Michigan, we'd say, "I took I-75 south when I drove to Florida." In Minnesota, not only do we omit "the" from the name of the Interstate highway, we skip saying the "I." I took 94 east to go to St. Paul." No one's going to misunderstand you, though!
Texas English Speaker here: We say: He's in the hospital. (He's sick, etc) She's at the hospital. (She's visiting someone, or she works there and is currently there.) We also say: I'm going to the grocery store. But: I'm at Kroger. OR I'm at Walmart. (exception: some people in East Texas say I'm at the Walmart. OR I'm at Walmarts.)
Interesting. As an American and an Anglophile I've often wondered why the Brits say don't use "the" with university or hospital. You've helped me understand this. It still of course sounds very strange to an American ear, but at least I now know why.
As US, we commonly use 'the' for cases of 'hospital' and 'university' in either of the examples.
A very useful and well explained lesson! Thanks Greg!
I wish you good health for your baby, I'm so very sorry. I will pray for her! A strong strong hug!
among several good english professors, you are one of the best. I love your style of teaching
Watching British TV and movies from 50 or 60 years ago, the British commonly said, "queue up", as a verb, similar to American, "line up", but more recently many Brits simply say, "queue", even when used as a verb. Grammatically, both might be, "correct" with, "in the hospital" and "in hospital" likely both being grammatically correct as well. I don't think the difference is separately by any grammar rules, but only by common usage.
Oh my gosh!!! Thanks a lot about your great lesson my amazing teacher keep up the good work!!!! I have understood more from your lessons
Hi Greg! I am a taiwanese student trying to improve my English skills recently. Thanks for sharing these useful knowledge so that I can speak more natively.
Thanks for the good clarification Greg. I had no idea how much difference there is in the phrase with the use of THE - 'in THE hospital' and 'in hospital'. Thank you!
Also please keep in mind that this is British English. He’s not taking into consideration other Englishs like American, Canadian, South African, Australian, etc English. I know at least American English uses “in the hospital.” An American English teacher would consider it wrong to say “in hospital” in school. Most adults would assume your British though, I think.
@@Sophie-dd5xr That's because American English isn't even important. It's just a mutation. It shouldn't be used as THE standard for students to learn English. English comes from England. End of. Get over it
And if you don't like it, stop speaking mutated English. Start speaking native American. At the end of the day, that's the native language of the lands you freely roam. English is just an invasion force
@@marioluigi9599 That’s like saying Spain Spanish is the best model even though there are more Spanish speakers in the US than Spain, let alone the millions more in the central and south Americas whose dialects and accents are closer to each other than Spain Spanish.
What a prick-ish way to think about things. No dialect is better than the other. Knowing the differences in pronunciation and grammar between dialects is key. You’re the one who seems to think there is one superior language dialect which is honestly a heap of bologna.
@@Sophie-dd5xr Of course the Spain Spanish is better. And that's the one that should be taught. If we followed your advice, we'd all be talking in a stupid indian accent because of the billions of Indians in India who speak English. YEAHHHHH, no thanks. I'm thankfully not as libbed out as you are.
@@marioluigi9599 My opinion has nothing to do with political party. That says a lot about you actually. How much you don’t understand about language… I’m a language teacher. My degrees are in education and language. You’re opinions are so wrong, it’s saddening. I hope to god you’re not an educator.
As a native speaker I find this so fascinating. You just don't think about these things but it's so true. If you say 'he's in hospital' you know he's a patient and is staying there. If he's just gone to visit somebody or has gone for an appointment but is coming home, you'd say 'he's at the hospital'. I think you'd say 'at' rather than 'in' although both are correct. 'At' just sounds more normal.
Some exceptions- you can say “I go to the bed in the corner of the room and sit.” Or “once I get to the home of my brother’s family.” Or “I go to the work meeting at 9 a.m.” because those are all instances where one needs “the” to indicate that it is something specific being referred to. You kind of touched on that with the banana thing but the rule can be applied to a lot of the “words you can’t use the with” so, maybe this makes it a little more clear.
Also, at least in the USA, we would use the word “the” with school- “the school has a new policy.” “He left the school at 3 p.m.” in the situation you mention it would not be used, but I think that is the exception and not the rule, at least in the USA
Another exception is the percent rule. This one is more idiomatic, but a lot of times you hear people make reference to “the one percent,” meaning rich people.
A lot of other people mentioned how weird it would be to hear someone in the USA say “I’m in hospital” and that’s probably why a lot of native English speakers such as myself clicked on this video.
Yup. 'In hospital' sounds very strange to me. 'In school' is the only time I can think of where we drop the 'the' (if you are a student), but keeping the 'the' is fine too.
Well, it looks like there are contexts where (almost?) all "wrong" cases are correct.
You're right for the most part, but the reason we use "the" in "I go (I'm going?) to the work meeting" is because in this sentence, "work" is an adjective describing the type of meeting. However you could say "the work" as a noun when referring to a specific job, project or time/labour used, for example "the work I did last week".
Extraordinary information, I must listen the lesson for several times to understand the gist of it! Thank you, again and again, that the information that you have delivered to us!
Glad you enjoyed it, Engin! 😀
HI Greg!!! I am from Argentina. I studied English for a long time. In any case, your classes are very useful to me. I can always improve and learn something new.
I hope I have not made any mistake, I don't want to use translators.😂Thanks.
It's always better to use your brain and make mistakes than to use a translator! 😀
@@EnglishWithGreg Hi Greg!!! I completely agree with you, I 'm using my brain. I made a joke about using a translator... I swear!!! 😄Thanks!!!!
@@isabelsilviaelola562 Your English is very good. Would you mind a couple friendly suggestions from a native speaker? In your introduction, I would have said "I *have* studied English" since the present perfect suggests that your studies have not completely ended. And second, I think the plural "mistakes" fits that sentence better. I hope you find that helpful--I only offer it as a friend, so I hope you are not offended.
@@ajs11201 Hi!!! Your suggestions are very helpful to me. They don´t bother me at all. I am trying to improve my English. Thanks!!!
@@isabelsilviaelola562
I'm ao glad. Thanks for your friendly reply.
No doubt, how useful and practical this lesson is, Greg. Thank you.
I wish that your daughter get recover, and both of you come back home very soon.
Sir, you are a great teacher I have ever met on TH-cam! Thumb up!
Having studied English in a Catholic School in N.Y. I was taught strict.
To be a great orator you must be in control of what you say.
You are an educated and knowledgeable young man. (Am 72)
The rules for country names is a lot more complicated. There are some nations made up of many parts that don't use "the", like Indonesia, Micronesia, or Malaysia. There are also a lot of countries that do use it, like The Democratic Republic of the Congo, The Democratic People's Republic of China, The Gambia, The Netherlands, The Czech Republic, The Sudan, The Ivory Coast, The Ukraine, etc. You really just have to know each one as you go.
Ukraine does not use the. Have no idea why people think it does.
@@zory6509 It sometimes does, depending on context and source. I think it might be rooted more in the land than the country, but either way. Sudan is very similar in that way.
Countries that are plural like the Philippines and the Netherlands have 'the'. And countries with "kingdom", "republic" or "states" in thei name have 'the'. With these rules you get a long way. Some of African examples have "republic" in their official name, so that could be the reason. Ukraine, as an independent country it is today, is just Ukraine, without 'the'.
The Ukraine is because it used to be seen as a region in the USSR. It's sovereign now, so using 'the' is kind of an insult to their sovereignty.
@@willjapheth23789 The territory was called Ukraine before the USSR. I would agree that it is a bit antiquated though.
I would say the difference in pronunciation of the (/ðə/ and /ði:/) depends on whether it's followed by a vowel sound, rather than just a vowel. I wouldn't say the /ði:/ unicycle.
Thanks for another helpful video Greg. In American English it sounds very British to me to say “taken to hospital.” I think the default in America would be to use the in this situation.
Lol if if you say taken to THE hospital, it means you're talking about a PARTICULAR hospital. You don't say THE when you're just generally talking about someone who fell ill and had to go to hospital.
I mean, do you say "I had to go to school" or "I had to go to THE school" if you're a student there? Do you really say "I've got to go to THE work"? Instead of just "work"? That doesn't even make no sense.
You only say THE if you're talking about the particular place. "The school I go to", "the place I work at", "the hospital I need to visit". Otherwise you don't say it. "I need to go to school/to work/to hospital".
@@marioluigi9599 In American English, "Grandma is in the hospital" does mean your grandma is ill or hurt, and it does not require the listener to know which hospital you're talking about. This is an exception compared to school or work.
@@dylansalus9159 Well that's just in America and it's probably because you have to pay for health care. Lol
The place being particular may be implied from the context.
@@marioluigi9599 Not just in (United States of) America. In Canada we say the hospital, and health care is paid for out of our taxes, just like yours in England. If someone is learning English to live in North America, they should ignore that part of the lesson. It's wrong.
I’m a native English speaker. I got half way through this video and thought if I was learning English as a second language I’d be giving up about now.
Wow 😮 I have never heard such captivating and understandable explanation about "the"🎉 Thanks a lot, Greg ❤
We like your lessons,,you speak clear and slowly ,that is good for learners,,,,,thanks.
Your lesson is impressive and so helpful. Thanks.
Thanks bro gotta clear understanding now on how to use these words.
I give a big thumbs up to you. Because the articles are existing confusion to most of us. You have cleared up any doubt or confusion about it. I appreciate that. Cheers!
thank you🙂. Your lesons is awesome
Hey Greg. What the great video of yours. The video helped me in the understanding of the English language. You are a best.
Thank you so much Greg...you are a great teacher!
Thanks for the fast feedback!! Cheers and keep making those great videos!!
Very useful video, I always struggled with the usage of "the".
Thank you very much for this class.
In the Germany we have 16 federal states. Like Bavaria, Saxony, Berlin etc. ;-)
I loved this lesson, it’ll help me to improve to communicate better.
Hi Greg
Tks for this video on the usage of "THE". It's quite simple and very informative. Looking forward to having such videos in the near future.
Bi from Ananthram until the next video
Thank you for these important explanation.
I like your teaching. Professional and clear.
Thank you for your free books, i learned a lot of things in your books. Thank you
Thanks Greg, very useful information as I'm very confused using the word "THE"
Super clearly explained!
I have a question that I Hope you can clear up for me... "I'm learning Spanish for filming" is a correct absence of the word the, right? But wouldn't "I'm learning the Spanish for the filming" also be a correct inclusion? And if not then which is right? But if so, well when should one form be used over the other and why are they both able to be right at the same time?
In Gujarati language there is no articles so I always forget to use articles but now i understood it very clearly. Thank you for giving us trick to remember when to use and when not to use. Thank you
Useful video!Thanks!
You are the best teacher! Thank you.
Great video again. Thanks a lot, Greg. I've shared the video with my students right away, who are really confused about the topic. 😊
Two quick suggestions: First, at 4:55, American usage always includes "the" with hospital, whether the person there is a patient, a visitor, or an employee. Whenever an American hears that someone is "in hospital," we immediately know it's a Brit offering that information. And that brings me to my second observation. I believe the article ("the") is used for places or physical locations, but not for a state of being. So, we would say "he's in bed" because that is his current state of being, but we might say "just lay that clean laundry on the bed" since that's the location or destination of the laundry.
As a southern American saying he is in the bed is correct as well. I grew up learning to use the like that. Your points are good but I got use to the being used the way I did and nobody bats an eye.
@@cartergamegeek Fair enough--the U.S. is so large that regional usages are quite prevalent. Another example is that of lining up. In most of the U.S., when people line up for something, they get in line. In New York City, however, folks often say they get on line (or on the line).
Canadian English is essentially identical to American English in this respect.
I’m from the USA and I never say in hospital. If you’re in the hospital you have a health problem. If you’re at the hospital, you’re visiting.
Thank you Greg for the lesson.
Hi Greg!
I'm from Roumanie.I'm writing to you from the first time.I hope I do well !😮
After a few videos.. I'm sold lol.. I subscribe
Very good explanation.
The great lesson!!! Thanks a lot, Greg!
IN german we Call the an "artikel" and its your choice if you use an "article" or not. Sometime it sounds weared bit its legal.
Pretty concise and precise. Thank you. 🙏🏻
blanquita me gustas...
Agree with your pronunciation depending on the first sound (vowel or constanant) of the next word, except for when you want to emphasise that something is literally "THE x", for example, "THE most common cause of death". "The" is already singular/a definite article, but pronouncing it louder and with the "thee" instead of the "thuh" (sorry don't know the alt codes for the fancy phoenetic characters you use) is used to emphasise it really is "the one".
Using "the" is, put simply, used when there is only one (but could be more). It's a definite article. "The summer of 2021" is referencing a specific, singular summer. "Summer" refers to summers of any particular year. It's the plurality or lack thereof that is important. When you say, "the Greg" doesn't make sense, it's because you assume the person you're speaking to already knows of the singularity, so you may say, "the Greg we both know" as opposed to "my friend Greg" or "your friend Greg", or, "Greg from high school" (if there was only one Greg from high school so the singularity is assumed by the words that come afterwards).
Re nouns, again, it's about plurality or lack thereof. For "I go to bed", the particular bed I go to is irrelevant because it's about the action, not the specific bed. For "I go to work", the work is irrelevant, again, because it's about the action, not the specific job. If I worked multiple jobs, and I wanted to specify which job I was going to work at, I may say, "I go to the office job at 9am but to Domino's at 7pm" (e.g. you work a day job in an office but then do pizza delivery at night). If you only have one office job, you could also say "my" instead of "the".
This is as far as I got before I decided my post is long enough, so if you cover the above later in the video (up to 4:06), sorry. :)
A few exceptions: In US usage, we never say "in hospital" it's always "in the hospital" if you're a patient. If you're visiting or work there, it's generally "at the hospital." The Dominican Republic is not made of many parts like the US and the UK but it still gets "the." Mountains generally don't get "the" but The Matterhorn is the exception.
Very useful video. I wish I have seen it earlier. Thank you so much
I remember" the early bird catches the world " ! and " comes the sun" from the Beatles. btw. u are a great teacher ! thank u
Thanks ! you're THE teacher !
Very nice video...!👏👏 Greetings from Brazil...!!
I'm so thankful for this lesson
In America, if we are talking about a particular type of build, we will say 'the building'. I'm in the hospital. I'm in the office. Though, we would say we are 'in school' if we are a student, but it would be 'I'm in the school' if we are there outside of a learning context, like going to a school play. So it seems we only drop the 'the' if we are referring to a state of being rather than a particular building.
Hi Greg,
I really enjoy watching you clear and precise explanations about grammar challenges.
I wish you all the best.
Miodrag
2:39 should not there be a comma since theyre two independent clauses?
He's THE CHAD I knew back in high school!!
Specific 👌🏼
Great lesson!😊
Thanks you Mr Craig..
How to get the soft file your book.
You are fantastic!
😁😁so many things to remember! Thank you Greg😊
In American english, it's "at" vs "in" that differentiates usage of "hospital". "In the hospital", vs "at the hospital". "The" is always used.
Awesome video Greg
Keep it up
Thanks for your useful video,mate.
Interesting and useful lesson, great video i thank you a lot teacher Greg 👍
You’re welcome, Nadiya 😀
I found it very educative and informative. You are, indeed, a graat teacher.
Greg, you are excellent! Thanks for this video!
I haven't watched the vid yet, but I remember that about 50 yrs ago we were taught "In hospital - when the institution is meant, in the hospital - when the building is meant." Now I'm very curious what you will be saying. In movies, I've never heard anyone say "in hospital". Maybe that's because I watch mainly American movies. Now I'mna watch the vid. 😘
Yep, Americans always say “in the hospital.” It sounds funny to my American ears not to use “the.”
Great content . Sorry followed the link to download the booklet
but cannot receive it
He's wrong about 'thuh' vs 'thee". For example, the hour should be pronounced 'thee' hour although h is a consonant. Proper rule is that 'thee' is used before a vowel sound (key part: sound).
Thanks for your sharing
Helpful lesson! In addition, it would be good to see why we need to use 'the'
Wonderful. Teacher Greg is THE best!
Extremely useful thank you
Hi Greg, I thought that we could use the prepositions 'in' or 'at' to know whether a person is ill or just visiting someone.
I'm at the hospital=I'm visiting someone
I'm in the hospital= I'm ill
Could you please clarify this?
Many thanks.
Cheers!
Hi Cathy. Sure...
✅ I'm at the hospital = I'm visiting someone
✅ I'm in the hospital = I'm visiting someone (specifying 'inside the building')
✅ I'm in hospital = I'm ill
❌ I'm at hospital = incorrect
@@EnglishWithGreg thanks a million Greg, that's very helpful!
Cathy, what you described is exactly how it works in American English. We don’t say “in hospital.”
Just as you said in your example:
In the hospital = you are a patient
At the hospital = you are just there visiting or doing something else and you are NOT a patient.
So if you’ve studied American English or your teacher was American, that’s probably why you had that understanding.
@@Eddster25many thanks for your comment ! that makes everything clear 👍 I'm not confused any more 😉 are you from the US?
Yes, I’m from the US.
Hi Greg, very good explained !! What you are explaining in your videos is a very good thing becase, not many teachers give this very specific topic
Just keep in mind he's wrong in the US.
OMG can you do one on Good and Well, or A or AN. So many people dont seem to know the difference
Very useful explanation. Thanks.
I came across this interesting video by chance. How DO foreigners master English? I continue to be amazed how fluently some people speak our language. Recently, for instance, TV reporters in the depth of Ukraine or even Afghanistan encounter locals who speak English effortlessly. Is the language relatively easy to learn? I speak several latin-based languages but once tried Hungarian; I gave up.
English is a few up hill battles that if you get over them it was not to bad.
Hello from Boston and a fellow English teacher on TH-cam 😊
14:39 you pronounced "the" with an intonation that is used if "the" stands before a vowel (you taught it before), but in this case after "the" there is a consonant "twenty first, - T", why such intonation?
Thank you Greg,
very good explanation.
👏thaaank you!👌
Very informative. I like the way you move your eyebrows to show how the English language is logical with specific orders, giving me a strong impression so that it's easy to remember. Thank you!
Very useful! Thanks A lot Greg
I was taught - and you mention it as well when talking about a specific thing, but not as an exception when talking about names - that you can use "the" also in certain cases with names of specific persons, like in:
A: "Today I saw Amanda kissing with Greg."
B: "The Greg?" (as in "That Greg")
Is this correct?
A small feedback: when talking about two ways how to pronounce "the" I was missing an example like "the universe" - which many people pronounce as of it started with a vowel - but actually it is pronounced with a consonant at the beginning.
Thank you for this lesson.