Blog about English
Usage with home, hospital, prison, school, work, church, sea, town
Usually "home" doesn't require any articles
Honey, I'm home!
Милая, я дома
I arrived home late yesterday
Вчера я добрался домой поздно
I'm at home so you can come by
Я уже дома, поэтому ты можешь заскочить
He felt unwell so I sent him home
Он плохо себя чувствовал, поэтому я отправил его домой
The Vatican is the Pope's home
Ватикан - это дом Папы Римского
If "home" is proceeded or followed by a descriptive word or phrase it is treated like any other noun
After making the down payment they finally moved into their new home
После внесения начального платежа, они наконец-то въехали в свой новый дом
Our history begins at the broom's home
Наша история начинается у жениха дома
Kyiv is the only home I've known. And I'm kind of proud of it
Киев - это мой единственный дом. И я горжусь этим
Public institution and bed if used for their primary purpose don't require any article
to go to bed / to be in bed = to sleep or to rest, to go to church / to be at church = to go there to prey or to listen to a sermon, to go to the hospital / to be in the hospital = to be there as patients, to go to prison / jail / to be in prison / jail = to serve the term, to go to court / to be in court = to be as a witness or a litigant, to go to class / school / college / university = to study there as a student
If these institutions are visited or used for some other reasons, "the" is necessary
Mikhail Krug visited the prison several times, but he himself has never been to prison
Михаил Круг посещал тюрьму несколько раз, хотя сам он ни разу не сидел
Владимирский централ, ветер северный
I went to the church to see its famous stained glass which dates back to the 15th century
Я посетил церковь, чтобы увидить её выдающиеся витражи, датируемые XV веком
W/o any article it means to be on a ship. To go to see = to be a sailor To be at see = to be on a ship as a passenger or a member of the crew
When we are near some of the institutions, use the indefinite article
To go to the sea / to be at the sea / to live by the sea means to be at the seaside
When talking about a specific town or location within the town the definite article is required
"Town" can be used w/o any articles when it is the nearest to the speaker town
"Work" in the meaning of "job" or "employment" doesn't need any article
"Work" in the meaning of "a specific piece of art, literature, or project" requires an article requires the definite article
"to be in office" means to hold an official, usually political, position. "to be out of office" means to be no longer in power