# Hey Brits - Where's the The? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [August 17, 2001, 12:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hey-brits-wheres-the-the/76714 "2001-08-17T12:46:50Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![ZipperJJ](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/zipperjj/32/211_2.png) [@ZipperJJ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ZipperJJ)\ **Post date:** [August 17, 2001, 12:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hey-brits-wheres-the-the/76714/1 "2001-08-17T12:46:50Z")
This is a question for our British and perhaps Australian friends. I’ve noticed, through the viewing of many British comedies and movies, that the article “the” is left out of sentences a lot, usually when saying things like “Timmy got hit by a car so we had to take him to hospital” and “Got to get up early to be at mill by starting time.” I notice it most with the word “hospital” but is it more common than I think? Or, is it just with “hospital”? “What’s deal” with that? ---
**Author:** ![Andy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/aeb1de/32.png) [@Andy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Andy)\ **Post date:** [August 17, 2001, 12:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hey-brits-wheres-the-the/76714/2 "2001-08-17T12:49:51Z")
It is there, but it’s just hard to pick up. In the north particularly, it can vary between a very hard T “I’m off T’pub” to something more like a glottal stop. I’m no linguist though so this could be a really crap explanation. ---
**Author:** ![Andy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/aeb1de/32.png) [@Andy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Andy)\ **Post date:** [August 17, 2001, 12:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hey-brits-wheres-the-the/76714/3 "2001-08-17T12:55:34Z")
For one moment I thought the title referred to those miserable bastards The The. :eek: ---
**Author:** ![Barbarian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e19adc/32.png) [@Barbarian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Barbarian)\ **Post date:** [August 17, 2001, 1:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hey-brits-wheres-the-the/76714/4 "2001-08-17T13:01:12Z")
It’s not just Brits. In Canada (particularly in newscasts) we never say ‘the hospital’ unless we’re referring to a _specific_ hospital. If Timmy’s going to one of the 5 hospitals in town, he’s going to hospital. If he’s at the Children’s, we’ll say that. ---
**Author:** ![London\_Calling](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/49beb7/32.png) [@London\_Calling](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/London_Calling)\ **Post date:** [August 17, 2001, 1:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hey-brits-wheres-the-the/76714/5 "2001-08-17T13:05:12Z")
Not sure if that’s right, Andy. A lot of people say: “I’m going to hospital” around these here parts. Actually, I think I might. However, it’s perfectly possible I could include the ‘the’. Odd. It’s a good question. I’m not a grammar queen but it strikes me that either form is legitimate. Is _not_ using the ‘the’ a colloquialism ?. Lets see if anyone else pipes up… **Barbarian** , you might well be on the right track. And hands off Matt Johnson! ‘Dusk’ was pretty damn fine 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Post date:** [August 17, 2001, 1:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hey-brits-wheres-the-the/76714/6 "2001-08-17T13:05:46Z")
the ‘t’ as in “I’m going down t’pub” is a northern English thing and by no means universal in Britain. As regards the OP, do you say “I’m taking the kids to **the** school” ? - I thought not. ---
**Author:** ![ZipperJJ](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/zipperjj/32/211_2.png) [@ZipperJJ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ZipperJJ)\ **Post date:** [August 17, 2001, 1:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hey-brits-wheres-the-the/76714/7 "2001-08-17T13:09:02Z")
Okay so we don’t say “the school” so is that the same as saying “hospital” (without the “the”) or is that more like saying “going to dinner”? I’m not accusing here, just asking 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Post date:** [August 17, 2001, 1:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hey-brits-wheres-the-the/76714/8 "2001-08-17T13:09:22Z")
In other words, school or hospital becomes descriptive of the function rather than the place. There’s a similar ont that works the other way around; Americans often seem to say “a couple boxes of nails”, whereas Brits usually say “a couple **of** boxes of nails” ---
**Author:** ![TheLoadedDog](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/35a633/32.png) [@TheLoadedDog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TheLoadedDog)\ **Post date:** [August 17, 2001, 1:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hey-brits-wheres-the-the/76714/9 "2001-08-17T13:12:25Z")
Being Australian, and used to this, I find the American usage of “the hospital” sounds odd to my ears. In Australia, and the UK, if you “go to hospital”, that means you are going to be admitted as a patient. If you “go to the hospital”, it could be because you work there, or you are visiting somebody: “Timmy went to hospital, so I’m going to _the_ hospital to visit him”. This provides a useful distinction. The same applies to words like “court” and “church”: “going to church” means you are attending a service, and “Going to _the_ church” means you could be there for any other reason. The dropping of “the” in front of the word “mill” is a different thing. That’s merely part of a local dialect in parts of England, and doesn’t provide any clue of the speaker’s reason for going to the mill. ---
**Author:** ![ZipperJJ](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/zipperjj/32/211_2.png) [@ZipperJJ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ZipperJJ)\ **Post date:** [August 17, 2001, 1:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hey-brits-wheres-the-the/76714/10 "2001-08-17T13:12:50Z")
> [@](#): > > Americans often seem to say “a couple boxes of nails”, whereas Brits usually say “a couple of boxes of nails” As an American, that seems like bad grammar and/or laziness on our part. If I were copy editing that sentence, I would surely add the “of.” You’d be surprised how often I _do_ have to copy edit things like that because people like to write like they speak. ---
**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Post date:** [August 17, 2001, 1:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hey-brits-wheres-the-the/76714/11 "2001-08-17T13:18:08Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by TheLoadedDog \* > \*\*Being Australian, and used to this, I find the American usage of “the hospital” sounds odd to my ears. In Australia, and the UK, if you “go to hospital”, that means you are going to be admitted as a patient. If you “go to the hospital”, it could be because you work there, or you are visiting somebody: “Timmy went to hospital, so I’m going to _the_ hospital to visit him”. This provides a useful distinction. The same applies to words like “court” and “church”: “going to church” means you are attending a service, and “Going to _the_ church” means you could be there for any other reason. \*\* I’d say that about sums it up; function vs place, although it’s not a strict distinction by any means. ---
**Author:** ![Tinker\_Grey](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tinker_grey/32/8136_2.png) [@Tinker\_Grey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tinker_Grey)\ **Post date:** [August 17, 2001, 3:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hey-brits-wheres-the-the/76714/12 "2001-08-17T15:20:04Z")
What about “I am getting a coffee” v. “I am getting a _cup of_ coffee”? I always use the latter. Tinker ---
**Author:** ![Johanna](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johanna/32/8318_2.png) [@Johanna](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johanna)\ **Post date:** [August 17, 2001, 3:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hey-brits-wheres-the-the/76714/13 "2001-08-17T15:52:20Z")
I used to drink lattes too but now prefer black coffee. What’s that? Oh… Never mind. ---
**Author:** ![Danimal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/bb73d2/32.png) [@Danimal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Danimal)\ **Post date:** [August 17, 2001, 4:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hey-brits-wheres-the-the/76714/14 "2001-08-17T16:04:59Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Mangetout \* > \*\*As regards the OP, do you say “I’m taking the kids to **the** school” ? \*\* We also generally “go to church” rather than “go to the church.” ---
**Author:** ![Chez\_Guevara](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/aeb1de/32.png) [@Chez\_Guevara](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chez_Guevara)\ **Post date:** [August 17, 2001, 4:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hey-brits-wheres-the-the/76714/15 "2001-08-17T16:14:29Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by ZipperJJ \* > **I’ve noticed, through the viewing of many British comedies and movies, that the article “the” is left out of sentences a lot, usually when saying things like “Timmy got hit by a car so we had to take him to hospital” and "Got to get up early to be at mill by starting time."** Do hospital scenes feature that much in British comedies? Maybe our sense of humour is getting sicker. ---
**Author:** ![Biggirl](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/biggirl/32/3294_2.png) [@Biggirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Biggirl)\ **Post date:** [August 17, 2001, 4:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hey-brits-wheres-the-the/76714/16 "2001-08-17T16:51:02Z")
I also read a lot of “in future.” Around these parts we say “in the future.” This isn’t a distinction of function, is it? As for the “box of” something, I too think it’s a combination of lazy speaking and, in NY anyway, the slurring of words. “A box of nails” becomes “Bocksa nails” with the “of” still present but barely audible. ---
**Author:** ![Rayne\_Man](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/df705f/32.png) [@Rayne\_Man](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rayne_Man)\ **Post date:** [August 17, 2001, 6:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hey-brits-wheres-the-the/76714/17 "2001-08-17T18:27:22Z")
Another difference :- In the UK we would say "I shall write to him " in the USA " I shall write him " ---
**Author:** ![Chez\_Guevara](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/aeb1de/32.png) [@Chez\_Guevara](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chez_Guevara)\ **Post date:** [August 17, 2001, 6:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hey-brits-wheres-the-the/76714/18 "2001-08-17T18:37:34Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Biggirl \* > **I also read a lot of “in future.” Around these parts we say “in the future.” This isn’t a distinction of function, is it?** Not sure about that. If I wish to refer to the future in general terms I might say something like ‘In the future, all hospital operations will be carried out by robots’. If I am talking about my future or your future I might say ‘In future I’ll be more careful’ or ‘Watch it in future’. ---
**Author:** ![Lamia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/8e7dd6/32.png) [@Lamia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lamia)\ **Post date:** [August 17, 2001, 7:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hey-brits-wheres-the-the/76714/19 "2001-08-17T19:19:43Z")
The British use of just “hospital” where Americans would say “the hospital” can seem odd to Americans, but it makes sense if you think about it. Even Americans drop the “the” when talking about other institutions, such as schools or prisons. You wouldn’t say “Harry is in the prison” if you meant to say he was an inmate, or “Harry is in the school” if you meant to say he was a student. But for some reason it is common American usage to say “Harry is in the hospital” if he is a patient. Goodness knows why. ---
**Author:** ![TheLoadedDog](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/35a633/32.png) [@TheLoadedDog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TheLoadedDog)\ **Post date:** [August 17, 2001, 11:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hey-brits-wheres-the-the/76714/20 "2001-08-17T23:35:59Z")
To be honest, every time I hear the American usage of “the hospital”, I think of Leslie Nielsen movies: “He’s in the hospital!” “The hospital? What is it?” “It’s a big building with lots of sick people, but that’s not important right now.” 😃 [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hey-brits-wheres-the-the/76714.md?page=2)