English Grammar: definite article: lakes

[colkitto]

Off the cuff, the Murphy grammar seems to be quite right.  I don't know what
source these Russian textbooks are using.
The only exception that comes to mind is The Lake of Menteith, which on its
own could hardly set a grammatical/syntactic chnage in motion.  Mountain
names are much more confusing in this context .....

This posting would be the first time I've heard or seen "The Baikal".

Robert Orr

----- Original Message -----
From: "Anna Plisetskaya" <annaplis at MAIL.RU>
To: <SEELANGS at LISTSERV.CUNY.EDU>
Sent: Tuesday, October 21, 2003 8:23 AM
Subject: Re: [SEELANGS] English Grammar: definite article: lakes


> Dear English native speakers,
>
> Could you please help me solve one problem concerning the usage of
articles.
> The respected Murphy Grammar tells us that we use THE with the names of
> seas, rivers, oceans (e.g. the River Volga), but we do not use THE before
> the word LAKE (e.g. lake Constance)., while many Russian textbooks add
that
> we should use THE with the names of lakes and omit it if the word LAKE is
> present (e.g. lake Baikal, but the Baikal). I wonder if they are right:
> shall I explain the students that we say the Baikal but Lake Baikal? To
tell
> the truth, I've always believed we shouldn't use THE in both cases. Could
> you please put an end to my doubts?
>
> Thanks in advance,
>
> Anna Plisetskaya, Ph.D. (Moscow).
>
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