I visited Buckingham Palace; it was very expensive.

[Tdol]

Except of course when referring to The Crystal Palace, Hyde Park, London, built for the Great Exhibition of 1851. Just one of probably many exceptions to that rule.

It's going to be rebuilt, isn't it? It'll be interesting to see if it comes back with or without the article.

 

[probus]

The article will be an optional upgrade, priced at £1,000,000.

 

[Rover_KE]

I think that award should go to its inhabitants!

Rover_KE doesn't like this.

 

[Anna2004]

But you say the Empire Building, not Empire building. It's the name of the building.

 

[Anna2004]

Me too, but I would love to see it.

 

[Anna2004]

It wasn't enough because it mentioned the following for example:

Mt. Everest (There is a rule for that one. You don't use "the" with names of the mountains uless the name is unusual. You don't use "the" with names of the lakes, or islands. So rules do exist. To pack everything into one post and not say why "the" is used or not is confusing and doesn't help. People who want to learn do want specific answers. That's how they learn.

I didn't mean to offend anyone. I just want to learn.

 

[Anna2004]

Thank you!

 

[MikeNewYork]

But you say the Empire Building, not Empire building. It's the name of the building.

If you are referring to the tall building in New York City, it is "The Empire State Building". The main reason for this is that New York State is referred to as "The Empire State". The building's name retained the "The" from New York's nickname.

 

[MikeNewYork]

It wasn't enough because it mentioned the following for example:

Mt. Everest (There is a rule for that one. You don't use "the" with names of the mountains uless the name is unusual. You don't use "the" with names of the lakes, or islands. So rules do exist. To pack everything into one post and not say why "the" is used or not is confusing and doesn't help. People who want to learn do want specific answers. That's how they learn.

I didn't mean to offend anyone. I just want to learn.

Very often in English usage, there is no good answer to "why" questions. Some things are just the way they are.

 

[Anna2004]

Thank you!

 

[Anna2004]

I agree. But sometimes even native speakers don't know some rules exist.

 

[MikeNewYork]

I agree. But sometimes even native speakers don't know some rules exist.

When it comes to article use, that is not surprising. Article use is so common in English that native speakers never think about rules when they select one. It is instinctive.

 

[Tdol]

But you say the Empire Building, not Empire building. It's the name of the building.

Palaces are buildings, but the rules for article use with these things are not always consistent- we use the with seas, but not with lakes, yet both are large bodies of water.