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Anonymous Posted 15 years ago
Grammar
Go to the university by car
Hello everyone!
I'm new here. I'd like to ask a question.
Chatting with a friend via Skype, I said "I usually go to university by car", but my friend corrected me and said it should be "I go to the university by car". I don't undertand why I should use the article there. I hear a lot of native speakers say "I go to school by car/on foot etc", "I drive to school" - no article before "school'. So what makes "the university" so special?
Many many thanks
I'm new here. I'd like to ask a question.
Chatting with a friend via Skype, I said "I usually go to university by car", but my friend corrected me and said it should be "I go to the university by car". I don't undertand why I should use the article there. I hear a lot of native speakers say "I go to school by car/on foot etc", "I drive to school" - no article before "school'. So what makes "the university" so special?
Many many thanks
Top answer
Hi, It's really just a matter of what is idiomatic. Some things we say just because that's how we say them. Clive
- Hi, It's really just a matter of what is idiomatic.
- Some things we say just because that's how we say them.
- Clive
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3 Answers
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Hi,
It's really just a matter of what is idiomatic. Some things we say just because that's how we say them.
It's really just a matter of what is idiomatic. Some things we say just because that's how we say them.
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That's just unfair to learners
Grammars want us to say 'go to university', 'go to school', "be in bed' etc (when we talk about ideas rather when objects), but as it turns out there are more exceptions than rules.
Thanks, Clive!
Will you undermine my grammar knowledge again and tell me that I should say "I graduated from the university in...."?
Grammars want us to say 'go to university', 'go to school', "be in bed' etc (when we talk about ideas rather when objects), but as it turns out there are more exceptions than rules.
Thanks, Clive!
Will you undermine my grammar knowledge again and tell me that I should say "I graduated from the university in...."?
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Hi Anon,
In natural English, people who are attending university will just say something like the following, depending on their personal situation:
If someone is going to UCLA and he lives in Pasadena, and public transportation is not an option, he will probably say " I carpool to school with a few classmates who live nearby". Or, " I drive (to school)".
In natural English, people who are attending university will just say something like the following, depending on their personal situation:
If someone is going to UCLA and he lives in Pasadena, and public transportation is not an option, he will probably say " I carpool to school with a few classmates who live nearby". Or, " I drive (to school)".
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