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Alex+ Posted 18 years ago
Grammar

Lake Geneva / the Geneva

I now that we don't use the definite article "the" before the names of lakes.
Ex: We spent our holiday on Lake Geneva.
Lake Geneva is very beautiful.

My teacher says that we should use "the" if the word "lake" is omitted.
Ex: We spent our holiday on the Geneva.
The Geneva is very beautiful.

I don't agree but I can't prove it. I haven't been able to find any information in books. You're my last hope to clear this up J.
  

Top answer

No, it would still be ' Geneva ' (without the article)-- though I find it odd to omit ' Lake ' in the first place. I lived for many years on the shores of Lake Michigan, and though we often called it ' the lake ', we never referred to it as simply ' Michigan '-- and certainly not ' the Michigan' !

— Mister Micawber

  • No, it would still be ' Geneva ' (without the article)-- though I find it odd to omit ' Lake ' in the first place.
  • I lived for many years on the shores of Lake Michigan, and though we often called it ' the lake ', we never referred to it as simply ' Michigan '-- and certainly not ' the Michigan' !
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3 Answers
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No, it would still be 'Geneva' (without the article)-- though I find it odd to omit 'Lake' in the first place. I lived for many years on the shores of Lake Michigan, and though we often called it 'the lake', we never referred to it as simply 'Michigan'-- and certainly not 'the Michigan'!

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Mister Micawber,thank you very much for your answer.

What about rivers? Is it OK to say "the Nile" instead of "the River Nile"
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You can certainly say "the Nile" -- or "the Nile River." "The River Nile" sounds okay to me in this particular example, but I would never say "The River Misssissippi" or "The River Colorado" -- as a general rule, put the name of the river first.
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