0
Anonymous Posted 12 years ago
Grammar

Using Articles

I am not a native speaker and my native tongue doesn't use articles. It's been a while since I immigrated, but I still have trouble correctly using articles.

In below situation, do I need to include [the]?

Scenario 1:

"Are you heading back to [the] office?" *Where both my colleague and I work at

Scenario 2:

"I will give you back the book when I meet you at [the] church" *The church where we both go to

Off my mind, I would think that both situations require [the] because I am talking about specific places. But off my tongue it sounds a little weird...

Thanks in advance for your help!
  

Top answer

Anonymous Are you heading back to [the] office? Yes, you always need "the" with "head back to the office". Anonymous I will give you back the book when I meet you at [the] church If you are going to a church service, then you meet at church.

— CalifJim

  • Anonymous Are you heading back to [the] office?
  • Yes, you always need "the" with "head back to the office".
  • Anonymous I will give you back the book when I meet you at [the] church If you are going to a church service, then you meet at church.
  • If you are going to a church building, as opposed to a post office or to a bank, say, then you meet at the church.
  • CJ
Free · every Monday

Get the Weekly English Kit 📬

New words, one handy idiom, and a 2-minute quiz — delivered to your inbox to keep your streak alive.

3 Answers
0
AnonymousAre you heading back to [the] office?
Yes, you always need "the" with "head back to the office".
AnonymousI will give you back the book when I meet you at [the] church
If you are going to a church service, then you meet at church.
If you are going to a church building, as opposed to a post office or to a bank, s
0
0
Scenario 1 - "the office"
Scenario 2 - "the book" and "church"

Church is a tricky one. If you simply meant that you are going to the building, you could say, "I'll meet you at the church." However, "church" can be used in a sense where it means attending a church service, or mass (depending on the denominational tradition). As such, it is does not require the use of the article if
0
0
AnonymousOff my mind, I would think
By the way, the idiom is usually like this:

Off the top of my head, ...

Off my mind is not used in this context. It sounds a lot like out of my mind, which means 'insane'. I'm sure you don't mean that.
0

Related Questions