Determiners

The with place names

We use the to refer to certain geographical features by name.

• deserts: the Sahara Desert, the Kalahari Desert
• rivers: the Nile, the Amazon
• seas: the Mediterranean Sea, the Black Sea
• oceans: the Atlantic Ocean, the Pacific Ocean

We use the to refer to some geographical features in the plural only.

	Singular	Plural
Mountains	Mount Everest	the Alps
Islands	Pitcairn Island	the Philippines

We use the with valleys only when valley is the first word.

	Singular	Plural
Valley	Death Valley	the Valley of Flowers