Which nouns should include an article after "go to [noun]" in AmE and BE?
When referring to a non-specific instance of a place (hospital, theatre), there seems to be a strange inconsistency as to when you use the. Is there any sort of pattern, or is there any reference site that lists these out somewhat comprehensively?
American English:
- go to the hospital
- go to school
- go to church
- go to the mall
- go to the theater
- go to the police station
- go to the train station
- go to the airport
- go to the supermarket
- go to the post office
- go to the market (is go to market okay in American English?)
- go to town
- go to college
- go to jail
- go to the bank
British English:
- go to hospital
- go to school
- go to church
- go to the theatre
- go to the cinema
- ???
This question is inspired by the conversation here: Is there a reason the British omit the article when they "go to hospital"?
Solution 1:
This has been much debated in postings passim, on this site.
In Britain we only say he is 'in hospital' if 'he' is a patient. If we are talking about a doctor, nurse or other employee we say 'he/she works at the hospital'.
Similarly with schools; pupils go 'to school', but teachers work at 'the school'.
With 'church' it is slightly different. If they were attending or officiating at a service, both congregation and minister would say they were 'at church'. But if someone was polishing the pews on a weekday, they would be working at 'the church'.
In other words the dropping of the article indicates a change of meaning. If I am 'at university', it means I am a student, and university is my way of life. But if I am an electrician changing the lighting in the lecture theatres, I would be working 'at the university'.