Compare school and the school:
1 Alison is ten years old. Every day she goes to school. She's at school now. School begins at 9 and finishes at 3.
We say a child goes to school or is at school (as a pupil). We are not necessarily thinking of a particular school.
We are thinking of school as a general idea.
2 Today Alison's mother wants to speak to her daughter's teacher. So she has gone to the school to see her. She's at the school now.
Alison's mother is not a pupil. She is not 'at school', she doesn't 'go to school'. But if she wants to see Alison's teacher, she goes to the school (= Alison's school, a particular school).
We use prison, hospital, university, and church in a similar way. We do not use the when we are thinking of the general idea of these places and what they are used for. Compare:
1 * Ken's brother is in prison for robbery. (He is a prisoner. We are not thinking of a particular prison.)
* Jack had an accident last week. He was taken to hospital. He's still in hospital now. (as a patient)
* When I leave school, I want to go to university.
* Mrs Kelly goes to church every Sunday. (to a religious service)
2 * Ken went to the prison to visit his brother. (He went as a visitor, not as a prisoner.)
* Jill has gone to the hospital to visit Jack.
* She's at the hospital now. (as a visitor)
* Excuse me, where is the university, please? (= the university buildings)
* The workmen went to the church to repair the roof. (not for a religious service)
With most other places, you need the. For example, the cinema, the bank, the station.
Bed work home
We say: 'go to bed/be in bed' etc. (not 'the bed'):
* It's time to go to bed now.
* This morning I had breakfast in bed.
but * I sat down on the bed. (a particular piece of furniture)
'go to work/be at work/start work/finish work' etc. (not 'the work'):
* Ann didn't go to work yesterday.
* What time do you usually finish work?
'go home/come home/arrive home/be at home' etc.:
* It's late. Let's go home.
* Will you be at home tomorrow afternoon?
We say 'go to sea/be at sea' (without 'the') when the meaning is 'go/be on a voyage':
* Keith is a seaman. He spends most of his life at sea.
but * I'd like to live near the sea.
* It can be dangerous to swim in the sea.
EXERCISES
73.1 Complete the sentences using a preposition (to/at/in etc.) + one of the following words:
bed home hospital prison school university work
You can use the words more than once.
1. Two people were injured in the accident and were taken _to hospital._
2. In Britain, children from the age of five have to go ---.
3. Mark didn't go out last night. He stayed ---.
4. I'll have to hurry. I don't want to be late ---.
5. There is a lot of traffic in the morning when everybody is going ---.
6. Cathy's mother has just had an operation. She is still ---.
7. When Julia leaves school, she wants to study economics ---.
8. Bill never gets up before 9 o'clock. It's 8.30 now, so he is still ---.
9. If you commit a serious crime, you could be sent ---.
73.2 Complete the sentences with the word given (school etc.). Use the where necessary.
1. (school)
a. Every term parents are invited to the school to meet the teacher.
b. Why aren't your children at school today? Are they ill?
c. When he was younger, Ted hated ---
d. What time does --- start in the mornings in your country?
e. A: How do your children get home from ---? By bus?
B: No, they walk --- isn't very far.
f. What sort of job does jenny want to do when she leaves ---?
g. There were some people waiting outside --- to meet their children.
2. (university)
a. In your country, do many people go to ---?
b. If you want to get a degree, you normally have to study at ---.
c. This is only a small town but --- is the biggest in the country.
3. (hospital)
a. Nora works as a cleaner at ---.
b. When Ann was ill, we all went to --- to visit her.
c. My brother has always been very healthy. He's never been in ---.
d. Peter was injured in an accident and was kept in --- for a few days.
4. (church)
a. John's mother is a regular churchgoer. She goes to --- every Sunday.
b. John himself doesn't go to ---.
c. John went to --- to take some photographs of the building.
5. (prison)
a. In many places people are in --- because of their political opinions.
b. The other day the fire brigade were called to --- to put out a fire.
c. The judge decided to fine the man -c500 instead of sending him to ---.
6. (home/work/bed)
a. I like to read in --- before I go to sleep?
b. It's nice to travel around but there's no place like ---!
c. Shall we meet after --- tomorrow evening?
d. If I'm feeling tired, I go to --- early.
e. What time do you usually start --- in the morning?
f. The economic situation is very bad. Many people are out of ---
7. (sea)
a. There's a nice view from the window. You can see ---.
b. It was a long voyage. We were at --- for four weeks.
c. I love swimming in ---.
73.1
2 to school
3 at home
4 for school; or for work
5 to work or to school
6 in hospital
7 at university
8 in bed
9 to prison
73.2
1 c. school d. school e. get home from school ... The school isn't very far f. school g. the school
2 a. university b. university c. the university
3 a. the hospital b. the hospital c. hospital d. hospital
4 a. church b. church c. the church
5 a. prison b. the prison c. prison
6 a. bed b. home c. work d. bed e. work f. work
7 a. the sea b. sea c. the sea
