Unit 1 Step 4

thing that starts with a capital letter, for example, ‘John’, ‘Sweden’, ‘Google’. Before proper nouns, we generally do not use an article. For example,
Matthew is a man.
He lives in Canada.
He worked for IBM.
However, sometimes you can find the definite article ‘the‘ before proper nouns.
Carver lives in the United States.
He lives near the Pacific Ocean.

WHY?

Unions, Republics, etc.

We use ‘the’ before countries that contain a word like ‘Union’, ‘Emirates’, ‘Kingdom.’ These words mean that the country is a group of smaller states.
the United States
the Republic of Ireland
the Czech Republic
the United Arab Emirates
We also use ‘the’ before countries that end in a plural ‘s’.
the Philippines (= the full name is The Republic of the Philippines)
the Bahamas (= the full name is The Republic of the Bahamas)
the Netherlands

Seas, Oceans, Deserts, Mountain Ranges etc.

the Nile / the Nile River
the Caspian Sea
the Pacific / the Pacific Ocean
the Mediterranean / the Mediterranean Sea
the Panama Canal
the Sahara / the Sahara Desert
the Rockies / the Rocky Mountains
the Himalayas / the Himalayan Mountains 

Ontario.
I swam in Lake Superior.
He can see Mount Fuji.
She can see Mount Rushmore.

‘the’ before the names of buildings.
the Emperor’s Palace
the Tower of Pisa
the Louvre
the Pentagon
The Marriott / The Marriott Hotel

the Preposition ‘Of’

the University of Toronto
the Republic of Congo
the Gulf of Mexico

… Great
… Winter Palace
… Summer Garden
… Nevsky Prospect
… Russian Museum