Why is Big Ben without article?

English as a Second Language English Vocabulary, Grammar and Idioms
1

Hi! As I know, the use of article with proper names is rather complicated thing, and it depends on kind of the proper name (cathedral, university, geographical object etc). So could you explain why there is no article before thw word “Big Ben”? Is it because the name of the landmark includes the word “Ben”?

2

Hi,

The article is not needed because this is the actual name of the clock tower, it doesn’t describe it.

Alan

3

Thank you very much! So the core distinction between proper names with article and those without it is that words like:
Mount Washington, Rivel Nile, Russia etc

  • can be regarded as actual names (like Ben, George, Helen etc), and words like:
    the Nile (River)
  • can be regarded as implying decriptions?

The problem is that I cannot see the logical reason of using and non-using definite article before the proper name. Could you explain more extensively, please? It is very difficult for non-speaker to understand such things.

4

Hi lenakul,
Definite means particular(the thing which is just known to speaker as well as listener).Before proper(actual name)articles is not used.For example,Edmond Dante:we can’t put (the Edmond…).But if we will use title for him,we use “the”.The count Edmond.In short,before title we use the but before actual name we don’t.
To me,the logical reason is very clear that (Ahemd,John,Helen etc,bear the speciality and don’t need any particularity(the).As for their titles are their possession which must be described.2ndly, the means “some” not any that is why you can’t use the Edmond (underhand some Edmond).
Regards
Naz

5

With some categories (of proper nouns that there is only one of), such as names of persons, it is clear; but not with buildings, as far as I know. And even the categories that are clear may have some exceptions.

  • First names: no article: Victoria, Odysseus
  • Countries, islands, and most regions: no article, except if its name is plural (and there are other exceptions): Russia, the Netherlands; Manhattan, the Falklands; Aragon, the Midlands
  • Mountain ranges: article: the Alps, the Himalaya
  • Mount x: no article: Mount Everest
  • Rivers and most other geographical names: article: the Nile, the river Nile, the Sahara, the Pacific Ocean
  • Lake x: no article if “Lake” is an inseparable part of the name: Lake Michigan
  • Acronyms: article or not according as the full expression has one, except when its letters are not individually pronounced: then it gets no article, like NATO: pronounced nay-tow, not en-ay-tee-ow
  • Cities: no article, but there are a few exceptions where the article is actually part of the name, such as “The Hague”.
  • English Newspapers: article: the Sun, the Times
  • Names of ships: article: the Titanic (ship)
  • Titles of works of art: could be anything: Titanic (film), Fightclub (film), The English patient (film), Laocoon and His Sons / the Laocoon Group (same statue)
  • Personal titles: no article unless the persons’s name follows: the Queen, but Queen Victoria
  • Companies: article or no article according as the company has created its name with or without, but usually no article
  • Buildings: no clear rule as far as I know: the Royal Opera House, the Tower (of London), but Big Ben, Westminster Abbey
  • …