I come from the Taiwan. ❌ I visited the UK. ✅

為什麼？一條法則：國名含有「集合名詞」或「複數」才加 the。

為什麼是 Taiwanese 特有錯誤

中文沒有冠詞。學生學到 the USA / the UK 就以為所有國名都要 the——結果 the Taiwan 一寫 examiner 就知道你沒系統。反過來也有人學到 Taiwan 不加冠詞，就寫出 I studied in UK——也錯。

唯一一條法則

加 the：國名裡有 States / Kingdom / Republic / Emirates / Netherlands / Philippines 等集合詞 or 複數

the United States (of America) — 50 個 states 的集合
the United Kingdom — 四個 kingdom 的集合
the United Arab Emirates — 多個 emirates 的集合
the Czech Republic — Republic 集合詞
the Dominican Republic
the Netherlands — 複數 (-s 結尾)
the Philippines — 複數
the Maldives — 複數
the Bahamas — 複數

不加：一般國名（單一名詞）

Taiwan, Japan, Korea, China, France, Germany,
Italy, Spain, Canada, Australia, India, Brazil,
Mexico, Thailand, Vietnam, Singapore, Egypt

延伸：大洲、區域、海洋

| 規則 | 範例 | |------|------| | 大洲 → 不加 | Asia, Europe, Africa, South America | | 山脈 (複數) → 加 | the Alps, the Himalayas, the Rockies | | 單一山 → 不加 | Mount Fuji, Mount Everest | | 海洋 / 大洋 → 加 | the Pacific, the Atlantic, the Mediterranean | | 湖 → 不加 | Lake Sun Moon, Lake Tahoe | | 河流 → 加 | the Danshui River, the Nile, the Thames | | 沙漠 → 加 | the Sahara, the Gobi Desert | | 群島 → 加 | the Canary Islands, the Caribbean |

城市一律不加

Taipei, Tokyo, London, Paris, New York, Bangkok——全部不加。

例外一個：the Hague（海牙）——歷史原因。

五個 ❌ vs ✅ 對比

| ❌ Wrong | ✅ Correct | |---------|-----------| | I was born in the Taiwan. | I was born in Taiwan. | | She studies in UK. | She studies in the UK. | | We flew over Pacific. | We flew over the Pacific. | | The Mount Fuji is beautiful. | Mount Fuji is beautiful. | | He lives in Netherlands. | He lives in the Netherlands. |

Quick Drill — 填入 the 或 ø

  1. ___ Japan exports cars to ___ USA.
  2. ___ Mount Jade is the highest peak in ___ Taiwan.
  3. ___ Thames flows through ___ London.
  4. ___ Sahara is the largest desert in ___ Africa.
  5. She moved from ___ Philippines to ___ Canada.
  6. ___ United Arab Emirates is in ___ Middle East.
  7. ___ Lake Sun Moon is in ___ central Taiwan.
  8. They sailed across ___ Mediterranean Sea.
  9. ___ Alps are more popular than ___ Himalayas for skiing.
  10. He studied in ___ Germany before moving to ___ Netherlands.

Answer Key

| # | 答案 | |---|------| | 1 | ø / the | | 2 | ø / ø | | 3 | The / ø | | 4 | The / ø | | 5 | the / ø | | 6 | The / the | | 7 | ø / ø | | 8 | the | | 9 | The / the | | 10 | ø / the |

一個記憶法

多 + 老(old)：複數（-s）+ 集合詞（States/Kingdom/Republic/Emirates）加 the，其他不加。

在 IELTS Speaking 提到國家前停 0.3 秒問自己「這個有沒有複數或集合詞」——省掉 examiner 在你發音後嫌棄的眼神。

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