Teacher Discussion Forums

We say, "I go to school" without "the" because "school" means "studying or learning" here.
Let's say, I am a mom and I need to go to school not to study but to meet my child's teacher. Do I still say, "I need to go to school?" without "the"?

With the same token, we say , " I go to church". "Church" here means "for the Sunday service". What if I need to go to church for some other reasons, or I need to go back to the church building because I left something in there, do we still say, "I need to go to church" without "the"?

Very interesting post, Munsook. As you suggest, we don't use the definite article when describing normal activities associated with church, school and hospital, I believe. However, if we mean to visit these locations for some other purpose we use the article, thus:

"I'm go to school; I like it a lot." versus
"I'm going to the school to talk to the Headmaster"

"I like going to church, the services are short and snappy." versus
"I was at the church, talking to the cleaners when ...".

"He needs to go to hospital - he looks half-dead." versus
"He's looking for a new job, so I sent him to the hospital".

Iain

"He needs to go to hospital - he looks half-dead."

I have never heard this use of "hospital" in my entire life. I would have to say that it is inaccurate.

I've heard "He's in hospital." before, although it isn't American English. It may be British or Canadian.

In this neck of the woods it's pretty standard language;
I searched google with the phrase "go to hospital", found 17,900 hits.

Iain

I'm with dduck. She's going to hospital because she's ill
as opposed to She's going to the hospital for a job interview.
From Tessa

Hee I just can't say "going to hospital." I wonder how/when that changed historically so it isn't said in the States, but is used elsewhere.

I read, just recently, in Bill Bryson's book Made in America that the Yanks got it from their Irish immigrants. In Scotland too, we use the in some phrases that differs from standard British English.

American English: I'm going down town.
British English: I'm going in to town.
Dundee English: E'm goin' doon the toon.

Iain

Yes, folks. What Tessa says about Sydney English today, is also true about Aussie English in all the places I've been in over the last fifty or so years. Here, we go to hospital when we're sick. So I went to the hospital this morning to see an old friend who's been sick for a while.

But then, I haven't been everywhere in Os, and it's quite possible you'd find the other usage in towns where there's been a fair strain of the Gael in their history. Or would we have to cross the Tasman for that? What do you say, friends, in Dunedin, Gore or Invercargill?

Then let's all drink a cup of kindness for the sake of auld lang syne.

Cheers.
Norm

Hi folks
I guess I'm a bit crazy coming in on a thread that petered out a month ago, but there must be a few like me who roam around the forum with an eye for the curious.
Anyway, overnight a couple of other oddities about the Australian use of 'hospital' occurred to me. I'm pretty sure the following are fairly commonly used in Australia:
"I have to go to the hospital for ('an X-ray', 'a CAT scan' ... or some other procedure).
But:
"I went into hospital for an operation".

On the other hand, it's possible to use both forms in the following instance:
"After the accident they took me to ['the hospital' or 'hospital'] in an ambulance." Maybe there's a slight difference in emphasis between them.

While we're on the subject of hospitals, here's what North Americans might consider another linguistic oddity. In Australia (and the UK?) surgeons work in an "operating theatre". When someone asks the whereabouts of a surgeon they would be getting two entirely different messages if they were told "he's in the theatre" on one hand, or 'he's at the theatre" on the other (not to mention our different spelling of 'theatre').

Cheers.
Norm.

Norm,

I hope someday to have the good fortune of meeting you in person. I can well imagine an evening spent with you in front of a good fire with a glass of something smooth and warm would lead to great conversation and a feeling of an evening well spent. Your sense of humor makes me smile with almost your every post. Your knowledge and the gentle way you favor us with it gives us all a sense of a wise man who has been around the block a time or two. I'm so glad you're active on this forum. You are a friend to us all.

Larry Latham

Oh, and BTW, over here surgeons work in an operating room...the "OR", in case anybody's not familiar with it. "He's in the theatre" vs. "He's at the theatre" seems, if I understand right, to smack of different kinds of theatres (or theatres). If so, that's the first time I've heard about the choice of "in" or "at" leading to different places with the same word as object. Hmmm...interesting. Lexical, I suppose.

Norm Ryder wrote:Yes, folks. What Tessa says about Sydney English today, is also true about Aussie English in all the places I've been in over the last fifty or so years. Here, we go to hospital when we're sick. So I went to the hospital this morning to see an old friend who's been sick for a while.

But then, I haven't been everywhere in Os, and it's quite possible you'd find the other usage in towns where there's been a fair strain of the Gael in their history. Or would we have to cross the Tasman for that? What do you say, friends, in Dunedin, Gore or Invercargill?

Tasmania (where I'm from) has a strong Gaelic heritage, and we use going to hospital when we're sick, but also we go to the hospital for the same reason. We even go into hospital! But we never go to hospital for an appointment or to visit a patient. We always use the definite article for that - going to the hospital.

See ya!