The countries

[delboy3]

I can think of a few countries whose names do not have "The" in front, yet we still refer to them as such; for example:

(The) Netherlands

(The) Ukraine

(The) Lebanon

(The) USA (ok, also 'The' UK)

Can anyone think of any others? And why do they have "the" tagged on? I know that the Netherlands, USA & UK are a collection of lesser states, and that some are named after groups of islands (Maldives, Seychelles etc) so "the" fits, but why the others?

[tamd88]

the democratic republic of congo

[luckystrike]

(The) Bahamas

(The) Central African Republic

(The) Ivory Coast

(The) Czech Republic

(The) Republic of Congo

(The) Democratic Republic of Congo

(The) Dominican Republic

(The) Federated States of Micronesia

(The) FYRO Macedonia

(The) Maldives

(The) Marshall Islands

(The) Philippines

(The) Seychelles

(The) Solomon Islands

(The) Ukraine

(The) United Arab Emirites

(The) Vatican City

(The) Yemen

Apart from a few, I would have to assume that the names we use, such as The Philippines, is an abbreviation of The Republic of the Philippines.

[Fitzer]

Apparently one should not say THE Ukraine as this offends Ukrainians, heard it on Radio 4 a while ago but can't remember the reasons behind it.

[-=BigD=-]

I think its to do with the full tile of the country. e.g.:

The United Kingdom Of Great Britain and Northern Ireland.

The United States of America.

Kingdom of the Netherlands.

The Lebanese Republic.

Ukraine?

Also perhaps if its the name of a region (like Lebanon is) so guess its like "The Cotswold" or "The Fens".
But it could apply to most countries, so it only an educated guess!

[Octavius]

It's a formality:

The Federal Republic of Germany

The French Republic

The Republic of Lebanon

The Kingdom of Belgium

The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia

The United Arab Emirates

The Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan

The Principality of Monaco

The Bahama's

The Federative Republic of Brazil

The Negara Brunei Darussalam (The Sultanate of Brunei)

The Great Socialist People's Libyan Arab Jamahiriya

The Grand Duchy of Luxembourg

.....etc......

[Octavius]

"The" is a determiner which is used to refer to a person, place, or thing that is unique.

[jno]

the is often attached to regions within a country. This is why Ukrainians get cross if you refer to the Ukraine - it harks back to the days when it was thought of as merely one of many regions within the Soviet Union. It's now fully independent and it's Ukraine. I think Sudan and Yemen shouldn't have the in front either, for the same reason.

Otherwise, as others have said, the tends to have some kind of noun after it, expressed or implied : the... islands - eg the Seychelles [Islands]; the United States; the Nether Lands; the Czech Republic.

A Gambian once told me his compatriots preferred The Gambia so it wouldn't be confused with Zambia. Not sure if this is true.

[dothawkes]

The planet Vulcan

[Octavius]

Jno - The Gambia was named after the river that flowed through it.  It's been suggested that the Gambia River's name stems from the Portuguese word cambio, meaning 'exchange,' or, in this context, 'trade'.

If you were to call those countries by their formal names they would be The Republic of Yemen & The Republic of Sudan.

The is used to define each countries uniqueness, whether it be regional or political in a formal manner.  Usually we drop the formal approach when referring to The Countries of The World.  How many people down the pub say "The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland"?

ps - Dotty is a nutter.  

[luckystrike]

The official name of Sudan is

The Republic Of The Sudan

[Ray the DJ]

The Phillippines!
The Bahamas

[Elliem]

I have never hard of THE Lebannon or THE Yemen.  That's new to me, but it's true that it is an abbrviation or shortening of the full title.  So here's one for you....if a person from Canada is a Canadian and person from England is English, then what is a person from Yemen called?  Yemenese?  What about United Arab Emirates?  An Emiritian??  Doesn't it have something to do with what vowel or constanent the name ends with?

[jno]

Elliem: Yemeni... a United Arab Emirates national (that's the default phrase, I think, for places whose adjectives you don't know).

[Elliem]

Thank you kindly sir/mam!  Interesting!  So there's Dubliner, Glaswegian, Aberdonian, Londoner, Manchurian....from Leeds???  Leedian?  Leedish?  Leedi?  Edinburgh??  Edinburghon?  Still can't quite get to grips with which adverb (?) goes with which???