grammar question...?

Question

When do we capitalise the "t" in the "the" before a proper name and when do we not have to do this?

The River Nile...for example???

Answer 1

I've always taught my students to only capitalize "the" if it is part of the official name - in your case the Nile River (or the River Nile, if you like). You would capitalize it in film names like "The Color of Money" or, obviously, if it is the first word in the sentence.

Answer 2

You only have to do it in a proper noun if the "The" is part of the title. For example, it's the Nile River, but it's The Last of the Mohicans.

It just depends on what someone decided to name something.

Answer 3

what I recall, you only capitalize "the" when it is part of a title....like...

I was reading The Outsiders the other day.
Have you seen The Little Mermaid yet?

You wouldn't capitalize for your example and in order to capitalize the "r" in "river", you would need to say "Nile River".

the Nile River
the river Nile

unless that is the beginning of a sentence

Answer 4

if the is actually part of the name yes if not the no examples: the Nile River or The Cat In The Hat

Answer 5

Generally speaking, you capitalize 'the' at the beginning of sentences (Ex: The river Thames is in England) or when quoting the title of something (Ex: We went to see Shakespeare's 'The Tempest'.)

Pops was a little off on his second answer. It wasn't necessary to capitalize either 'the' or 'river' in the middle of the sentence, only the name of the river itself when it comes after the noun. When the noun comes after the name, it is capitalized (Thames River).

Answer 6

Excellent question.

Interestingly enough there is no hard and fast rule as the capitalization depends on what "The" is referring to. In other words, if "the" refers to the subject then it is not capitalized. If "the" is part of the title itself, then it is.

For example.

The astronauts could see the Earth plainly from their ship.

When I went to London, I really wanted to see The River Thames.


Clear as mud?

Answer 7

I think if it is part of the title you can capitalize it, though it's seldom done. The only time really to do it is if it's at the start of the sentence.

Answer 8

...you already know the answer... when it's a proper name; just like you've shown...