“go into hospital” vs. “go into the hospital”
April 28th, 2008, by Kirk Mahoney
This post is not about a problem, explanation, and solution.
Instead, it’s about a difference between British English and American English.
Americans and the British use “going to school” and “going to town” without a definite or indefinite article preceding the noun.
Where Americans and the British part ways is with hospitals: Americans put the definite article (”the”) in front of “hospital” whereas the British do not.
- British English: “go into hospital” or “when I was in hospital”
- American English: “go into the hospital” or “when I was in the hospital”
I don’t know the source of this difference, but it continues to fascinate me (as does the difference between “Americans” and “the British”).
Copyright © 2008 Kirk Mahoney, Ph.D.
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