article before institutions

[Anonymous]

Dear teachers:

When we talk about social institutions such as hospital, university(of course including college), prison, school, church, etc. being used for their intended purpose: medical treatment in hospital, studying in university and so on, we can use zero article.

But I recently read a book that says in America with the cases of 'university' and 'hospital' it is normal to use the definite article 'the' before the nouns.

For example,
They say he'll have to stay in the hospital for six weeks.
Failing health compelled him to leave the college.
(In here, both do not necessarily designate specific hospital or college.)

Is it true? Which is usual for the speakers of American English?

Thank you!

[sc231426]

It's true for "hospital." In American English, the definite article is always used before "hospital."

"She was flown to the hospital."
"I need to get to the hospital right away."
"They say he'll have to stay in the hospital for six weeks." (OK)

"College" is just like "school" and "prison," though - you can drop the definite article.

"I'm going to college next fall."
"I can't wait to go to college."
"Once I'm at college, I'll have lots of opportunities."
"Failing health compelled him to leave <strike>the</strike> college."

[Anonymous]

Thank you sc231426! Think I owe you a lot.

In the case of 'university' and 'college', though we can use the definite article before them, it is usually dropped. Is that what you mean?
Or it is normal to add 'the' before them, but we can drop it(it is not wrong)?

[sc231426]

Sorry for not making myself more clear.

It's much more natural to drop the definite article before "college." It doesn't matter if you're talking about college in general or if you mean one college in particular. The only time I can think of where it sounds acceptable to use the definite article is when "college" refers to a "department within a university" rather than the institution itself.

"When I go to college, I plan to enroll in the college of fine arts."

"University" is a trickier word - it's not as versatile as "college." Neither "When I go to university" nor "When I go to the university" sounds natural to me, though the second would be acceptable when it refers to a specific university.

In a technical sense, "university" refers to an institution that offers graduate degrees (masters and doctorate degrees), whereas a "college" only offers bachelor degrees. However, I find that these terms only hold these definitions for the official title of the institution: "Boston University" vs. "Boston College." In reality, anyone can talk about "going to college," whether they're attending a large university or a small community college.

I hope this answers your questions.