Omission of Articles

Don’t use articles with:

languages and nationalities (e.g. Chinese, English, French, Spanish)

N.B. If you put an article in front of these words, it refers to the people of that country.

sports (e.g. diving, baseball, skiing)

academic subjects (e.g. chemistry, English, philosophy)

I like to play the baseball.

Sports don’t require an article before them.

I like to play baseball.

I like to play with a baseball

Because we’re talking about the actual ball (not the sport), an article is required.

I like to study English.

This sentence refers to the English language.

I like to study the English.

This sentence – because of the article – refers to the English people.