The definite article is omitted:
1. Proper nouns (Paolo, Italy)
2. Names of
- sports
- games
- activities
- days
- months
- holidays
- colours
- drinks
- meals
- languages (not followed by the word “language”)
3. Geographical names:
- countries (France) (but the Netherlands, the Sudan, the Hague, the Vatican)
- cities (Vancouver)
- streets (Bond Street) (but: the High Street, the Strand, the Mall, the A11, the M4 motorway)
- squares (George Square)
- bridges (Tower Bridge) (but: the Bridge of Sighs, the Forth Bridge, the Severn Bridge, the Golden Gate Bridge)
- parks (Central Park)
- stations (King’s Cross Station)
- individual mountains (Mount Everest)
- islands (Malta)
- lakes (Lake Ontario)
- continents (Asia)
4. Possessive adjectives (That is my car)
5. Two-word names whose first word is the name of a person or a place (Glasgow Airport, Edinburg Castle) (but: The White House, because the first word “White” is not the name of a person or a place)
6. Pubs, restaurants, shops, banks and hotels which have thr name of their founder and end in –s or –s’s (Tom’s Café, Harrods, Baring’s Bank)
7. Bed, church, college, court, hospital, prison, school, university when we refer to the purpose for which they exist (He goes to church every Sunday) (but: We have to be at the church at two o’clock to see the Vicar)
Work(=place of work) never takes “the” (I have to go to work now)
8. The words: home, father/mother when we talk about our own home/parents
9. Means of transport: by bus/by car/by train/by plane, etc. (but: in the car, on the bus/train)