Some nouns , in particular , bed,
school, college, hospital, court , prison , jail , church , table are
without articles commonly in prepositional phrases when they lose their
concrete meanings and denote the purpose for which their referents exist
that is bed means sleep
, school means studying
, court means trial
, table means a
meal , etc. For example: It's time for bed. School begins
at 8. Two men were wounded and taken to hospital. He'd gone to church on
Sundays.
Note
The tendency is not to use articles before the noun university
in the meaning of studies. For
example : Bob said, You were at university?
Articles are also absent before the noun town
/commonly in prepositional phrases/ when
1. It expresses the abstract idea of town life /this meaning is usually
associated with the town one lives in or the nearest town if one lives
in the countryside/.For example : I am in town and I have to see you.
I was in town ob business last week.
2. It denotes the business and shopping center of a town. For example : Town
was very busy today.
Note
In the meaning life in town and
cities as opposed to life in the
country the noun town is
used with the definite article. For example: I like the town better
than the country. Many country people are leaving the country for the
town.
