Names of institutions in society

These nouns are used without any article when, as part of set phrases, they lose their concrete meaning and express the purpose which the objects denoted by these nouns serve.

Here is a list of words that can be used like this:

school college university

hospital prison

jail camp

church court

Thus hospital comes to denote treatment, prison, jail —punishment, school, college, university —studies, church - worshipping.

When these nouns denote concrete objects the articles are used according to the general principle. Compare the following examples:

After lunch Dr. Reily went off to the hospital.

"How long were you in hospital with that wound?" she asked.

They had a hospital in the town during the war.

The road to the prison was blocked by policemen.

He would be sent to prison if he were caught.

Perhaps he was in a German prison.

It should be noted that the use of a descriptive attribute or a particularizing attribute destroys the idiomatic meaning of the phrases in question:

He was sent to school.

He was sent to a secondary (good, public) school.

He was sent to the best school in the town.

Note. Americans say “the hospital” instead of “hospital” for institutional reference.

The words bed, table and occasionally market behave in a similar way; without an article they lose their concrete meanings.

He went to bed early, but lay awake for a long time.

I softly drew the chair to the bed and sat down.

I found a bed made up for me.

I asked her to tell me who all the people at table were.

Madame Duclerk sat at the table darning socks.

In the cafe we had a table to ourselves, but those around us were soon filled.