the use of the definite article before the names of bridges

Alex, good q. Cen whaddya say

From a British perspective, there isn't really a rule. There are plenty of British bridges that are spoken or written of with a preceding definite article - the Severn, Humber, Forth, Tamar, Royal Albert and Clifton Suspension Bridges (that I can immediately think of), and plenty that don't - some are across the Thames in London - Tower, London, Waterloo, Westminster, Battersea, Putney, (plenty more). I would think the ones that don't use 'the' probably outnumber those that do. I have noticed that Americans tend to use 'the' more - the supersonic aircraft that we (Brits) call "Concorde" was often called 'the Concorde' by Americans.

That's because Americans definitely know what they are talking about.

Indeed, Setanta. I forgot to mention the famous (or infamous) Tay Bridge that collapsed in a storm in 1879, an event immortalised by the famous Scottish poet, The Great McGonagall. Many have commented on the wisdom of the last two lines...

The Tay Bridge Disaster

Beautiful Railway Bridge of the Silv’ry Tay!
Alas! I am very sorry to say
That ninety lives have been taken away
On the last Sabbath day of 1879,
Which will be remember’d for a very long time.

’Twas about seven o’clock at night,
And the wind it blew with all its might,
And the rain came pouring down,
And the dark clouds seem’d to frown,
And the Demon of the air seem’d to say-
“I’ll blow down the Bridge of Tay.”

When the train left Edinburgh
The passengers’ hearts were light and felt no sorrow,
But Boreas blew a terrific gale,
Which made their hearts for to quail,
And many of the passengers with fear did say-
“I hope God will send us safe across the Bridge of Tay.”

But when the train came near to Wormit Bay,
Boreas he did loud and angry bray,
And shook the central girders of the Bridge of Tay
On the last Sabbath day of 1879,
Which will be remember’d for a very long time.

So the train sped on with all its might,
And Bonnie Dundee soon hove in sight,
And the passengers’ hearts felt light,
Thinking they would enjoy themselves on the New Year,
With their friends at home they lov’d most dear,
And wish them all a happy New Year.

So the train mov’d slowly along the Bridge of Tay,
Until it was about midway,
Then the central girders with a crash gave way,
And down went the train and passengers into the Tay!
The Storm Fiend did loudly bray,
Because ninety lives had been taken away,
On the last Sabbath day of 1879,
Which will be remember’d for a very long time.

As soon as the catastrophe came to be known
The alarm from mouth to mouth was blown,
And the cry rang out all o’er the town,
Good Heavens! the Tay Bridge is blown down,
And a passenger train from Edinburgh,
Which fill’d all the peoples hearts with sorrow,
And made them for to turn pale,
Because none of the passengers were sav’d to tell the tale
How the disaster happen’d on the last Sabbath day of 1879,
Which will be remember’d for a very long time.

It must have been an awful sight,
To witness in the dusky moonlight,
While the Storm Fiend did laugh, and angry did bray,
Along the Railway Bridge of the Silv’ry Tay,
Oh! ill-fated Bridge of the Silv’ry Tay,
I must now conclude my lay
By telling the world fearlessly without the least dismay,
That your central girders would not have given way,
At least many sensible men do say,
Had they been supported on each side with buttresses,
At least many sensible men confesses,
For the stronger we our houses do build,
The less chance we have of being killed.

Despite its reputation for rain, Britain doesn't get much rainfall in comparison to the Eastern US, which was settled first by the British. With more rainfall, the people in the US had to build more bridges, leading to more bridges per town. Hence, the need to differentiate between one bridge and another.

For instance, in the borough of New York City known as Queens, you have to differentiate between the Queensboro Bridge, the Triborough Bridge, the Whitestone Bridge, and the Throg's Neck Bridge. With less rainfall and less water in the area, Queens would only need one bridge, and they could call it Queensboro Bridge and that would be that.

Thanks very much, Centrox and everybody. I have always suspected that Longman and other English grammar books have a kind of simplistic view on the use of articles and other grammar rules. Your replies were really helpful. I was beginning to think I was going crazy.

Thanx a lot, Centrox and everybody else. One should never trust Longman or any other English grammar book 100 percent. I thought I was going kind of crazy. Now I'm fine.

The point of all this is that buildings, bridges, landmarks, locations, etc, that have proper names are not referred to using the definite article ('the'). The tendency in Britain is for many bridges, especially older ones, to have names rather than mere descriptions.

I expect there are exceptions to this 'rule'.

That isn't anywhere near to being true. The northern side of Queens faces the part of The East River, which connects to the Long Island Sound. The Throgs Neck, Whitestone and Triboro (the Robert F. Kennedy) all span it. A lower rainfall would not be likely to end their need.

The East River also is what the western side of Queens faces, which is where the Queensboro bridge is located,connecting to Manhattan (it also passes over Roosevelt Island (formerly Welfare Island and Blackwell's prior to that) and the Harlem River.

Less rainfall also would not account for the fact that there are 3 bridges on the lower east side of Manhattan which connect across to Brooklyn, in a relatively short (less than a mile)distance. (Williamsburg, Manhattan and Brooklyn Bridges).

Rivers, creeks and the such often dictate where a bridge is needed more than rainfall.

In Britain and Europe, you often find very old bridges at the spots on a river where it was most practical to build them. For example my home town, Bristol in England. The name is derived from the Old English Brycgstow meaning “place at the bridge” in reference to the original bridge built over the River Avon where the settlement was established circa 1000 A.D. It happens to be the most downstream place on the Avon where a bridge could be built using 1000 AD technology.

I don't get the connection between bridges and rainfall either.

Quote Sturgis:
Sez you.


Quote Sturgis:

It would if you look at climatically. London has 29 inches of rainfall annually, New York over 47. Extrapolate that out to 10,000 years, and the East River would be a mere creek and the shores of Long Island Sound would be far more Eastern than they are now.

You are aware that the weather patterns over the past ten thousand years have changed aren't you? That would include changes in total annual precipitation.

Further, its likely that the waters along the western and northern side of Queens were, to a significant extent, carved out in part from currents from the Atlantic Ocean.

Back when dinosaurs ruled the earth, Montana and the Dakotas has a huge sea in the middle of them. Now they are dry as dust. Rainfall matters.

If New York, over the course of ten thousand years, had cut it's rainfall by 40%, the East River would not exist and the shoreline of Long Island Sound would East of where it is now.