definite article before BUILDING
 

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Re: definite article before BUILDING
 

Complex place names in English which incorporate what could be a common noun (bulding, hotel, restaurant, etc) are torn between two rules. The first is that names in English don't usually have an article:

He works for Microsoft in Washington.

Following that rule you get complex place names such as :

He stayed in Queens Hotel in Acacia Road in Crystal Palace
We visited Westminster Abbey.
They're refurbishing Charing Cross Station.
She lives in Buckingham Palace.

The second that a common noun with specific reference takes the definite article :

We stayed in the best hotel in the town.

following that rule you get :

We stayed in the Clarendon Hotel in the High Street.
We visited the British Museum.
We went to the top of the Empire State Building.

Some of these nouns tend to go one way or the other, while some (like Hotel) are frequently found in both forms. All the examples I've found with "building" use the article, and I can't imagine it being used without, so I'd advise you always to use it :

We saw the Chrysler Building.
He works in the Swiss Re Building.
The Biochemistry Department is located in the Henry Wellcome Building

but I'm sure there are counter-examples out there somewhere :)

Re: definite article before BUILDING
 

Thank you so much.

Re: definite article before BUILDING
 

thanks.

Re: definite article before BUILDING
 

Yes to "the" and it depends to "at". "in" would often be more usual : He works in the Fung King Hey Building.

"at" is usually used for a place which is both inside and outside, and when you're being vague about exactly where the person is - eg : He works at the station. Does he work in the ticket office, or outside on the platform? Similarly at the hospital, at the university - all three places are large areas with both buildings (inside) and grounds or outside areas. But a building, by definition is generally "inside".

You might however say : I'll meet you at the Fung King Hey Building, where you're not actually specifying if you want to meet inside or outside.

For other differences in the use of "at" and "in" with institutions, see here : http://www.eslhq.com/forums/esl-foru...tions/a-41080/

Re: definite article before BUILDING
 

thank you very much.