The Grammaring Guide to English Grammar with Exercises

The zero article with places

Nouns that refer to certain places and institutions do not take an article when we are talking about the purpose they are used for:

The children are at

school

.

(studying)

What time do you usually go to

bed

?

(to sleep)

The murderer was sentenced to 10 years in

prison

.

(as a punishment)

Other examples are:

church

class

college

court

hospital

market

town

university

But if we mean the place (usually the building) itself, the definite article the is used:

He went to

the bed

to check if the children were sleeping.

In 1985, there was a fire in

the school

.

The prison

is outside of the city.