Hello Hirano-San, althoug I'm not American, I think I have the answer. Just as you do, I never say "I live in the France", but I live in France. The UK and the US are two acronyms meaning "United Kingdom" and "United States of America". In this, these are not names, just like Charles, Japan, France, Ian, America, etc.. They are common names that require an article such as "the" or "a" .
Hope this helps, Charles. On Mon, 2005-06-20 at 22:37 +0900, Kazunari Hirano wrote: > Hi all, > :) > I live in Japan. > We never say "I live in the Japan." > But I sometimes or often see that people say or write: > "I live in the UK." or "I live in UK." > "I live in the US." or "I live in US." > Why sometimes or often can US and UK have "the" before them? > :) > Thanks, > khirano
