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  • Mount Everest is the highest peak in the world.
  • The Nile is the longest river in the world.
  • Lake Victoria is one of the largest lakes in Africa.
  • London is on the Thames.

My question is why haven't we used the in Mount Everest and Lake Victoria? They are almost identical to the ones where the are used. Do we have to learn all the topics/things where the is used?

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    Yes, you do have to learn all the topics/things and idioms where the is used. That's how it works in English. It's to make up for no grammatical gender or cases. Commented Jan 24, 2020 at 16:09
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    I'm not putting this as an answer because there is not much rhyme or reason. The short answer is "yes." If you want to read more, June Casagrande's "Grammar Snobs Are Great Big Meannies" has a very funny chapter on this issue.
    – Val
    Commented Jan 24, 2020 at 16:11
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    Welcome to EL&U. This is an extremely commonly asked question but the ultimate answer is that there is no "why," merely convention. See e.g. Why use “the” for oceans/seas/rivers etc. but not lakes? and some others I linked at Why does English use definite articles before certain proper nouns
    – choster
    Commented Jan 24, 2020 at 16:23

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