Why do we say "THE" United States of America but not in the case of India?
A descriptive noun is linked with an article "the". A plain proper noun (a name) does not. Answer by Kelly Martin: Do your friends address you as "Shiv" or "The Shiv"? The "name" of the United States is not actually a name. It is, instead, a description. It describes who we are: we are the "United" "States" of "America": a country comprised of states, all located in America, that have voluntarily united. Because it's a descriptive phrase, not a name, grammatically it needs an article. This is also why we say the United Kingdom: again, the name describes the country (in full, it is the "United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland"). India, however, is a name; the word doesn't describe the country, but simply names it, and thus grammatically does not need, or merit, an article. Why do we say "THE" United States of America but not in the case of India?