Certain nouns for places, locations or buildings seem to have idiomatic uncountability.
This blog lists a couple of those.
Idiomatic uses:
- Home / town: No article precedes ‘home’ unless you add extra information (for example an adjective) or ‘town’ when it refers to your own town.
- Bed / church / court / prison / school / college / university / hospital / work: No article before those nouns when they refer to an action rather than a place.
These are idiosyncratic words referring to places people frequent. Most of them do not require a determiner:
I go to school (to study).
I went to church on Sunday (to attend church services).
...or do only when you're doing something that's not an intrisic purpose of the place:
I went to the school, not to study, but to pick up my kid.
I went to the local church to take some photos of the interior.
...and then there's hospital:
I went to hospital for my yearly checkup. (British English)
I went to the hospital for my annual exam. (American English)
What is the descriptor for these select few nouns.
