nouns - Is there a reason the British omit the article when they "go to hospital"?


Why do British speakers omit the article in constructions like "go to hospital" or "go on holiday"? Pretty much all American speakers would rephrase those as "go to the hospital" and "go on a holiday", I think. Is there any good reason, or forgotten sense behind those words that might explain why the articles are ommitted? Are there other common constructions other than those two that the British use that drop the article?


EDIT: I just realized per Kosmonaut's comment that Americans do much the same thing with a few nouns, so this isn't all that special. Do grammaticists designate nouns that can have their article dropped with anything, i.e. do they have anything in common?



Answer



I can't speak for AmE, but in British English there is a distinction between "to school" and "to the school". If you say:



He went to school/church/hospital.



you imply that they went there for 'the purpose for which that place is designed'. On the other hand, if you say:



Jimmy's parents went to the school to meet the headmaster.


He wasn't religious, but he went to the church to help with the flower arranging.


With a bottle of arsenic in his pocket, he went to the hospital to visit his sick wealthy mother-in-law.



it implies that they went there as a visitor and not for the actual purpose of the building in question.


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