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MariaRC Posted 10 years ago
Grammar
A lot of (the)
Hi there,
i) A lot of people who work in this building are criminals.
ii) A lot of the people who work in this building are criminals.
They are pretty similar in meaning, right? I spoke with an English speaker, who said that either is correct but this is the subtle difference:
i) 'A lot of people' . . . many people who work in the building are criminals.
ii) 'A lot of the people' . . . of those people who work there, many are criminals.
This is true, isn't it?
Thank you as always.
Maria
i) A lot of people who work in this building are criminals.
ii) A lot of the people who work in this building are criminals.
They are pretty similar in meaning, right? I spoke with an English speaker, who said that either is correct but this is the subtle difference:
i) 'A lot of people' . . . many people who work in the building are criminals.
ii) 'A lot of the people' . . . of those people who work there, many are criminals.
This is true, isn't it?
Thank you as always.
Maria
Top answer
MariaRC They are pretty similar in meaning, right? There's no difference in meaning.
- MariaRC They are pretty similar in meaning, right?
- There's no difference in meaning.
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3 Answers
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MariaRCThey are pretty similar in meaning, right?There's no difference in meaning.
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MariaRC A lot of (the)I'm afraid that I don't even see a subtle difference. To my ear, the relative clause "who work in this building" neutralizes any difference. As a consequence, 'people' is interpreted as 'the people' even if you leave out 'the'.
CJ
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Haha, I have a talent for making things more difficult! Thank you, AlpheccaStars and CJ, for your kind help.
Have a nice day!
Maria
Have a nice day!
Maria
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