A toad can live in the desert
From Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? by Philip. K. Dick. Rick Deckard, the protagonist, finds a toad, an animal believed to be extinct in the world of the novel. He brings the toad home and is showing it to his wife.
“The legs of toads are weak,” Rick said. “That’s the main difference between a toad and a frog, that and water. A frog remains near water but a toad can live in the desert. I found this in the desert, up near the Oregon border. Where everything had died.”
Does Rick use "the" because he is referring to the type of landscape rather than an example of a desert (which is what I think "a" would imply)? Could I use "a" instead?
Top answer
Both 'the' and 'a' are fine. In either case the idea is "any desert", "it doesn't matter which desert". It's typical to use "the" with generic places.
- Both 'the' and 'a' are fine.
- In either case the idea is "any desert", "it doesn't matter which desert".
- It's typical to use "the" with generic places.
- to live in the city, to live in the desert, to live in the ocean, ...
- There is no intent to refer to any particular city, desert, or ocean in these kinds of expressions.
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Both 'the' and 'a' are fine. In either case the idea is "any desert", "it doesn't matter which desert".
It's typical to use "the" with generic places.
to live in the city, to live in the desert, to live in the ocean, ...
There is no intent to refer to any particular city, desert, or ocean in these kinds of expressions.
CJ
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