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Snvplayer Posted 14 years ago
Grammar

Another question on article.

Why is there "the" after " - % of" in one sentence and not in the other?
"There are 47% of the people who will vote for the president".
"Arsenic poison kills 20% of tobacco users in Bangladeshi.
Thank you.
  

Top answer

They should read: There are 47% of the people who will vote for the president. Arsenic poisoning kills 20% of tobacco users in Bangladesh . 'The' has nothing to do with '% of'.

— Mister Micawber

  • They should read: There are 47% of the people who will vote for the president.
  • Arsenic poisoning kills 20% of tobacco users in Bangladesh .
  • 'The' has nothing to do with '% of'.
  • 'The' seems needed in the first sentence because previous context mentions what body of people are being talked about.
  • 'The' is optional in the second sentence because the users are already defined as '[those] in Bangladesh'.
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2 Answers
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They should read:

There are 47% of the people who will vote for the president.
Arsenic poisoning kills 20% of tobacco users in Bangladesh.

'The' has nothing to do with '% of'. 'The' seems needed in the first sentence because previous context mentions what body of people are being talked about. 'The' is optional in the second sentence because the u
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In the first case, "the" pertain to a specific group of people. Case # 2 is more of a general / factual statement which often doesn't require a definite article. Take a look at this example:

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