apes/the apes

Hi,

I have read that the human race is descended from apes / the apes.

Should I use 'apes' or 'the apes'?

Some might argue that 'the apes' is more pleasing because you said 'the human race'.

But really, both sound OK to me.

Clive

Thanks, Clive.

I would say "apes", as "the apes" gives the impression of a specific group of apes.

A Cornish PastyI would say "apes", as "the apes" gives the impression of a specific group of apes.

The question is "Are we descended from every species of apes or a certain species or several species?" If we are descended from every species, then I think, 'apes' should be used. On the other hand, if we are descended from one or several species, then 'the

My interpretation is different. There are several ways to make generic references:

The whale is a mammal.
Whales are mammals.
The whales are mammals.

The only difference to my ear is that the whales (last example above) seems to say (all of) the whale species (groups) are mammals, whereas the other two speak of whales as

Hi CJ

You say that 'whales' and 'the whales' seem to refer to whales as one undivided group.

You moved on to say that 'apes' refers to apes thought of as descent from one big undivided group of creatures, i.e., from creatures called apes, whereas 'the apes' refers to creatures belonging to

Yoong Liat,

Hmmm. I'm sorry if I wasn't clear. I think I stated it correctly and consistently. Let me highlight what I wrote with color, and add a few more words.

<< the whales (last example above - of the three examples) seems to say (all of) the whale species (groups) are mamma