Article

[nq:1]Here are 3 more questions on the defintie article: 1) We spent 3 weeks in Ireland last summer; unfortunately the last week was spoilt by .. rain.[/nq]
Either insert a "the" in the .. or not.
"spoilt by the rain" implies particular rain... the mere presense of rain did the spoiling. In contrast, "spoilt by rain" implies that rain was a cause of, or a sign of, something else that did t

[nq:2]3) .. winter has been very mild this year.[/nq]
[nq:1]Must use "the" in the blank. The sentence refers to a particular instance of the season.[/nq]
Oh, no, no. "Winter has been very mild this year" is perfectly acceptable.

The inimitable (Email Removed) (Hela Ferjani) stated one day
[nq:1]Here are 3 more questions on the defintie article:[/nq]
You must first understand that sentences out of context are in one sense unreal and abstract sentences. The same sentences in context could call for one answer or the other for reasons too diverse and abundant to go into here.
[nq:1]1) We spent 3 weeks in Ireland l

[nq:2]Must use "the" in the blank. The sentence refers to a particular instance of the season.[/nq]
[nq:1]Oh, no, no. "Winter has been very mild this year" is perfectly acceptable.[/nq]
I disagree the sentence seems odd without the definite article there. I agree with Adam's distinction.
Matti (British)

The inimitable "Matti Lamprhey" (Email Removed) stated one day
[nq:2]Oh, no, no. "Winter has been very mild this year" is perfectly acceptable.[/nq]
[nq:1]I disagree the sentence seems odd without the definite article there. I agree with Adam's distinction.[/nq]
It's not a distinction that all native speakers make or recognize as significant. I feel that this sentence is not normal Ame

/nq]
[nq:2]Must use "the" in the blank. The sentence refers to a particular instance of the season.[/nq]
Oh, no, no. "Winter has been very mild this year" is perfectly acceptable.[/nq]
That's what I would have said. In fact, I'd have omitted the article from all three sentences.

Dena Jo
(Brooklyn, then Los Angeles, then Presc

[nq:2]Here are 3 more questions on the defintie article: 1) ... summer; unfortunately the last week was spoilt by .. rain.[/nq]
[nq:1]Either insert a "the" in the .. or not. "spoilt by the rain" implies particular rain... the mere presense of ... sign of, something else that did the actual spoiling. It's a fine distinction in this sentence, and either will do.[/nq]
I don't see the same dis

[nq:2]Oh, no, no. "Winter has been very mild this year" is perfectly acceptable.[/nq]
[nq:1]I disagree the sentence seems odd without the definite article there. I agree with Adam's distinction.[/nq]
And I agree with Carmen. Whatever, the OP will know by now that whatever her teacher says, and whatever the book says, "the" and "..." are both correct for all three questions.
Adri

[nq:2]Oh, no, no. "Winter has been very mild this year" is perfectly acceptable.[/nq]
[nq:1]I disagree the sentence seems odd without the definite article there. I agree with Adam's distinction. Matti (British)[/nq]
I agree with Carmen. The phrase "this year" is enough to eliminate the need for a definite article. Could this be a pondian difference?
Skitt (in Hayward, California)

Thank you all for answering my questions, that's very kind of you. The explanation you give for using or not using the article is very helpful.
Those who are interested in the problem of articles in English could you please look at my other set of questions on the article? I wrote them on the Oct. 22 as well. By the way it's very interesting for me to know when it is American usage and when it