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Tomasd Posted 10 years ago
Grammar
article+dirt/rust
Hi Native Speakers.
I have a question about this sentence:
I walked around the house getting dirt off the walls. It took me an hour to get rust off the faucets.
Do I need to use the definite article before 'dirt' and 'rust'? I didn't as you can see: Both are mentioned for the first time, and there is no particular reason to suppose there is necessarily dust on the walls or rust on the faucets.
Does this make sense?
Thank you.
Tomas
I have a question about this sentence:
I walked around the house getting dirt off the walls. It took me an hour to get rust off the faucets.
Do I need to use the definite article before 'dirt' and 'rust'? I didn't as you can see: Both are mentioned for the first time, and there is no particular reason to suppose there is necessarily dust on the walls or rust on the faucets.
Does this make sense?
Thank you.
Tomas
Top answer
I would normally use the definite article in both places.
- I would normally use the definite article in both places.
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6 Answers
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GPYI would normally use the definite article in both places.Thank you. May I ask, GPY, if it is an error not to?
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tomasdThank you. May I ask, GPY, if it is an error not to?No, it is not actually an error.
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I agree with GPY. Furthermore, I think it is mistake not to use "the."
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tomasdThank you. May I ask, GPY, if it is an error not to?It is not an error. The definite article is just more natural/better. You expect there to be dust on the walls and rust on the faucets in one's house.
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Thank you all. It's dirt on the walls, actually, not dust. I didn't think it is expected to have dirt on the walls and rust on the faucets.
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