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Hhtt Posted 8 years ago
Vocabulary

Did most of the talking during dinner

"He did most of the talking during dinner."

Would you please explain the above sentence. It is really confusing to me. First of why it is "during dinner" but

not "during the dinner".

http://learnersdictionary.com/definition/talk

Thanks

  

Top answer

"He" is the subject of the sentence. "did" is the verb. " The phrase "most of the ____ " is idiomatic - a noun goes in the blank - and functions like a single noun.

— Anonymous

  • "He" is the subject of the sentence.
  • "did" is the verb.
  • " The phrase "most of the ____ " is idiomatic - a noun goes in the blank - and functions like a single noun.
  • " "During dinner" is correct.
  • ", would be used if the dinner was something special, like a formal dinner or a dinner party.
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2 Answers
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"He" is the subject of the sentence. "did" is the verb. "during dinner" is a prepositional phrase with an adverbial function, modifying the verb "did." "most of the talking" has a noun function and is the direct object of the verb "did." The phrase "most of the ____ " is idiomatic - a noun goes in the blank - and functions like a single noun. For example: "He ate most of the food." or "S

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hhtt"during dinner" but not "during the dinner".

Nothing about a specific dinner was mentioned earlier in the text, so the speaker is not referring to any specific dinner. Also, the speaker is not contrasting "the dinner" to anything else like "the breakfast" or "the lunch". For these reasons "the" is not used.

"during dinner" may be interpreted as

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