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Anonymous Posted 20 years ago
Grammar
Does it need "the" here?
Hi,
I was wondering if this sentence as a starting sentence of an article, should have "the" in front of "Japan's prosecutors"?
John Doe challenged (the) Japan's prosecutors yesterday to come and get him.
From my understanding, if something is very specific, you don't use "the," like "John's defense team."
In the above sentence in italics, Does "Japan's prosecutors" doesn't need "the" in front because:
1) no previous mentioning,
2) Japan's prosecutors are being referred in general, and/or
3) a plural noun does not need a determiner
Allow me to understand what is going on here. Need your help.
* John Doe is a name I decided to use. I know it means "nobody."
I was wondering if this sentence as a starting sentence of an article, should have "the" in front of "Japan's prosecutors"?
John Doe challenged (the) Japan's prosecutors yesterday to come and get him.
From my understanding, if something is very specific, you don't use "the," like "John's defense team."
In the above sentence in italics, Does "Japan's prosecutors" doesn't need "the" in front because:
1) no previous mentioning,
2) Japan's prosecutors are being referred in general, and/or
3) a plural noun does not need a determiner
Allow me to understand what is going on here. Need your help.
* John Doe is a name I decided to use. I know it means "nobody."
Top answer
A proper noun (such as Japan ) is never preceded by "the". That's the rule which makes it impossible to use "the Japan's prosecutors". Recall that a proper noun names a unique entity.
- A proper noun (such as Japan ) is never preceded by "the".
- That's the rule which makes it impossible to use "the Japan's prosecutors".
- Recall that a proper noun names a unique entity.
- The rule does not apply when "the" is part of the proper noun.
- You use "the United States' prosecutors" because the name of the country is " the United States", not just "United States".
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2 Answers
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A proper noun (such as Japan) is never preceded by "the".
That's the rule which makes it impossible to use "the Japan's prosecutors".
Recall that a proper noun names a unique entity.
The rule does not apply when "the" is part of the proper noun. You use "the United States' prosecutors" because the name of the country is "the United States", not just "U
That's the rule which makes it impossible to use "the Japan's prosecutors".
Recall that a proper noun names a unique entity.
The rule does not apply when "the" is part of the proper noun. You use "the United States' prosecutors" because the name of the country is "the United States", not just "U
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hi
in this sentene i believe that using "The" is ungrammatical.because Japan is Proper name and don't to be preceded by "The".in other hand if the is used to determine "Prosectutors" based on two reasons isn't right:
1)there isn't any mention to it before
2)"the" should be used just befor "Prosectutors"
in this sentene i believe that using "The" is ungrammatical.because Japan is Proper name and don't to be preceded by "The".in other hand if the is used to determine "Prosectutors" based on two reasons isn't right:
1)there isn't any mention to it before
2)"the" should be used just befor "Prosectutors"
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