0
Lucas21c Posted 11 years ago
Grammar

'earth' vs 'the earth'

I heard this sentence, "Are you from earth?", from the movie, The Signal (2014). So, I am curious why there is no 'the' in front of the 'earth'. As you know, we usually say, "The earth revolves around the sun," not "Earth revolves around sun." Could you tell me why there is no "the" before the "earth"? Thank you.
  

Top answer

"earth" in the sentence refers to the world. That's the reason why the article is not required.

— Tamguatlay

  • "earth" in the sentence refers to the world.
  • That's the reason why the article is not required.
Free · every Monday

Get the Weekly English Kit 📬

New words, one handy idiom, and a 2-minute quiz — delivered to your inbox to keep your streak alive.

5 Answers
0
"earth" in the sentence refers to the world. That's the reason why the article is not required.
0
0
lucas21c "Are you from Earth?",
It's referring to a place, a home, not a physical astronomical body.
0
0
AlpheccaStars lucas21c "Are you from Earth?",It's referring to a place, a home, not a physical astronomical body.
The earth is the land surface on which we live and move about.

The space shuttle Atlantis returned safely to earth today.

The earth shook and the walls of neighbouring houses fell around them.
0
0
While planets (much like countries and cities) don't require a definite article, the Earth seems to be an exception. Still, Earth (without 'the') is so common in literature that no person can categorically say that the Earth is correct and Earth is wrong and vice versa.
0
0
tamguatlay(Collins Cobuild Dictionary)
That's a good set of examples to study.
tamguatlayThe space shuttle Atlantis returned safely to earth today.
Note that this sentence lacks the definite article. It is natural for a native speaker. It has an emotional context referring to our "home" in the universe. ie. T
0

Related Questions