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AndyOrban Posted 10 years ago
Grammar

From mountains

Hi,
Why can you say in English:
These people came from towns.
These people came from villages.
These people moved from towns to big cities.
(No definite article).

But why can you not say:
These people came from mountains?
These people came from hills?
I remember being told on this forum that there has to be a definite article before 'mountains'. The mountains have to be there for someone to move from them.

Something special about mountains/hills? Are they monolithic, maybe that's why? Thank you.
  

Top answer

Probably because you can live in towns and villages, but you can't live IN hills or mountains.

— Anonymous

  • Probably because you can live in towns and villages, but you can't live IN hills or mountains.
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3 Answers
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Probably because you can live in towns and villages, but you can't live IN hills or mountains.
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The first 3 sentences are correct, provided they appear in the proper context. But note that they can also be correct with the definite article in front of the words towns, villages, towns, and big cities, if they appear in the right context.

The second 2 sentences are ungrammatical in isolation, however, they can be okay in a particular context, for example:

These people came f
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AnonymousThe first 3 sentences are correct, provided they appear in the proper context. But note that they can also be correct with the definite article in front of the words towns, villages, towns, and big cities, if they appear in the right context.The second 2 sentences are ungrammatical in isolation, however, they can be okay in a particular context, for example:These
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