Generic use of the definite article
The following paragraph is written by a native English speaker in an article that deals with article (the/a) usage of ESL learners.
Definitions can take a definite or an indefinite article:The library is a place where you can find books. (Here, library means the entire class of places called
libraries, not a specific library.)A library is a place where you can find books. (Here, library represents
a class.)
The first sentence seems incorrect to me. As far as I know, we can generalize using the with certain kinds of nouns such as animals, plants, people and some others but not with library, theatre etc.
For instance,
The average employee in the UK is 45 years old.
or
The elephant is the largest land animal.
What do you think?
Top answer
It is a thorny situation. The definite article is sometimes used with concrete nouns as a generalization, but it should be clear from the context. A library is a place where you can find books.
- It is a thorny situation.
- The definite article is sometimes used with concrete nouns as a generalization, but it should be clear from the context.
- A library is a place where you can find books.
- (This is the proper generic term for the idea of a place for borrowing and reading books.
- ) Here are some examples of "the" making a symbolic reference.
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It is a thorny situation. The definite article is sometimes used with concrete nouns as a generalization, but it should be clear from the context.
A library is a place where you can find books. (This is the proper generic term for the idea of a place for borrowing and reading books. When you say "the library" you refer to a specific location where you normally go to read books.)
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