How does "the" modify plurals followed by relative clauses?

Question

A. She talked to the students who failed the test. (Am I referring to some of the students who failed, or all (the?) students who failed?)B. She talked to students who failed the test. (Am I referring to all (the?) students who failed, or have I incorrectly omitted "the"?)C. "Students who don't study usually fail." (Am I referring to all (the?) students who don't study, or have I incorrectly omitted "the"?)D. "The students who don't study usually fail." (Am I referring to all (the?) students who don't study, or some of the students who failed?) PS: Although A has "the" and C doesn't, they both sound natural to me. So does "the" modify the whole "students who blah blah" or just "studnets"? Thanks for any help.

Goodman · Accepted Answer

Hi,

A She talked to the students who failed the test.
All the students who failed because “the” specified” it.

B. She talked to students who failed the test.
Without the article “the”, it doesn’t work quite right.

C. "Students who don't study usually fail."
Again, without “the” this is a general statement. This is fine.

D. "The students who don't study usually fail."
(Am I referring to all (the?) students who don't study, or some of the students who failed?)

On “D”, the article “the” is not necessary. When we apply “the” in a sentence, we are referring to something defined and specific. But D is, as I have determined “ a general statement.

The lady walking out of the building is my aunt. Without the article, this sentence will sound incomplete. "The" is needed.

Men who don’t iron their shirts usually are messy at home- Again, this is a generalization and does not require the article “the”.

However, compare it with “the man who hasn’t shaved for 3 days is my brother”. Now, “the” man is defined as my brother and therefore “the” is needed.

I hope I’ve helped.

CalifJim · Answer

A. She talked to the students who failed the test.
(Am I referring to some of the students who failed, or all (the?) students who failed?)
All who failed.

B. She talked to students who failed the test.
(Am I referring to all (the?) students who failed, or have I incorrectly omitted "the"?)
to students who failed the test = to some students who failed the test, where some may be all.
some can include all. She may have talked to three students, and only three failed the test (those three) or maybe five or six failed the test. In either case she talked to students who failed the test.

C. "Students who don't study usually fail."
(Am I referring to all (the?) students who don't study, or have I incorrectly omitted "the"?)
all (the) students who don't study.

D. "The students who don't study usually fail."
(Am I referring to all (the?) students who don't study, or some of the students who failed?)
all (the) students who don't study.

C. and D. are equivalent logically. C is a general (universal) statement about all students; D is a specific statement about all the students the speaker has singled out through previous contextual cues.

PS: Although A has "the" and C doesn't, they both sound natural to me. So does "the" modify the whole "students who blah blah" or just "studnets"?
Strictly speaking, the does not modify anything; it never does. But it acts as the determiner for the whole noun phrase with its relative clause, not just the head noun.

CJ

Starstuff · Answer

Thank you both for the wonderful answers!

How does "the" modify plurals followed by relative clauses?

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