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Dib Posted 13 years ago
Grammar
No article "the" before "fear of repercussions" in this sentence
Don't you wish you could speak your mind without fear of repercussions?
Why did they not use "without THE fear" as we are talking about specific fear?
If we do insert "the" before "fear" in the above sentence how does that change the meaning of the sentence?
Thanks in advance!
Why did they not use "without THE fear" as we are talking about specific fear?
If we do insert "the" before "fear" in the above sentence how does that change the meaning of the sentence?
Thanks in advance!
Top answer
Dib Don't you wish you could speak your mind without fear of repercussions? Fear is often used without an article. In this case, if you add the definite article, the meaning does not change.
- Dib Don't you wish you could speak your mind without fear of repercussions?
- Fear is often used without an article.
- In this case, if you add the definite article, the meaning does not change.
- "Repercussions" is not a very specific fear.
- Compare with the very specific phobias: claustrophobia, agoraphobia, homophobia, hydrophobia, xenophobia, etc.
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2 Answers
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DibDon't you wish you could speak your mind without fear of repercussions?Fear is often used without an article. In this case, if you add the definite article, the meaning does not change.
"Repercussions" is not a very specific fear.
Compare with the very specific phobias: claustrophobia, agoraphobia, homophobia, hydrophobia, xenophobia, etc. T
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DibWhy did they not use "without THE fear"1 'fear' is an abstract noun. It is quite common to omit articles before abstract nouns.
Faith and charity are virtues. Not The faith and the charity are virtues.
2 'fear' comes after 'without'. It is common to omit articles after 'without', though these nouns are also usually abstra
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