The definite article

Question

Last night when I arrived home and found that someone had broken into my house. So, I called the police.(Before the word "police", why do use the definite article? Explain, please)

Philip · Accepted Answer

KittixayLast night ~~when~~ I arrived home and found that someone had broken into my house. So, I called the police.
(Before the word "police", why do use the definite article? Explain, please)

My guess ist that is elliptical (I called the police station / the police force). Technically, it would be correct without 'the'. You might also consider it as a fixed phrase.

Cool Breeze · Answer

Hi Kittixay

In my younger days it was customary for grammarians to say that the word police always had the before it. Well, there were of course exceptions, but the general grammatical rule was to use the:

We don't want to involve the police.
The police haven't caught the murderer yet.
One cannot trust the police in some countries.

And this use of police was considered incorrect:

There were about 20 police at the scene of the crime.
You were supposed to say: 20 policemen / police officers.

Like all languages, English changes slowly and nowadays police is used without the more and more often and 20 police is no longer wrong - at least in my opinion it isn't.

You and I have paid attention to the same thing, the use of the with police. It's just that I have been wondering for decades why the seems to be disappearing from the police, and you are wondering why theis used.

CB

Anonymous · Answer

i think this would be helpful for those who might stumble upon this thread:

http://learnenglish.britishcouncil.org/book-page/definite-article

this site has helped me a lot of times. thanks

Cool Breeze · Answer

Anonymousi think this would be helpful for those who might stumble upon this thread:

http://learnenglish.britishcouncil.org/book-page/definite-article

this site has helped me a lot of times. thanks

Thanks for the link. However, I get the impression that whoever wrote the list of cases requiring the definite article simplified things a little, or tried to make English more logical and consistent than it actually is.

• to refer to a system or service:

How long does it take on the train.
I heard it on the radio.
You should tell the police.

If I took this advice, I would have to say: I saw him on the television. Britons don't use the article here. Just to prove how logical they are, they do say: I saw him on the telly.

CB

Anonymous · Answer

Hi, CB,
The fact that "the" is disappearing from "the police" is because of a misunderstanding by educators and students alike about whether all plural nouns do not require a determiner.
Evelyn

The definite article

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