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OttoJ Posted 12 years ago
Grammar
The law
eg This right became part of American/British/Iraqi law under the First Amendment. (no THE before American law etc.)
situation:
Nothing like law has been talked about or hinted at before. The criminal now has emerged from his hiding place and then he asks Holmes: 'What I ask you now is how do I stand by the English law'
Is this example enough to tell us '(the) + national adjective ' contains an optional THE and there's no difference in meaning?
situation:
Nothing like law has been talked about or hinted at before. The criminal now has emerged from his hiding place and then he asks Holmes: 'What I ask you now is how do I stand by the English law'
Is this example enough to tell us '(the) + national adjective ' contains an optional THE and there's no difference in meaning?
Top answer
OttoJ Is this example enough to tell us '(the) + national adjective ' contains an optional THE and there's no difference in meaning? Not optional; one is countable and the other is not.
- OttoJ Is this example enough to tell us '(the) + national adjective ' contains an optional THE and there's no difference in meaning?
- Not optional; one is countable and the other is not.
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3 Answers
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OttoJIs this example enough to tell us '(the) + national adjective ' contains an optional THE and there's no difference in meaning?Not optional; one is countable and the other is not.
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Mister Micawberone is countable and the other is notThank you~
But what is the difference in meaning? In the Holmes example, the criminal is not referring to any specific law; then why is THE used?
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OttoJIn the Holmes example, the criminal is not referring to any specific law; then why is THE used?I don't know, except that Conan Doyle's novels are written in a stylized 19th century English.
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