"THE" tiger is a strong animal.

Question

Hi,When I look up the word "the," one of the explanations says:Used to refer to a thing in general rather than a particular example:- He taught himself to play the violin. - The dolphin is an intelligent animal.While I can understand it, I cannot help but feel uncomfortable.  I find English is a fairly logical language, but there seems to be no logic in this usage. So my question is, sorry for being very ambiguous, don't you feel uncomfortable to use "the" in order to talk about a thing in general? In the end, you wouldn't say, "I like the cat" when you mean "I like cats," wouldn't you?any reply would be appreciated.M

Clive · Accepted Answer

For native speakers, it is just an instinctive and natural way to speak
We know what sounds OK and what doesn't.

Isn't that how it is with you and your native language?

Clive

Mitsuo23 · Answer

Thank you for the reply and yes, I should know what you mean.

So let me rephrase my question. When do you use "the" to talk about a thing in general, instead of a plural noun?

You say, "For native speakers, it is just an instinctive and natural way to speak." Why didn't you say, "for the native speaker, it is.. "?

In other words, why can't I say, "I like the cat" when I like cats in general?

Sorry to bother you..

M

Blue Jay · Answer

In the case of the dolphin you have two choices. You can say The dolphin is an intelligent animal, where The dolphin represents dolphins in general, or you can say Dolphins are intelligent animals.
The first is just one of those usages the English speaker has available to him or her.
I like cats and I like the cats have different meanings. The first refers to cats in general, and the second refers to a particular group of cats.

Mitsuo23 · Answer

Thank you for the reply, Blue Jay,

I am slightly confused so please let me ask you again. I try to be clearer this time.

I understand that sentences like "The dolphin is an intelligent animal" are correct, and that "the dolphin" represents dolphins in general. What I don't understand is the difference between the sentence above and "Dolphins are intelligent animals." That's why I don't get why it is wrong to say, "I like the cat" when I like an animal called "cat" in general. I know I have to say, "I like cats."

Because I haven't understood the concept of "the + a singular noun" correctly to represent a thing in general, not in particular, I can't tell when to use "For native speakers" or when to use "For the native speaker." For me, both are saying the same thing.

I hope I am not bothering you.

M

Clive · Answer

The plural form is a lot more commonly used.

The form, eg For the native speaker, it is . . . sounds somewhat formal.

I like the violin sounds OK.
I like the cat sounds odd.
I think this form is just somewhat idiomatic.

Clive.

Blue Jay · Answer

The dolphin is and dolphins are are saying the same thing. As Clive says, The dolphin is more formal, which may suit the style of a particular piece of writing. The dolphin is a personification of dolphins which embodies all the characteristics and actions we think of as typical of dolphins. As a result, we are more likely to use it to describe what dolphins do, or are like, rather than how we relate to them. We might say the dolphin is friendly and intelligent, or the dolphin eats fish, or the dolphin can be trained to jump through hoops. We could say I have been studying the dolphin because we would mean that we had been studying the actions and habits of dolphins. We would not usually say I like the dolphin to refer to dolphins in general because we are now talking about the animals themselves rather than their characteristics.

Mitsuo23 · Answer

Thank you for your help, Clive and Blue Jay

"the" finally made sense

M

"THE" tiger is a strong animal.

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