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Moon7296 Posted 14 years ago
Vocabulary
The use of the
During Socrates’ final days, his friends formulated the perfect
plan to help him escape from the prison where he was to be
killed. They tried to convince Socrates that their plan was a
good one. If he accepted their plan, they explained, he would be
able to escape from prison and continue living his life. But if he
turned them down, people would think his friends didn’t care
about him. Therefore, if he wanted to protect his friends’
reputations, following their plan and escaping from prison
would be the logical choice.
Q) There appears the phrase "Escape from (the) prison" 3 times in the above sentence. I was just wondering if "the" is just omitted because it is mentioned at first; later it becomes unnecessary.
plan to help him escape from the prison where he was to be
killed. They tried to convince Socrates that their plan was a
good one. If he accepted their plan, they explained, he would be
able to escape from prison and continue living his life. But if he
turned them down, people would think his friends didn’t care
about him. Therefore, if he wanted to protect his friends’
reputations, following their plan and escaping from prison
would be the logical choice.
Q) There appears the phrase "Escape from (the) prison" 3 times in the above sentence. I was just wondering if "the" is just omitted because it is mentioned at first; later it becomes unnecessary.
Top answer
moon7296 I was just wondering if "the" is just omitted because it is mentioned at first; later it becomes unnecessary. No, we cannot omit articles for that reason! It is because 'prison' can function like 'hospital', 'church' and 'school'—when referring to the type of institution, no article is needed.
- moon7296 I was just wondering if "the" is just omitted because it is mentioned at first; later it becomes unnecessary.
- No, we cannot omit articles for that reason!
- It is because 'prison' can function like 'hospital', 'church' and 'school'—when referring to the type of institution, no article is needed.
- However, when it refers to a particular one (as in your first 'prison'), the article is needed as with other more normal nouns.
- the perfect plan to help him escape from the prison where he was to be killed.
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1 Answers
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moon7296 I was just wondering if "the" is just omitted because it is mentioned at first; later it becomes unnecessary.No, we cannot omit articles for that reason! It is because 'prison' can function like 'hospital', 'church' and 'school'—when referring to the type of institution, no article is needed. However, when it refers to a particular one (as in your f
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