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Anonymous Posted 10 years ago
Grammar
(The) water came out
Hi Teachers.
1) I turned on the faucet and water came out.
2) I turned on the faucet and the water came out.
My tutor prefers #2 (the water) but she says either is grammatical.
1) means some water came out.
2) means the water that's there came out.
Yes? Thank you.
1) I turned on the faucet and water came out.
2) I turned on the faucet and the water came out.
My tutor prefers #2 (the water) but she says either is grammatical.
1) means some water came out.
2) means the water that's there came out.
Yes? Thank you.
Top answer
Anonymous I turned on the faucet and water came out. Strange remark. What did you expect to come out?
- Anonymous I turned on the faucet and water came out.
- Strange remark.
- What did you expect to come out?
- Blood?
- More sensible: I tapped my cane against a rock, and water came out.
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7 Answers
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AnonymousI turned on the faucet and water came out.Strange remark. What did you expect to come out? Blood?
More sensible: I tapped my cane against a rock, and water came out. (Water is not naturally associated with rocks.)
AnonymousI turned on the faucet and the water came out.Of course it did. THE wat
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CalifJimStrange remark. What did you expect to come out? Blood?More sensible: I tapped my cane against a rock, and water came out. (Water is not naturally associated with rocks.)Well, you never know.
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AnonymousSo it is wrong to say "water"?It always depends on context, and I see you have one coming up next.
AnonymousMaybe it's not a bathroom faucet? Maybe it's a faucet in a disused bunker.In that case "water came out", I'd say, not "the water" because you're not expecting the faucet to work normally.
CJ
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Sorry, CalifJim, one last question:
If I said "I turned the faucet on and water came out" (with no article) in a modern Californian bathroom, would this stand out as an error? Would people pick up on that? Or is it a minor thing?
If I said "I turned the faucet on and water came out" (with no article) in a modern Californian bathroom, would this stand out as an error? Would people pick up on that? Or is it a minor thing?
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It's a very minor thing for a non-native speaker, but someone might say "Duh" to a native speaker. 
CJ
CJ
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