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Jackson6612 Posted 12 years ago
Grammar
Use of definite article "the" after "both"
Hi
I believe it's not the wrong to use definite article "the" after "both". But I think using definite article "the" before "both" is considered wrong because "both" in itself somewhat plays the role of a "definite article". Please let me know if I have it wrong. I have included some example sentences below. Thank you.
1: Can I use both the magic mouse and the magic trackpad?
2: The great source of both the misery and disorders of human life, seems to arise from over-rating the difference between one permanent situation and another.
3: Both the mother and daughter are alike.
I believe it's not the wrong to use definite article "the" after "both". But I think using definite article "the" before "both" is considered wrong because "both" in itself somewhat plays the role of a "definite article". Please let me know if I have it wrong. I have included some example sentences below. Thank you.
1: Can I use both the magic mouse and the magic trackpad?
2: The great source of both the misery and disorders of human life, seems to arise from over-rating the difference between one permanent situation and another.
3: Both the mother and daughter are alike.
Top answer
Jackson6612 I believe it's not the wrong to use definite article "the" after "both". Correct. Both can be a pronoun, (pre)determiner or conjunction.
- Jackson6612 I believe it's not the wrong to use definite article "the" after "both".
- Correct.
- Both can be a pronoun, (pre)determiner or conjunction.
- Jackson6612 But I think using definite article "the" before "both" is considered wrong because "both" in itself somewhat plays the role of a "definite article".
- Correct.
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7 Answers
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Jackson6612I believe it's not the wrong to use definite article "the" after "both".Correct. Both can be a pronoun, (pre)determiner or conjunction.
Jackson6612But I think using definite article "the" before "both" is considered wrong because "both" in itself somewhat plays the role of a "definite article".Correct.
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Jackson6612But I think using definite article "the" before "both" is considered wrong because "both" in itself somewhat plays the role of a "definite article".Sometimes you hear people say things like 'the both of us', but I don't consider it standard English. To me, it has to be either 'both of us' or 'the two of us'.
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ozzourtiSometimes you hear people say things like 'the both of us', but I don't consider it standard English.Yes. As in:
They invited the both of us to their New Year's eve party. (It is debatable whether this qualifies as standard English.)
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ozzourtiSometimes you hear people say things like 'the both of us', but I don't consider it standard EnglishI’d say that’s perfectly standard in AmE. It’s just informal; that’s all.
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Aspara GusI’d say that’s perfectly standard in AmE. It’s just informal; that’s all.I guess it's a fairly recent development and yet another linguistic oddity. It seems to be gaining popularity, yes, but I don't think that's reason enough for the original poster to start using it. Plain "both of us" works fine for me in every conceivable context—formal or info
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Jackson6612 wrote:
> 1: Can I use both the magic mouse and the magic trackpad?
Yes, this is a good example, and "both the" is correct here.
2: The great source of both the misery and disorders of human life, seems to arise from over-rating the difference between one permanent situation and another.
This is OK, but don't put a comma between the subject and the
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