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Anonymous Posted 14 years ago
Grammar
Use of "the"
Hi I was teaching a class and there was this speaking exercise where they had to ask questions to find out when things were invented.
One student asked why some sentences started with "the" and some didn't and I didn't have a clear reason why. Your help is much appreciated in advance.
1. Coca-Cola was invented in ____. (proper noun- I get this)
2. The camera was invented in _____.
3. The record player was invented in _____.
4. The first plane was invented in _____. ("the" ordinal - get this too)
5. Jeans were invented in _____.
6. Hamburgers were invented in ______.
7. Cars were invented in ______.
8. The telephone was invented in ______.
9. The television was invented in _______.
10. Bicycles were invented in ______.
The camera, record player, telephone and TV could easily have been treated as plural common nouns, no? Why were the nouns treated differently? i.e. Some specific, some general?
Many thanks!
One student asked why some sentences started with "the" and some didn't and I didn't have a clear reason why. Your help is much appreciated in advance.
1. Coca-Cola was invented in ____. (proper noun- I get this)
2. The camera was invented in _____.
3. The record player was invented in _____.
4. The first plane was invented in _____. ("the" ordinal - get this too)
5. Jeans were invented in _____.
6. Hamburgers were invented in ______.
7. Cars were invented in ______.
8. The telephone was invented in ______.
9. The television was invented in _______.
10. Bicycles were invented in ______.
The camera, record player, telephone and TV could easily have been treated as plural common nouns, no? Why were the nouns treated differently? i.e. Some specific, some general?
Many thanks!
Top answer
1. Coca-Cola was invented in ____ . (proper noun- I get this) All of the following refer to the object as a type object or a 'representative noun', representing the whole group of similar objects; the writer could as easily use singular (requiring 'the') or plural (which does not require 'the')— it is the writer's choice, really: 2.
- 1.
- Coca-Cola was invented in ____ .
- (proper noun- I get this) All of the following refer to the object as a type object or a 'representative noun', representing the whole group of similar objects; the writer could as easily use singular (requiring 'the') or plural (which does not require 'the')— it is the writer's choice, really: 2.
- The camera was / Cameras were invented in ___ .
- 3.
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1 Answers
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1. Coca-Cola was invented in ____. (proper noun- I get this)
All of the following refer to the object as a type object or a 'representative noun', representing the whole group of similar objects; the writer could as easily use singular (requiring 'the') or plural (which does not require 'the')— it is the writer's choice, really:
2. The camera was / Cameras were inve
All of the following refer to the object as a type object or a 'representative noun', representing the whole group of similar objects; the writer could as easily use singular (requiring 'the') or plural (which does not require 'the')— it is the writer's choice, really:
2. The camera was / Cameras were inve
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