0
Anonymous Posted 16 years ago
Grammar

When to use 'the'?

Thank you for any help you can provide:

Why can you say;

- My favourite flower is the rose

while the next sentence has no the

- My favourite sport is football
  

Top answer

e. the rose) is your favourite. But 'football' is a generic term (meaning a sport that involves a football - whether it be British, Irish, American or any other variant).

— BillJ

  • e.
  • the rose) is your favourite.
  • But 'football' is a generic term (meaning a sport that involves a football - whether it be British, Irish, American or any other variant).
  • So although there are several 'types' of football game, you don't need to be specific when you say that 'football' is your favourite sport.
  • BillJ
Free · every Monday

Get the Weekly English Kit 📬

New words, one handy idiom, and a 2-minute quiz — delivered to your inbox to keep your streak alive.

7 Answers
0
There are many types of flower (thousands probably), so you use 'the' to define precisely which one (i.e. the rose) is your favourite. But 'football' is a generic term (meaning a sport that involves a football - whether it be British, Irish, American or any other variant). So although there are several 'types' of football game, you don't need to be specific when you say that 'football' is
0
0
AnonymousWhy can you say;

- My favourite flower is the rose. Not really true, the use of definite article would not be necessary here, and is considered incorrect, in my opinion. You are referrring to "rose" in general, not something specific. However, " I like the bouquet of yellow roses in the vase" wil
0
0
dimsumexpressMy favourite flower is the rose. Not really true, the use of definite article would not be necessary here, and is considered incorrect, in my opinion. You are referrring to "rose" in general, not something specific. However, " I like the bouquet of yellow roses in the vase" will require a definite article.


It's perfectly gr
0
0
BillJ You can't say 'My favourite flower is rose'; that makes no sense, and it could be ambiguous.
Bill, apparently we have different opinions. My favorite candy is chocolate. - no [the]. To say it another way: Chocolate is my favorite candy. We agree on this; don't we?

I am sure we hear people say it both ways. But I don't think I am being ambiguou
0
0
You seem to be making heavy weather of a relatively basic point about English. But I'll try again:

Firstly, if you look closely at the original question, you'll see that it asks: 'WHY can you say "my favourite flower is the rose", not 'CAN you say...' which would be a different question. Clearly the poster is not disputing how it's said, but is asking why
0
0
BillJYou seem to be making heavy weather of a relatively basic point about English.
Hi Bill,

Not at all. There is no "heavy weather being made of this thread. I simply didn't see the need for the definite article used (as many didn't in the examples).

BillJ'WHY can you say "my favourite flower is the ro
0
0
Thank you very much to you both.
My boy friend ,who is a native speaker agree with BillJ and myself as well.

Again thank oyu very much to you both.
0

Related Questions