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Anonymous Posted 20 years ago
Grammar

Why "the" in front of a name?

0Hi,02br
02br
00Why do we arbitrary put 'THE" in front of a name when the name does not contain that "THE" in the name?02br
02br
01i00The INF02i02br
02br
01i00The INC02i02br
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00* LET'S ASSUME THE NAMES "INF" OR "INC" ARE PROPER NAMES OF GOVERNMENT AGENCIES. 0-
  

Top answer

0The definite article is being used to identify a particular the department or organization. 02br 02br 00Mr. 02br 02br 00Mr.

— Jacobpressures

  • 0The definite article is being used to identify a particular the department or organization.
  • 02br 02br 00Mr.
  • 02br 02br 00Mr.
  • Jones joined a local FBI branch.
  • This use is less definite.
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6 Answers
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0The definite article is being used to identify a particular the department or organization. 02br
02br
00Mr. Jones joined the FBI.02br
02br
00Mr. Jones joined a local FBI branch. This use is less definite. It is not specific.0-
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0
0Basic Rules are:02br
00(1) Don't put THE when the acronym is pronounced word-like. 02br
00 (EX) NATO, OPEC, UNESCO, DOS, UNIX02br
00(2) Put THE when the acronym is pronounced letter-wise.02br
00 (EX) The UN, The USA, The FBI, The IMF, The WHO02br
00But there are many exceptions to the rule #202br
00 (EX) IBM,
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0Please forgive me but I think rule # 1 may not work this way. 02br
02br
02br
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00If we say” OPEC decided to raise the price of the oil by two dollars a barrel. I think it’s fine02br
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00But if the structure is changed to “ 00The OPAC00 cartel decided to raise the price of oil by two dollars a barrel”, now 02br
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0Hi, Goodman02br
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00Yes, you are right. NATO, IBM, or other like things can take THE before them when they are used as adjectives. (EX) The NATO officers, The IBM engineer, etc.. But I took the questioner's original question as if s/he asked why some acronyms take THE and others not.02br
02br
00paco0-
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0Thank you.02br
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00Mr. Paco, how would you handle the acronyms like the names of tests?02br
02br
00I01i00 am studying hard for (the ?) TOFEL.02i02br
02br
01i00I am studying for (the ?) SAT. 02i0-
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0 I say TOEFL like "toe-full". So it should be "for TOEFL", in my opinion. 02br
00I say SAT as "es-ei-tee", So it would be "for the SAT", but I am not so sure about this.02br
02br
00paco0-
0

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