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MUSCOVITE Posted 14 years ago
Grammar

With or withour 'the'

Hi,

Karl Lagerfeld does not like Russians/Italians.[*]
As far as I can see, [*] means "KL does not like ALL Russians or ALL Italians". The idea is to convey, so to say, "genelal dislike" :-)

Now, consider
Karl Lagerfeld does not like the Russians (the Italians, etc.)" [**]
Are [*] and [**] are identical ("conveying genelal dislike") despite the use of 'the' in the latter?

Sentences such as "KL doesn't like the Russians living next door to him" [***] cause no difficulty...
My question ( hope it makes sense! ) is specifically about [**] ....

Mus-te
  

Top answer

In my opinion, the three senses are different. "Karl does not like Russians" means "Russians in general," or "any Russians," referring to ethnic Russians. " Depending on context, it would probably include the Russians living today who make up the current cultural and political fabric of the country of Russia.

— Avangi

  • In my opinion, the three senses are different.
  • "Karl does not like Russians" means "Russians in general," or "any Russians," referring to ethnic Russians.
  • " Depending on context, it would probably include the Russians living today who make up the current cultural and political fabric of the country of Russia.
  • "Karl does not like the Russians across the street" means a specific small group of Russians.
  • The asterisks are a bit confusing.
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2 Answers
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In my opinion, the three senses are different.

"Karl does not like Russians" means "Russians in general," or "any Russians," referring to ethnic Russians.

"Karl does not like the Russians" means "the Russians as a group." Depending on context, it would probably include the Russians living today who make up the current cultural and political fabric of the country of Russia.
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