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Anonymous Posted 14 years ago
Grammar
Zero articles
The US dollar fell against the pound.
The US dollar fell against sterling.
Why not "the" sterling?
The US dollar fell against sterling.
Why not "the" sterling?
Top answer
Why not "the" sterling? That's because nouns like ' sterling ' and gold are not countable. But you can count ounces, pounds or tons of the metals.
- Why not "the" sterling?
- That's because nouns like ' sterling ' and gold are not countable.
- But you can count ounces, pounds or tons of the metals.
- '.
- '.
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2 Answers
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AnonymousThe US dollar fell against the pound.The US dollar fell against sterling.Why not "the" sterling?That's because nouns like 'sterling' and gold are not countable. But you can count ounces, pounds or tons of the metals.
'Today gold rose against the US dollar.'
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It's not "the sterling" because you never have to ask "Which sterling?". There is no specific pile of sterling that the US dollar fell against. It fell against any and all sterling. 'sterling' is uncountable. It's "stuff"; it's not an object.
Compare:
This material is like silk. You don't have to ask "Like which silk?" because you know it's like any and a
Compare:
This material is like silk. You don't have to ask "Like which silk?" because you know it's like any and a
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