Zero or definite article

Question

Hi all!Encountered the following sentence: "Sh? thought that p?n?appl?s gr?w on th? tr??s".Why with pineapples there is a zero article, and the definite article is used with trees? Can't catch the idea. Thks in advance!

CalifJim · Accepted Answer

anonymous... "Sh? thought that p?n?appl?s gr?w on th? tr??s".
Why is there a zero article with "pineapples" ~~there is a zero article~~, and the definite article is used with trees? Can't catch the idea.

If the context indicates that she is referring to or thinking about a specific group of trees, it's OK. That would be like saying "... grew on those trees there".

Otherwise, and I suspect it's 'otherwise' here, it's wrong. If the writer wanted the general idea without regard to which trees were involved, it's

She thought that pineapples grew on trees.

(And all these years I've thought it was spaghetti that grew on trees.)

CJ

Zero or definite article

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