Writing Improvement Corner (P. Ng):  Articles

 

 

3.4   Also less commonly, we use a/an with a singular count noun to make a generic phrase. 

        Two examples (a primary group, a church) were given in 3.3; here is another example in

        which the generic phrase is used to define or classify something:

 

An opinion poll conducted properly is supposed to be reliable.

(=Opinion polls conducted properly are supposed to be reliable.)

(=The opinion poll conducted properly is supposed to be reliable.)

 

But since a means ¡§any,¡¨ its use in some contexts cannot adequately express generic meaning, as when the statement is not used to define or classify something.  In such a statement, we cannot use a/an in front of the noun.

 

We can say:

The computer has brought pervasive changes to society.

Computers have brought pervasive changes to society.

But not:

A computer has brought pervasive changes to society.  (Not acceptable)

     

3.5   Use the with certain adjectives (behaving as nouns) to refer to classes of people:

 

the rich   the poor   the young   the old   the religious   the healthy   the sick   the privileged   the deprived   the better educated   the highly trained  

 

One often-heard criticism of the economy is that the gap between the rich and the poor is widening.

 

3.6   Use the with group nouns to refer to collectivities or aggregates taken as wholes:

 

the public   the audience   the administration   the middle class   the government (to be distinguished from the Government or just Government)   the state  

 

When the economy declines, people tend to blame it on the government.

 

3.7   Use zero article with society when it means ¡§the society that we as human beings all live

              in.¡¨  That is, society takes no article when it is used as a general and abstract idea that

              can include any society we can think of.

What is the relationship between society and the individual?  (Notice that the individual  refers to the entire class of human individuals.)

As concepts, culture and society are actually two sides of the same coin.

      3.8   Use the with nouns that refer to our physical environment or to stereotypes or institutions that are part of our shared social world or our common experience.                   

 

the climate   the weather   the future   the past   the environment

              Reports of the election will be in the paper tomorrow.                  

              With the popularity of video rentals, people are going to the cinema less often.                               

              Part of our social greeting is some brief talk about the weather.

              People in North America like to live in the suburbs.