I was reading  about Usain Bolt on CNN's website and there is this sentence.      With his height and weight, the world record holder would not look out of place on the basketball court.   Why is the definite article used in "the basketball court"? It could be any court and also the court was not mentioned before in the text.
30728
I was reading a paragraph about lions and I came up with a question about the definite article (the).  Let me tell you first what I know about it.     1->We use the before a singular noun (when we are sure about the noun.    And the listener and the speaker both know about it).      2->We use the before a plural noun (again when we are sure about the noun,   and we are not talking generally).   So, my question is why does the writer use the here as we are not talking about any specific lion or lions. We are talking generally.  The Paragraph:     Living in the grasslands, scrub, and open woodlands of sub-Saharan   Africa, the lion is the second largest cat in the world. It is dwarfed   slightly by the tiger, which is closely related and has a very similar   body type.    Can we re-write the paragraph something like this:     Living in grasslands, scrub, and open woodlands of sub-Saharan Africa,   lions are the second largest cat in the world. They are dwarfed   slightly by tigers, they are closely related and has a very similar   body type.
116291
Kafka, discovered in the 1920s by the Expressionists, damned by the Nazis in the 1930s and by the Marxists at more or less the same time, was reinvented after World War II by the French Existentialists. They saw in him the father of Angst and the Angst for the father: an Albert Camus before his time.   Can you tell me what the purpose of using the indefinite article before the proper name is in the sentence above. What it be a mistake to write just "Albert Camus" without the article?
39039
Possibly two questions in here: Are these sentence constructions logical, and if they are, why are they different?     I swam across the Ocmulgee River.   I swam across the Pacific Ocean.   I swam across the Red Sea.   I swam across Lake Winnipeg.   I can't think of a way of phrasing the lake example while using an article with a proper noun. I thought at first it was because Lake Winnipeg is different; it's generic portion (the "Lake") comes first and the name of that body comes second, but I swam across Falls Lake is the same.   Yet the sentence I swam across the lake sounds right to me. ...Why?
108280
I'm reading a book, and I found a sentence where I don't understand the grammar. It seems as the writer wants to write a statement, but uses the structure of a question. The sentence is highlighted in the following paragraph:     In the first ten paragraphs, he touted his engineering skills, including his ability to design bridges, waterways, cannons, armored vehicles, and public buildings. Only in the eleventh paragraph, at the end, did he add that he was also an artist. "Likewise in painting, I can do everything possible," he wrote.      Isaacson, Walter. (2017) Leonardo da Vinci.   Shouldn't that sentence start with "he added" instead of "did he add" since it's not a question? If it's correct, is it something people usually use when they speak, or is it more like something you would find in books?
87854
I am a bit confused with this sentence.   The team was/were now in the field and about to take their/its place.  Since we are referring to taking positions on the field and as all the players take different positions, I thought we have to use the team as a plural here as the emphasis is on individual units. But my book says otherwise.  Is The team were now in the field and about to take their place, correct? Please clarify.
94395
I was teaching an ESL class and came across this sentence which confused me a lot:  &quot;The Queen Alice is the place that I go to the most&quot; &quot;Isn't that the place which kids under 12 can't enter?&quot;  Are these 2 sentences correct? Shouldn't &quot;where&quot; be used for both sentences when it's referring to the place and replacing the object?
56472
I came across people using all the in sentences instead of all.     Select the type of user to view all the users of that type. All the   users of the selected role are displayed.   I usually strike out the after all. Is there any justification that I can give my team on why the seems out of place in the above example? Are there any rules of grammar for or against using the article after all?
15073
A star shoots.   I read something like this somewhere. Can this be thought of as a complete sentence? How does one analyze this, grammatically? It looks as though it is missing some phrase. On the other hand we do say shooting star, so it isn't very clear if this is a complete sentence or not.  So, it may seem like a complete sentence? I guess, “A man runs.” and “It bites.”, seem like this, too? Same with: "A twig swayed.", "A ball rolls.", "A man jumps."
75359
I know that the definite article "the" can be used to mean a generic idea of something as in "the lion is the king of the animals." In this sentence, the in "the lion" is used to imply the general image of lions, so not specifying a particular lion.   However, I am confused in identifying where a "the" in a sentence is used for a general idea or a specific reference. For example, in the sentence "the price of gas is soaring", I heard that "the" in the sentence is an example of the generic use of the. Although I can easily understand the generic use of "the" in the lion example, but I do not understand how there is an general idea about gas price. Soaring gas price is something real,and gas prices in different regions( in a hypothetical situation) can be different. So, if I say "the price of gas is soaring", do I mean the price of gas that is determined by the world's oil system or can I say "the gas price" even when I am indicating the state of gas price in "a particular region"?    I know it is even difficult to understand my question, but I hope someone could find what I am confused about and give an answer.
80743
"You know, every time we take rebels, whether it’s in Iraq or anywhere else, we’re arming people. And you know what happens? They end up being worse than the people.”     What does the definite article imply here exactly? Why is it "the people" and not just "people"?
102269
Suddenly, to everybody's surprise, the silent Mr.Smith swung around and addressed Barbara.   The dinner was served by a silent Mrs. Keats.   I saw an infuriated Jennifer, who started shouting at me the moment I opened the door.   It seemed Walter didn't pay any attention to a tearful Kitty.   She hasn't got lovely eyelashes like marvellous Monica.   I bet your Mum kept you well clear of horrible Jesse.      The rule I learned at university said that the is used when the adjective a permanent quality of the person in question. E.g. 'I met the wicked Matilda the other day' would suggest that Matilda is inherently wicked.  The indefinite article a/an, on the other hand, would denote the mood or an unusual quality of the person described.  However, recently I've come across a lot of examples where no article is used with names modified by adjectives (see examples 5 and 6 above).   Can anyone explain why there are no articles in sentences 5 and 6?
51972
I'm writing the following sentence:     Women lead uptake at XX%.   But a friend is saying that it should be written:     Women lead uptake with XX%.   Which one is correct?
41833
We short men are in big trouble because if we want a shoe that feels decent we feel short and you can’t put in lifts, if you get a shoe with lifts it doesn’t feel comfortable I feel really trapped, that why I cannot believe that there is a god because if there was he wouldn’t of don’t this to me and made me only 5.4″ he or it would of made me to be at lease the regular American height which is 5.8” or taller , its a disaster to be short for a male.   The text is written by a native English speaker. It is the first time I face a usage in which would of + verb is used. Is it grammatically correct? What is the meaning of the parts I have shown in bold?
9035
I'm wondering when to use or not to use the definite article, when using acronyms or initialisms in a sentence. Is there a rule for this, or does it depend on the context?  For example, let's look at some example sentences DDR  = detailed design review.  NASA is planning to launch the final shuttle soon (no article) The FBI shut down this website (article) ESA is a full partner in the ISS (no article, article) The project was cancelled at the DDR. (article)  What confuses me is that if NASA or ESA would be written in full, the article would be necessary.
65717
"Welcome. You've come to Earth." ()  There seems to be a definite article or not in front of earth in dictionaries. For which meaning, there isn’t one in the example? For what meaning, is there one in other cases?
121687
Tell me please why the is not used in the first following sentence and is used in the second one.     Ancient egyptian civilization existed for a long time.      The Inca civilization flourished for a long time.   Is the omitted because of the word ancient, or the use of the is optional in both sentences?
110343
I would just like to know: Do we use the definite article (the) before specific names of products like iPhone and iPod? If yes, is there any specific rule as to when and when not to use the article "the" before such names?  Thank you!