Anonymous Posted 15 years ago
Grammar
People or the people?
Hi. Should we put the definite articles here? Are both correct? If they are, what is the difference?
1. What do (the?) people in England call the subway?
2. He talked to (the?) people next to him on the subway.
3. He talked to (the?) people to the right of him on the subway.
1. What do (the?) people in England call the subway?
2. He talked to (the?) people next to him on the subway.
3. He talked to (the?) people to the right of him on the subway.
Top answer
1. I would not use 'the'. I would want to refer to people in England generally.
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1. I would not use 'the'. I would want to refer to people in England generally.
2. I would use 'the' to indicate all people next to him, possibly indicated in the context as some specific group, possibly in contrast to some other group of people.
I would not use 'the' for the idea of some people, any people, it doesn't matter which people who happened to be next to him.
2. I would use 'the' to indicate all people next to him, possibly indicated in the context as some specific group, possibly in contrast to some other group of people.
I would not use 'the' for the idea of some people, any people, it doesn't matter which people who happened to be next to him.
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