Collins Cobuild English Grammar (25 page)

You don’t mean
the
Ernest Hemingway?

See paragraph
1.181
for more information about emphatic uses of
the
.

the
with a noun

1.166
  You can use a noun phrase consisting just of
the
and a noun when you know that the person you are talking or writing to will understand which person, thing, or group you are referring to.

The expedition
sailed out into
the Pacific
.
…the most obnoxious boy in
the school
.
He stopped
the car
in front of
the bakery
.

nouns referring to one thing only

1.167
  Some nouns are used with
the
because they refer to only one person, thing, or group. Some of these are specific names or
proper nouns
, for example titles such as
the Pope
, unique things such as
the Eiffel Tower
, and place names such as
the Atlantic
.

…a concert attended by
the Queen
.
We went on camel rides to
the Pyramids
.

See paragraphs
1.52
to
1.58
for more information about proper nouns.

Some are
singular nouns
, that is they refer to something of which there is only one in the world, such as
the ground
, or
the moon
.

The sun
began to turn red.
In April and May
the wind
blows steadily.

See paragraphs
1.34
to
1.40
for more information about singular nouns.

specific places and organizations

1.168
  Other nouns are used to talk about just one person, thing, or group in a particular place or organization, so that if you are talking about that place or organization or talking to someone in it, you can use just
the
and the noun.

For example, if there is only one station in a town, the people who live in the town will talk about
the station
. Similarly, people living in Britain talk to each other about
the economy
, meaning
the British economy
, and people working for the same organization might talk about
the boss
,
the union
, or
the canteen
without needing to specify the organization.

The church
has been broken into.
There’s a wind coming off
the river
.
We had to get rid of
the director
.
The mayor
is a forty-eight-year-old former labourer.
What is
the President
doing about all this?

generalizing about people and things

1.169
  Normally, if you want to talk generally about all people or things of a particular type, you use the plural form of a noun without a determiner.

However, there are some countable nouns that are used in the singular with
the
to refer to something more general.

For example, you can use
the theatre
or
the stage
to talk about all entertainment performed in theatres. Similarly,
the screen
refers to films in general, and
the law
refers to the system of laws in a country.

For him,
the stage
was just a way of earning a living.
He was as handsome in real life as he was on
the screen
.
They do not hesitate to break
the law
.

Some nouns that normally refer to an individual thing or person can be used in the singular with
the
to refer generally to a system or service in a particular place. For example, you can use
the bus
to talk about a bus service and
the phone
to talk about a telephone system.

How long does it take on
the train
?
We rang for
the ambulance
.

Nouns referring to musical instruments can be used in the singular with
the
when you are talking about someone playing, or being able to play, a particular kind of instrument.

You play
the oboe
, I see, said Simon.
I was playing
the piano
when he phoned.

using adjectives as nouns

1.170
  When you want to talk generally about groups of people who share the same characteristic or quality, you often choose an adjective preceded by
the
.

This project is all about giving employment to
the unemployed
.

See paragraphs
1.66
to
1.72
for more information about using adjectives as nouns.

formal generalizations

1.171
  Nouns referring to plants and animals can be used in the singular with
the
when you are making a statement about every member of a species. For example, if you say
The swift has long, narrow wings
, you mean that all swifts have long, narrow wings.

The primrose
can grow abundantly on chalk banks.
Australia is the home of
the kangaroo
.

Similarly, a noun referring to a part of the human body can be used with
the
to refer to that part of anyone’s body.

These arteries supply
the heart
with blood.
…the arteries supplying
the kidneys
.

The
is sometimes used with other nouns in the singular to make a statement about all the members of a group.

The article focuses on how to protect
the therapist
rather than on how to cure
the patient
.

These uses are fairly formal. They are not common in ordinary speech. Usually, if you want to make a statement about all the things of a particular kind, you use the plural form of a noun without a determiner. See paragraph
1.227
for more information about this.

USAGE NOTE

1.172
  Many common time expressions consist of just
the
and a noun.

We wasted a lot of money in
the past
.
The train leaves Cardiff at four in
the afternoon
.
…the changes which are taking place at
the moment
.

See
Chapter 4
for more information about time expressions.

referring back

1.173
  In each of the paragraphs above showing uses of
the
and a noun, it is possible to understand who or what is being referred to because the noun phrase is commonly accepted as referring to one particular person, thing, or group.

However, you can use
the
with any noun, if it is obvious who or what you are referring to from what has already been said or written.

The usual way of referring back to a noun is to use a pronoun, but if the second reference does not come immediately after the first one, or if it is not immediately obvious which noun is being referred to, you should use
the
, and the noun again. For example, if you have already mentioned that you were in a train, and then continued to tell a story, you can say afterwards
The train suddenly stopped
.

1.174
  You can also use
the
and a noun when you are referring to someone or something closely connected with something you have just mentioned.

For example, you do not usually say
We tried to get into the room, but the door of the room was locked
. You say
We tried to get into the room, but the door was locked
, because it is obvious which door you are referring to.

She stopped and lit a match. The wind almost blew out
the flame
.

the
with longer noun phrases

1.175
  Although there are many situations where you use just
the
and a noun, there are other occasions when you need to add something else to the noun in order to make it clear which person, thing, or group you are referring to.

adding adjectives

1.176
  Sometimes you can show who or what you are referring to by putting an
adjective
between
the
and the noun.

This is
the main bedroom
.
Somebody ought to have done it long ago, remarked
the fat man
.

Sometimes you need to use more than one adjective.

After the crossroads look out for
the large white building
.

For more information about adjectives, see paragraphs
2.2
to
2.168
.

adjectives: expanding

1.177
  When you use an adjective between
the
and a noun, you do not always do it in order to make clear who or what is being referred to.

For example, you might want to add further information about someone or something that you have already mentioned. So, if you first refer to someone as
a woman
in a sentence such as
A woman came into the room
, you might later want to refer to her as
the unfortunate woman
or
the smiling woman
.

This is a very common use in written English, especially in stories, but it is not often used in conversation.

The astonished waiter
was now watching from the other end of the room.
The poor woman
had witnessed terrible violence.
The loss of pressure caused
the speeding car
to go into a skid.

adding clauses or phrases

1.178
  Another way of showing who or what you are referring to is by adding extra information after
the
and a noun, for example a prepositional phrase, a relative clause, a
to
-infinitive, an adverb of place or time, or a phrase introduced by a participle.

So you might refer to particular people at a party by using noun phrases such as
the girl in the yellow dress
,
the woman who spilled her drink
, or
the man smoking a cigar
.

The cars in the driveways
were all Ferraris and Porsches.
The book that I recommend
now costs over twenty pounds.
The thing to aim for
is an office of your own.
Who made the bed in
the room upstairs
?
It depends on
the person being interviewed
.