“Since the train was delayed for more than an hour, passengers were given a full refund.” – Why is there no article before “passengers”? Announcing the arrival of Valued Associate #679: Cesar Manara Planned maintenance scheduled April 23, 2019 at 23:30 UTC (7:30pm US/Eastern) Contributor's Guide to English Language LearnersArticle Confusion Again! Why is there an 'a' instead of a 'the'?Can “the + noun” be a general reference?appendicitis is inflammation of the appendix — why is there no definite article in front of “inflammation”?Should I use “a” or “the” to designate the particular one I'm going to talk about?Why is there no article in the sentence “Then came number”?Definite article in “Police were able to find out where the father lived from _THE_ information the child provided”British colonies or the British colonies?“The Jesus who said” - why is there a definite article before the proper name “Jesus”?particularizing attribute with indefinite articleWhy is “Reports” in the sentence below without the article “The”?
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“Since the train was delayed for more than an hour, passengers were given a full refund.” – Why is there no article before “passengers”?
Announcing the arrival of Valued Associate #679: Cesar Manara
Planned maintenance scheduled April 23, 2019 at 23:30 UTC (7:30pm US/Eastern)
Contributor's Guide to English Language LearnersArticle Confusion Again! Why is there an 'a' instead of a 'the'?Can “the + noun” be a general reference?appendicitis is inflammation of the appendix — why is there no definite article in front of “inflammation”?Should I use “a” or “the” to designate the particular one I'm going to talk about?Why is there no article in the sentence “Then came number”?Definite article in “Police were able to find out where the father lived from _THE_ information the child provided”British colonies or the British colonies?“The Jesus who said” - why is there a definite article before the proper name “Jesus”?particularizing attribute with indefinite articleWhy is “Reports” in the sentence below without the article “The”?
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After all, we are talking about very definite passengers – the ones that were on that train. Can it be gathered from the sentence that not all of the passengers were given a refund?
P.S. The sentence comes from a grammar book.
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asked 9 hours ago
ZakZak
6671311
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After all, we are talking about very definite passengers – the ones that were on that train. Can it be gathered from the sentence that not all of the passengers were given a refund?
P.S. The sentence comes from a grammar book.
articles
asked 9 hours ago
ZakZak
6671311
add a comment |
After all, we are talking about very definite passengers – the ones that were on that train. Can it be gathered from the sentence that not all of the passengers were given a refund?
P.S. The sentence comes from a grammar book.
articles
asked 9 hours ago
ZakZak
6671311
After all, we are talking about very definite passengers – the ones that were on that train. Can it be gathered from the sentence that not all of the passengers were given a refund?
P.S. The sentence comes from a grammar book.
articles
articles
asked 9 hours ago
ZakZak
6671311
asked 9 hours ago
ZakZak
6671311
asked 9 hours ago
ZakZak
6671311
asked 9 hours ago
ZakZak
6671311
asked 9 hours ago
ZakZak
6671311
6671311
add a comment |
add a comment |
2 Answers
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The sentence
Since the train was delayed for more than an hour, passengers were given a full refund.
is formally ambiguous. One cannot tell from the sentence alone whether the passengers were given a refund -- that is, all the passengers -- or whether only some passengers were given a refund: perhaps only those who complained. When an article is elided in this way, the reader must determine from context and common sense what the meaning is, and which article is implied. Here either choice is possible, although "the" seems more likely. But in another context the result would be different.
After the minister's eulogy, friends and family spoke about the deceased.
Does that mean that every one of the dead person's friends and family spoke, or only some of them? Were all of them even present? "Some" is the likely choice here, but further context could change that.
After the minister's eulogy, friends and family spoke about the deceased -- all five who were still alive.
Now the implication is otherwise.
When the choice of article is obvious, omitting it does not mislead the reader. When there is more than one serious possibility, this may be poor writing. Or it may be intentionally ambiguous writing.
edited 3 hours ago
psmears
40839
answered 5 hours ago
David SiegelDavid Siegel
3,049317
It's not even clear that "the passengers" would remove the ambiguity; it still requires context. Consider "Since the train was cancelled, the passengers were given a full refund". Who exactly are the passengers on a cancelled train? Those who have actually boarded? Those who have reserved seats on that particular service? The article "the" doesn't help answer these questions.
– Michael Kay
2 hours ago
@Michael Kay True. But 'the" indicates that what ever the group is, all members, not just selected ones, got refunds. There is only so much meaning to be gotten from a simple little article. As Humpty Dumpty said, "When I make a word do a lot of work like that, I always pay it extra.".
– David Siegel
1 hour ago
add a comment |
It could be a stylistic reason, because "the" has already been used for "the train", so "passengers" reads better. It is possibly from a newspaper article. Your reasoning is correct, the refund concerns these specific passengers.
answered 6 hours ago
anoukanouk
1,783414
add a comment |
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2 Answers
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2 Answers
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The sentence
Since the train was delayed for more than an hour, passengers were given a full refund.
is formally ambiguous. One cannot tell from the sentence alone whether the passengers were given a refund -- that is, all the passengers -- or whether only some passengers were given a refund: perhaps only those who complained. When an article is elided in this way, the reader must determine from context and common sense what the meaning is, and which article is implied. Here either choice is possible, although "the" seems more likely. But in another context the result would be different.
After the minister's eulogy, friends and family spoke about the deceased.
Does that mean that every one of the dead person's friends and family spoke, or only some of them? Were all of them even present? "Some" is the likely choice here, but further context could change that.
After the minister's eulogy, friends and family spoke about the deceased -- all five who were still alive.
Now the implication is otherwise.
When the choice of article is obvious, omitting it does not mislead the reader. When there is more than one serious possibility, this may be poor writing. Or it may be intentionally ambiguous writing.
edited 3 hours ago
psmears
40839
answered 5 hours ago
David SiegelDavid Siegel
3,049317
It's not even clear that "the passengers" would remove the ambiguity; it still requires context. Consider "Since the train was cancelled, the passengers were given a full refund". Who exactly are the passengers on a cancelled train? Those who have actually boarded? Those who have reserved seats on that particular service? The article "the" doesn't help answer these questions.
– Michael Kay
2 hours ago
@Michael Kay True. But 'the" indicates that what ever the group is, all members, not just selected ones, got refunds. There is only so much meaning to be gotten from a simple little article. As Humpty Dumpty said, "When I make a word do a lot of work like that, I always pay it extra.".
– David Siegel
1 hour ago
add a comment |
The sentence
Since the train was delayed for more than an hour, passengers were given a full refund.
is formally ambiguous. One cannot tell from the sentence alone whether the passengers were given a refund -- that is, all the passengers -- or whether only some passengers were given a refund: perhaps only those who complained. When an article is elided in this way, the reader must determine from context and common sense what the meaning is, and which article is implied. Here either choice is possible, although "the" seems more likely. But in another context the result would be different.
After the minister's eulogy, friends and family spoke about the deceased.
Does that mean that every one of the dead person's friends and family spoke, or only some of them? Were all of them even present? "Some" is the likely choice here, but further context could change that.
After the minister's eulogy, friends and family spoke about the deceased -- all five who were still alive.
Now the implication is otherwise.
When the choice of article is obvious, omitting it does not mislead the reader. When there is more than one serious possibility, this may be poor writing. Or it may be intentionally ambiguous writing.
edited 3 hours ago
psmears
40839
answered 5 hours ago
David SiegelDavid Siegel
3,049317
It's not even clear that "the passengers" would remove the ambiguity; it still requires context. Consider "Since the train was cancelled, the passengers were given a full refund". Who exactly are the passengers on a cancelled train? Those who have actually boarded? Those who have reserved seats on that particular service? The article "the" doesn't help answer these questions.
– Michael Kay
2 hours ago
@Michael Kay True. But 'the" indicates that what ever the group is, all members, not just selected ones, got refunds. There is only so much meaning to be gotten from a simple little article. As Humpty Dumpty said, "When I make a word do a lot of work like that, I always pay it extra.".
– David Siegel
1 hour ago
add a comment |
The sentence
Since the train was delayed for more than an hour, passengers were given a full refund.
is formally ambiguous. One cannot tell from the sentence alone whether the passengers were given a refund -- that is, all the passengers -- or whether only some passengers were given a refund: perhaps only those who complained. When an article is elided in this way, the reader must determine from context and common sense what the meaning is, and which article is implied. Here either choice is possible, although "the" seems more likely. But in another context the result would be different.
After the minister's eulogy, friends and family spoke about the deceased.
Does that mean that every one of the dead person's friends and family spoke, or only some of them? Were all of them even present? "Some" is the likely choice here, but further context could change that.
After the minister's eulogy, friends and family spoke about the deceased -- all five who were still alive.
Now the implication is otherwise.
When the choice of article is obvious, omitting it does not mislead the reader. When there is more than one serious possibility, this may be poor writing. Or it may be intentionally ambiguous writing.
edited 3 hours ago
psmears
40839
answered 5 hours ago
David SiegelDavid Siegel
3,049317
The sentence
Since the train was delayed for more than an hour, passengers were given a full refund.
is formally ambiguous. One cannot tell from the sentence alone whether the passengers were given a refund -- that is, all the passengers -- or whether only some passengers were given a refund: perhaps only those who complained. When an article is elided in this way, the reader must determine from context and common sense what the meaning is, and which article is implied. Here either choice is possible, although "the" seems more likely. But in another context the result would be different.
After the minister's eulogy, friends and family spoke about the deceased.
Does that mean that every one of the dead person's friends and family spoke, or only some of them? Were all of them even present? "Some" is the likely choice here, but further context could change that.
After the minister's eulogy, friends and family spoke about the deceased -- all five who were still alive.
Now the implication is otherwise.
When the choice of article is obvious, omitting it does not mislead the reader. When there is more than one serious possibility, this may be poor writing. Or it may be intentionally ambiguous writing.
edited 3 hours ago
psmears
40839
answered 5 hours ago
David SiegelDavid Siegel
3,049317
edited 3 hours ago
psmears
40839
edited 3 hours ago
psmears
40839
edited 3 hours ago
psmears
40839
40839
answered 5 hours ago
David SiegelDavid Siegel
3,049317
answered 5 hours ago
David SiegelDavid Siegel
3,049317
answered 5 hours ago
David SiegelDavid Siegel
3,049317
3,049317
It's not even clear that "the passengers" would remove the ambiguity; it still requires context. Consider "Since the train was cancelled, the passengers were given a full refund". Who exactly are the passengers on a cancelled train? Those who have actually boarded? Those who have reserved seats on that particular service? The article "the" doesn't help answer these questions.
– Michael Kay
2 hours ago
@Michael Kay True. But 'the" indicates that what ever the group is, all members, not just selected ones, got refunds. There is only so much meaning to be gotten from a simple little article. As Humpty Dumpty said, "When I make a word do a lot of work like that, I always pay it extra.".
– David Siegel
1 hour ago
add a comment |
It's not even clear that "the passengers" would remove the ambiguity; it still requires context. Consider "Since the train was cancelled, the passengers were given a full refund". Who exactly are the passengers on a cancelled train? Those who have actually boarded? Those who have reserved seats on that particular service? The article "the" doesn't help answer these questions.
– Michael Kay
2 hours ago
@Michael Kay True. But 'the" indicates that what ever the group is, all members, not just selected ones, got refunds. There is only so much meaning to be gotten from a simple little article. As Humpty Dumpty said, "When I make a word do a lot of work like that, I always pay it extra.".
– David Siegel
1 hour ago
It's not even clear that "the passengers" would remove the ambiguity; it still requires context. Consider "Since the train was cancelled, the passengers were given a full refund". Who exactly are the passengers on a cancelled train? Those who have actually boarded? Those who have reserved seats on that particular service? The article "the" doesn't help answer these questions.
– Michael Kay
2 hours ago
It's not even clear that "the passengers" would remove the ambiguity; it still requires context. Consider "Since the train was cancelled, the passengers were given a full refund". Who exactly are the passengers on a cancelled train? Those who have actually boarded? Those who have reserved seats on that particular service? The article "the" doesn't help answer these questions.
– Michael Kay
2 hours ago
@Michael Kay True. But 'the" indicates that what ever the group is, all members, not just selected ones, got refunds. There is only so much meaning to be gotten from a simple little article. As Humpty Dumpty said, "When I make a word do a lot of work like that, I always pay it extra.".
– David Siegel
1 hour ago
@Michael Kay True. But 'the" indicates that what ever the group is, all members, not just selected ones, got refunds. There is only so much meaning to be gotten from a simple little article. As Humpty Dumpty said, "When I make a word do a lot of work like that, I always pay it extra.".
– David Siegel
1 hour ago
add a comment |
It could be a stylistic reason, because "the" has already been used for "the train", so "passengers" reads better. It is possibly from a newspaper article. Your reasoning is correct, the refund concerns these specific passengers.
answered 6 hours ago
anoukanouk
1,783414
add a comment |
It could be a stylistic reason, because "the" has already been used for "the train", so "passengers" reads better. It is possibly from a newspaper article. Your reasoning is correct, the refund concerns these specific passengers.
answered 6 hours ago
anoukanouk
1,783414
add a comment |
It could be a stylistic reason, because "the" has already been used for "the train", so "passengers" reads better. It is possibly from a newspaper article. Your reasoning is correct, the refund concerns these specific passengers.
answered 6 hours ago
anoukanouk
1,783414
It could be a stylistic reason, because "the" has already been used for "the train", so "passengers" reads better. It is possibly from a newspaper article. Your reasoning is correct, the refund concerns these specific passengers.
answered 6 hours ago
anoukanouk
1,783414
answered 6 hours ago
anoukanouk
1,783414
answered 6 hours ago
anoukanouk
1,783414
answered 6 hours ago
anoukanouk
1,783414
1,783414
add a comment |
add a comment |
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