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To have, or not to have “the” (1)
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Note: please skip these “(#s)” when you first read this Blog.
This is probably one of the (#1) hardest questions for even the (#2) native speakers. To find out the (#3) rules, I once took a paragraph from a manuscript and visited three native speakers: a British researcher, an American professor who writes very well, and a newsletter editor who can turn a research abstract into an article for laymen. So, what were the (#4) answers I received? If there are obvious rules about where to include or not to include “the,” then these people should hand me the (#5) same answer. Well, to my delight, their answers were all different.
So, what can we learn from this little experiment? Do not worry too much about “the,” if you are a non-native author. There are hard (meaning solid) rules, which you can learn from books. However, the (#6) reviewers are unlikely to reject your manuscript simply because you got “the(m)” wrong at too many places.
Pay attention to the six “the-s” I marked above, and send me your comments if you think I am wrong, which is possible. Send me your abstract if you want to know how many extra “the-s” you have put in, and how many you might have missed.
Happy Blogging!
(Revised on Oct. 13th, 2009)
(Revised on Oct. 13th, 2009)
https://blog.sciencenet.cn/blog-306792-262080.html
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