A question about 'the'
Hi, it's been a long time.
I'm studying English with a textbook titled 'Common mistekes at IELTS Advanced'.
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Common-Mistakes-IELTS-Advanced-Avoid/dp/0521692474
I can't understand the explanation of the chapter of 'the before general concepts'.
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[explanation]
We use 'the' before nouns which describe a general type of thing rather than a specific example of that thing:
[examples]
1.
These are problems for students living away from 'the family'.
2.
We don't know the effects of such chemicals on 'the body'.
3.
The role of 'the student' at university level varies greatly from country to country.
4.
Most of our business is carried out over 'the telephone'.
*I used single quotes instead of bold words in the textbook
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I can't catch what the explanation really intend to say.
I also don't know why we should put 'the' for example 2 and 4.
I would like to ask you a favor of helping me.
P.S.
I will be in the UK from the 27th in July to see the graduate schools for about a week!
I'm studying English with a textbook titled 'Common mistekes at IELTS Advanced'.
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Common-Mistakes-IELTS-Advanced-Avoid/dp/0521692474
I can't understand the explanation of the chapter of 'the before general concepts'.
--------------------------------------
[explanation]
We use 'the' before nouns which describe a general type of thing rather than a specific example of that thing:
[examples]
1.
These are problems for students living away from 'the family'.
2.
We don't know the effects of such chemicals on 'the body'.
3.
The role of 'the student' at university level varies greatly from country to country.
4.
Most of our business is carried out over 'the telephone'.
*I used single quotes instead of bold words in the textbook
--------------------------------------
I can't catch what the explanation really intend to say.
I also don't know why we should put 'the' for example 2 and 4.
I would like to ask you a favor of helping me.
P.S.
I will be in the UK from the 27th in July to see the graduate schools for about a week!
We use 'the' before nouns which describe a general type of thing rather than a specific example of that thing:
A general type of thing opposed to a specific example means this:
for example one: "the family" is a general noun, but you are talking about something that the person you are speaking to will know about, thus "the family." However, a specific example would be something like: Carlo's family". In this case, you wouldn't use the.
for example two: "the body". The reason you use "the" is because you are talking about a human body, as opposed to something like A body of water or a student body, which are actually specific examples instead of general, as the explanation stated. "the body" is something that is always assumed to be the human body unless context says other wise.
I actually disagree with number threes usage of "the student", since It seems like "a student" would be the correct choice. However, the general as opposed to specific explanation still works here as well. You are using "The student" instead of say "that student in the back of the room."
Four is similar to number three, in that either a or the could be used, except that it doesn't sound odd with "the." The reason it uses "the" is because it is talking about a certain phone. In this case, we can assume it's talking about "all The phones" in the building that buisness is conducted over as opposed to "a single phone" in the building.
I'm studying English with a textbook titled 'Common mistakes at IELTS Advanced'.
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