Question
Updated on
2 Jul 2020
- Japanese
-
English (US)
Question about English (US)
What is the difference between the lion/ a lion/ lions and a banana/ bananas ?Feel free to just provide example sentences.
What is the difference between the lion/ a lion/ lions and a banana/ bananas ?Feel free to just provide example sentences.
why you can't say "the banana" to speak in general?
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- English (US)
Technically you can in English, but it sounds stiff & scientific :P
It’s never used in every day speech. Sometimes you’ll hear it when someone is talking about a species (for example). However, the plural form can be used interchangeably. It just sounds less academic.
The Barbary lion was also called "North African lion"
Barbary lions were also called “North African lions”
I think it’s better to just always use the plural form when talking about something in general, because it’ll always be right.
See these screenshots
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- English (US)
- Japanese
@muzzy6 thank you ! it's perfect. I didn't know that "the" makes a noun sounds academic. but how come "the lion" sounds much less academic? or is it just me thinking it is?
- English (US)
One reason ‘the’ speaking in general is more academic sounding is because it can imply something is in a category. That category is usually named in the sentence.
(“The Lion is a species....” “The banana is a variety of fruit...” “The omelette is a dish...”)
Or ‘the’ speaking in general can be referring to something as a concept, science, or archetype.
Sorry if my explanation is hard to understand. 😅 In other words, it’s a style that sounds very particular.
Like I said, to speak in general it’s almost always interchangeable with the plural. Plural is more common & the safest.
It’s hard to explain so here are more examples that compare them—
The rhino I saw at the zoo was huge. (1 particular rhino. This rhino was already talked about earlier)
A rhino I saw at the zoo was huge. (1 rhino - not specific)
The rhinos I saw at the zoo were huge. (All of them were huge)
Rhinos are huge. (In general)
The White rhino is huge. (The species in general)
A rhino lives in my neighborhood. (1 rhino)
The rhino lives in my neighborhood. (1 particular rhino that were already talking about)
Rhinos live in my neighborhood. (Many rhinos)
The Javan rhinoceros lives in Western Java. (The species in general)
Javan rhinoceroses live in Western Java. (The species in general)
—
Here are other examples that use ‘the’ when speaking in general. But the plural form works for them too.
The modern woman has different responsibilities than the Medieval woman did.
Modern women have different responsibilities than Medieval women did.
The American teenager is now bombarded by a world of social media.
American teenagers are now bombarded by a world of social media.
The human figure has been used in art for thousands of years.
Human figures have been used in art for thousands of years.
Julia Child helped the omelette become a popular dish.
Julia Child helped omelettes become popular.
(‘dish’ is dropped for the plural. dish is a category like species)
Hope that helps 🙏
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- English (US)
^Edited this response just now to better answer your question
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- Japanese
- Japanese
@muzzy6 thank you! it's almost clear. I was wondering if you have dropped "a+noun" to indicate sth in general on purpose. Does that mean it is not natural to say "a lion has huge fang",etc.? And how about something abstract, like love. "I need a love to stay alive" ?? (anyway, does this strike you as that I have a particular person in my head from whom I would like to receive love? how about "I need love/the love to stay alive"?
- Japanese
I really appreciate your taking time for this thread(^-^
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