Why does “money” take “the” in “all the money in the world”?
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"All the money in the world " , in this sentence we talk about money in general , right ? I've read a book that says if we're talking about things in general we do not use "the".
So why "the money" ?
grammar articles definite-article
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up vote
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"All the money in the world " , in this sentence we talk about money in general , right ? I've read a book that says if we're talking about things in general we do not use "the".
So why "the money" ?
grammar articles definite-article
add a comment |
up vote
15
down vote
favorite
up vote
15
down vote
favorite
"All the money in the world " , in this sentence we talk about money in general , right ? I've read a book that says if we're talking about things in general we do not use "the".
So why "the money" ?
grammar articles definite-article
"All the money in the world " , in this sentence we talk about money in general , right ? I've read a book that says if we're talking about things in general we do not use "the".
So why "the money" ?
grammar articles definite-article
grammar articles definite-article
edited 2 days ago
Laurel
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asked 2 days ago
isac
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7 Answers
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up vote
21
down vote
accepted
This sentence is not talking about money in general. It is talking about a specific set: "all the money in the world", as if it was a specific quantity you could receive:
Suppose I gave you a box with all the money in the world. How would you choose to distribute it?
Other examples talking about a specific set of money:
Do you still have the money I gave you for your birthday?
The money donated to charities should be included on your tax forms, if you want to take the deduction.
It is possible to talk about money as a concept, in which case you would not use the definite article. Examples of this:
I don't care too much for money, and money can't buy me love -- John Lennon / Paul McCartney
A wise person should have money in their head, but not in their heart. --Jonathan Swift
Money is a terrible master but an excellent servant. --P.T. Barnum
It is possible to say "all money in the world" to reference the global concept of money, rather than a specific quantity.
All money in the world, in whatever form, relies on the collective agreement that it is worth something. Even a brick of gold has no value to a starving man, unless he can exchange it for food.
[Edit] With regard to FumbleFinger's objection: I would claim "money donated to charities" is either a kind of ellipsis, or else refers to a conceptual subset of the concept of money. In my example, it makes little difference whether I'm talking in general about the practice of donating money, or of a specific instance of some quantity donated. The second half of the sentence applies either way.
Conceptual example: Money (which has been generally) donated to charities should be declared.
Ellipsis example: (The specific quantity of) Money (which you have) donated to charities should be declared.
I think a more in-depth exploration is out of the scope of the question, as OP asks only what the definite article means in this context, and not whether the definite article is required.
All [the] water on earth originally came from comets. That may not be a true statement, but it's syntactically fine with or without the article - or with all of the water, come to that. So I don't really see how your talking about a specific set point really "explains" anything here.
– FumbleFingers
2 days ago
@FumbleFingers I've edited to try and explain the distinction.
– Andrew
2 days ago
2
@isac please take note of my edits. It is possible to omit the definite article, but this changes the meaning.
– Andrew
2 days ago
I've cancelled earlier downvote, but still can't see sufficient reason to upvote. I couldn't bring myself to accept article-less Suppose I gave you a box with all money in the world, but there's nothing wrong with Money donated to charities should be included on your tax forms. And in a context such as I still have [the] money [that] I earned when I last had a job, I can't really see that including the article or not makes any difference at all to the meaning - it certainly doesn't seem to be a matter of whether or not "money" represents a "concept".
– FumbleFingers
2 days ago
@FumbleFingers edited again. I think we're starting to get well above the scope of this question (and out of my depth), and it might be better posed to ELU to get a truly complete answer.
– Andrew
2 days ago
|
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5
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You have misunderstood what was meant in that book by "in general".
In this sentence, we are speaking of money and water in general terms:
Money is an alternative to barter.
Water is necessary for life.
But here, even though we are speaking of "all", we're still speaking of the thing in particular:
All the water in the watering hole dries up during the summer dry season.
All the money in the world couldn't get me to do that.
Per comment to @Andrew's answer, and noting that even All water in the watering hole dries up during the summer dry season is "more or less" okay without the article, it's not obvious to me that there's a "complete" explanation here.
– FumbleFingers
2 days ago
@FumbleFingers: You wouldn't say "I drank all water in the glass." But you might say "I siphoned all water from the tank" and "All water in the beaker evaporates when you place it over the bunsen burner". Since you bring it up, care to explain why?
– Tᴚoɯɐuo
2 days ago
I don't think I know how to explain why - but I kinda assumed you would, if you could be so motivated.
– FumbleFingers
2 days ago
1
@FumbleFingers: I lack (the) motivation. :) But all is a shape-shifter.
– Tᴚoɯɐuo
2 days ago
1
@Alexander Kosubek: And you would be wrong to use the article. The money is an alternative to the barter is not grammatical in English.
– Tᴚoɯɐuo
yesterday
|
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4
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I don't know what book told you that, but it's not the truth.1
Fact is, there are several reasons we might use the definite article. Macmillan (definition 1b) says:
used when you are referring to familiar things that people deal with regularly
I looked up at the ceiling; suddenly all the lights went out
Many familiar adages and expressions use the definite article even though they talk about things in general. Consider:
- The lion is king of the jungle.
- Top of the morning to you!
- It hit me right between the eyes.
- Religion is the opiate of the masses.
- All the news that's fit to print.
1See what I did there?
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3
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Ditto Andrew's excellent answer, let me just add:
Don't get confused by the difference between how something is in the real world, and how it is grammatically.
Yes, in real life, "all the money in the world" is, well, all the money that exists. Logically, you might say that it's the same as "money" as a general concept. But GRAMMATICALLY, "all the money in the world" is NOT all money that exists, it's a specific set of money, namely, the money that is "in the world". While in real life that may be all money, grammatically it is not.
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The big, fancy language scholar term for this particular use of the definite article, "the", is "modadic"—the as in the one and only.
From your example, rephrased:
There is only one collection of all money in the one and only world.
Reference:
8. Monadic
("One of a Kind" or "Unique")
The Article
New contributor
I'm gonna upvote this one purely because you didn't include the "optional" article in There is only one collection of all the money in the one and only world, even though you didn't specifically draw attention to that yourself!
– FumbleFingers
2 days ago
1
I'm so glad you noticed that! I was mindful of not wanting to use a circular definition with the first "one", with the one and only "the" being qualified enough not to be. ;-)
– Jesse Steele
2 days ago
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All the money in the world would not make you happy.
We only have one specific world, and all the money in it is very specific.
Having money in the bank is a good thing, if its yours. [non-specific]
And: The money I have in the bank is none of your business. [specific]
Please note: for certain expressions such as money in the bank, a the is used with bank.
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There is a word elided which will make parsing the phrase easier:
All of the money in the world
"Of money" is wrong for different reasons -- the preposition requires more than just a bare noun.
This is the point I was hoping to see. As with most English, we've munged it up so it doesn't follow our own quidelines by omitting a word.
– Scott Baker
10 hours ago
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7 Answers
7
active
oldest
votes
7 Answers
7
active
oldest
votes
active
oldest
votes
active
oldest
votes
up vote
21
down vote
accepted
This sentence is not talking about money in general. It is talking about a specific set: "all the money in the world", as if it was a specific quantity you could receive:
Suppose I gave you a box with all the money in the world. How would you choose to distribute it?
Other examples talking about a specific set of money:
Do you still have the money I gave you for your birthday?
The money donated to charities should be included on your tax forms, if you want to take the deduction.
It is possible to talk about money as a concept, in which case you would not use the definite article. Examples of this:
I don't care too much for money, and money can't buy me love -- John Lennon / Paul McCartney
A wise person should have money in their head, but not in their heart. --Jonathan Swift
Money is a terrible master but an excellent servant. --P.T. Barnum
It is possible to say "all money in the world" to reference the global concept of money, rather than a specific quantity.
All money in the world, in whatever form, relies on the collective agreement that it is worth something. Even a brick of gold has no value to a starving man, unless he can exchange it for food.
[Edit] With regard to FumbleFinger's objection: I would claim "money donated to charities" is either a kind of ellipsis, or else refers to a conceptual subset of the concept of money. In my example, it makes little difference whether I'm talking in general about the practice of donating money, or of a specific instance of some quantity donated. The second half of the sentence applies either way.
Conceptual example: Money (which has been generally) donated to charities should be declared.
Ellipsis example: (The specific quantity of) Money (which you have) donated to charities should be declared.
I think a more in-depth exploration is out of the scope of the question, as OP asks only what the definite article means in this context, and not whether the definite article is required.
All [the] water on earth originally came from comets. That may not be a true statement, but it's syntactically fine with or without the article - or with all of the water, come to that. So I don't really see how your talking about a specific set point really "explains" anything here.
– FumbleFingers
2 days ago
@FumbleFingers I've edited to try and explain the distinction.
– Andrew
2 days ago
2
@isac please take note of my edits. It is possible to omit the definite article, but this changes the meaning.
– Andrew
2 days ago
I've cancelled earlier downvote, but still can't see sufficient reason to upvote. I couldn't bring myself to accept article-less Suppose I gave you a box with all money in the world, but there's nothing wrong with Money donated to charities should be included on your tax forms. And in a context such as I still have [the] money [that] I earned when I last had a job, I can't really see that including the article or not makes any difference at all to the meaning - it certainly doesn't seem to be a matter of whether or not "money" represents a "concept".
– FumbleFingers
2 days ago
@FumbleFingers edited again. I think we're starting to get well above the scope of this question (and out of my depth), and it might be better posed to ELU to get a truly complete answer.
– Andrew
2 days ago
|
show 1 more comment
up vote
21
down vote
accepted
This sentence is not talking about money in general. It is talking about a specific set: "all the money in the world", as if it was a specific quantity you could receive:
Suppose I gave you a box with all the money in the world. How would you choose to distribute it?
Other examples talking about a specific set of money:
Do you still have the money I gave you for your birthday?
The money donated to charities should be included on your tax forms, if you want to take the deduction.
It is possible to talk about money as a concept, in which case you would not use the definite article. Examples of this:
I don't care too much for money, and money can't buy me love -- John Lennon / Paul McCartney
A wise person should have money in their head, but not in their heart. --Jonathan Swift
Money is a terrible master but an excellent servant. --P.T. Barnum
It is possible to say "all money in the world" to reference the global concept of money, rather than a specific quantity.
All money in the world, in whatever form, relies on the collective agreement that it is worth something. Even a brick of gold has no value to a starving man, unless he can exchange it for food.
[Edit] With regard to FumbleFinger's objection: I would claim "money donated to charities" is either a kind of ellipsis, or else refers to a conceptual subset of the concept of money. In my example, it makes little difference whether I'm talking in general about the practice of donating money, or of a specific instance of some quantity donated. The second half of the sentence applies either way.
Conceptual example: Money (which has been generally) donated to charities should be declared.
Ellipsis example: (The specific quantity of) Money (which you have) donated to charities should be declared.
I think a more in-depth exploration is out of the scope of the question, as OP asks only what the definite article means in this context, and not whether the definite article is required.
All [the] water on earth originally came from comets. That may not be a true statement, but it's syntactically fine with or without the article - or with all of the water, come to that. So I don't really see how your talking about a specific set point really "explains" anything here.
– FumbleFingers
2 days ago
@FumbleFingers I've edited to try and explain the distinction.
– Andrew
2 days ago
2
@isac please take note of my edits. It is possible to omit the definite article, but this changes the meaning.
– Andrew
2 days ago
I've cancelled earlier downvote, but still can't see sufficient reason to upvote. I couldn't bring myself to accept article-less Suppose I gave you a box with all money in the world, but there's nothing wrong with Money donated to charities should be included on your tax forms. And in a context such as I still have [the] money [that] I earned when I last had a job, I can't really see that including the article or not makes any difference at all to the meaning - it certainly doesn't seem to be a matter of whether or not "money" represents a "concept".
– FumbleFingers
2 days ago
@FumbleFingers edited again. I think we're starting to get well above the scope of this question (and out of my depth), and it might be better posed to ELU to get a truly complete answer.
– Andrew
2 days ago
|
show 1 more comment
up vote
21
down vote
accepted
up vote
21
down vote
accepted
This sentence is not talking about money in general. It is talking about a specific set: "all the money in the world", as if it was a specific quantity you could receive:
Suppose I gave you a box with all the money in the world. How would you choose to distribute it?
Other examples talking about a specific set of money:
Do you still have the money I gave you for your birthday?
The money donated to charities should be included on your tax forms, if you want to take the deduction.
It is possible to talk about money as a concept, in which case you would not use the definite article. Examples of this:
I don't care too much for money, and money can't buy me love -- John Lennon / Paul McCartney
A wise person should have money in their head, but not in their heart. --Jonathan Swift
Money is a terrible master but an excellent servant. --P.T. Barnum
It is possible to say "all money in the world" to reference the global concept of money, rather than a specific quantity.
All money in the world, in whatever form, relies on the collective agreement that it is worth something. Even a brick of gold has no value to a starving man, unless he can exchange it for food.
[Edit] With regard to FumbleFinger's objection: I would claim "money donated to charities" is either a kind of ellipsis, or else refers to a conceptual subset of the concept of money. In my example, it makes little difference whether I'm talking in general about the practice of donating money, or of a specific instance of some quantity donated. The second half of the sentence applies either way.
Conceptual example: Money (which has been generally) donated to charities should be declared.
Ellipsis example: (The specific quantity of) Money (which you have) donated to charities should be declared.
I think a more in-depth exploration is out of the scope of the question, as OP asks only what the definite article means in this context, and not whether the definite article is required.
This sentence is not talking about money in general. It is talking about a specific set: "all the money in the world", as if it was a specific quantity you could receive:
Suppose I gave you a box with all the money in the world. How would you choose to distribute it?
Other examples talking about a specific set of money:
Do you still have the money I gave you for your birthday?
The money donated to charities should be included on your tax forms, if you want to take the deduction.
It is possible to talk about money as a concept, in which case you would not use the definite article. Examples of this:
I don't care too much for money, and money can't buy me love -- John Lennon / Paul McCartney
A wise person should have money in their head, but not in their heart. --Jonathan Swift
Money is a terrible master but an excellent servant. --P.T. Barnum
It is possible to say "all money in the world" to reference the global concept of money, rather than a specific quantity.
All money in the world, in whatever form, relies on the collective agreement that it is worth something. Even a brick of gold has no value to a starving man, unless he can exchange it for food.
[Edit] With regard to FumbleFinger's objection: I would claim "money donated to charities" is either a kind of ellipsis, or else refers to a conceptual subset of the concept of money. In my example, it makes little difference whether I'm talking in general about the practice of donating money, or of a specific instance of some quantity donated. The second half of the sentence applies either way.
Conceptual example: Money (which has been generally) donated to charities should be declared.
Ellipsis example: (The specific quantity of) Money (which you have) donated to charities should be declared.
I think a more in-depth exploration is out of the scope of the question, as OP asks only what the definite article means in this context, and not whether the definite article is required.
edited yesterday
answered 2 days ago
Andrew
62.8k573141
62.8k573141
All [the] water on earth originally came from comets. That may not be a true statement, but it's syntactically fine with or without the article - or with all of the water, come to that. So I don't really see how your talking about a specific set point really "explains" anything here.
– FumbleFingers
2 days ago
@FumbleFingers I've edited to try and explain the distinction.
– Andrew
2 days ago
2
@isac please take note of my edits. It is possible to omit the definite article, but this changes the meaning.
– Andrew
2 days ago
I've cancelled earlier downvote, but still can't see sufficient reason to upvote. I couldn't bring myself to accept article-less Suppose I gave you a box with all money in the world, but there's nothing wrong with Money donated to charities should be included on your tax forms. And in a context such as I still have [the] money [that] I earned when I last had a job, I can't really see that including the article or not makes any difference at all to the meaning - it certainly doesn't seem to be a matter of whether or not "money" represents a "concept".
– FumbleFingers
2 days ago
@FumbleFingers edited again. I think we're starting to get well above the scope of this question (and out of my depth), and it might be better posed to ELU to get a truly complete answer.
– Andrew
2 days ago
|
show 1 more comment
All [the] water on earth originally came from comets. That may not be a true statement, but it's syntactically fine with or without the article - or with all of the water, come to that. So I don't really see how your talking about a specific set point really "explains" anything here.
– FumbleFingers
2 days ago
@FumbleFingers I've edited to try and explain the distinction.
– Andrew
2 days ago
2
@isac please take note of my edits. It is possible to omit the definite article, but this changes the meaning.
– Andrew
2 days ago
I've cancelled earlier downvote, but still can't see sufficient reason to upvote. I couldn't bring myself to accept article-less Suppose I gave you a box with all money in the world, but there's nothing wrong with Money donated to charities should be included on your tax forms. And in a context such as I still have [the] money [that] I earned when I last had a job, I can't really see that including the article or not makes any difference at all to the meaning - it certainly doesn't seem to be a matter of whether or not "money" represents a "concept".
– FumbleFingers
2 days ago
@FumbleFingers edited again. I think we're starting to get well above the scope of this question (and out of my depth), and it might be better posed to ELU to get a truly complete answer.
– Andrew
2 days ago
All [the] water on earth originally came from comets. That may not be a true statement, but it's syntactically fine with or without the article - or with all of the water, come to that. So I don't really see how your talking about a specific set point really "explains" anything here.
– FumbleFingers
2 days ago
All [the] water on earth originally came from comets. That may not be a true statement, but it's syntactically fine with or without the article - or with all of the water, come to that. So I don't really see how your talking about a specific set point really "explains" anything here.
– FumbleFingers
2 days ago
@FumbleFingers I've edited to try and explain the distinction.
– Andrew
2 days ago
@FumbleFingers I've edited to try and explain the distinction.
– Andrew
2 days ago
2
2
@isac please take note of my edits. It is possible to omit the definite article, but this changes the meaning.
– Andrew
2 days ago
@isac please take note of my edits. It is possible to omit the definite article, but this changes the meaning.
– Andrew
2 days ago
I've cancelled earlier downvote, but still can't see sufficient reason to upvote. I couldn't bring myself to accept article-less Suppose I gave you a box with all money in the world, but there's nothing wrong with Money donated to charities should be included on your tax forms. And in a context such as I still have [the] money [that] I earned when I last had a job, I can't really see that including the article or not makes any difference at all to the meaning - it certainly doesn't seem to be a matter of whether or not "money" represents a "concept".
– FumbleFingers
2 days ago
I've cancelled earlier downvote, but still can't see sufficient reason to upvote. I couldn't bring myself to accept article-less Suppose I gave you a box with all money in the world, but there's nothing wrong with Money donated to charities should be included on your tax forms. And in a context such as I still have [the] money [that] I earned when I last had a job, I can't really see that including the article or not makes any difference at all to the meaning - it certainly doesn't seem to be a matter of whether or not "money" represents a "concept".
– FumbleFingers
2 days ago
@FumbleFingers edited again. I think we're starting to get well above the scope of this question (and out of my depth), and it might be better posed to ELU to get a truly complete answer.
– Andrew
2 days ago
@FumbleFingers edited again. I think we're starting to get well above the scope of this question (and out of my depth), and it might be better posed to ELU to get a truly complete answer.
– Andrew
2 days ago
|
show 1 more comment
up vote
5
down vote
You have misunderstood what was meant in that book by "in general".
In this sentence, we are speaking of money and water in general terms:
Money is an alternative to barter.
Water is necessary for life.
But here, even though we are speaking of "all", we're still speaking of the thing in particular:
All the water in the watering hole dries up during the summer dry season.
All the money in the world couldn't get me to do that.
Per comment to @Andrew's answer, and noting that even All water in the watering hole dries up during the summer dry season is "more or less" okay without the article, it's not obvious to me that there's a "complete" explanation here.
– FumbleFingers
2 days ago
@FumbleFingers: You wouldn't say "I drank all water in the glass." But you might say "I siphoned all water from the tank" and "All water in the beaker evaporates when you place it over the bunsen burner". Since you bring it up, care to explain why?
– Tᴚoɯɐuo
2 days ago
I don't think I know how to explain why - but I kinda assumed you would, if you could be so motivated.
– FumbleFingers
2 days ago
1
@FumbleFingers: I lack (the) motivation. :) But all is a shape-shifter.
– Tᴚoɯɐuo
2 days ago
1
@Alexander Kosubek: And you would be wrong to use the article. The money is an alternative to the barter is not grammatical in English.
– Tᴚoɯɐuo
yesterday
|
show 5 more comments
up vote
5
down vote
You have misunderstood what was meant in that book by "in general".
In this sentence, we are speaking of money and water in general terms:
Money is an alternative to barter.
Water is necessary for life.
But here, even though we are speaking of "all", we're still speaking of the thing in particular:
All the water in the watering hole dries up during the summer dry season.
All the money in the world couldn't get me to do that.
Per comment to @Andrew's answer, and noting that even All water in the watering hole dries up during the summer dry season is "more or less" okay without the article, it's not obvious to me that there's a "complete" explanation here.
– FumbleFingers
2 days ago
@FumbleFingers: You wouldn't say "I drank all water in the glass." But you might say "I siphoned all water from the tank" and "All water in the beaker evaporates when you place it over the bunsen burner". Since you bring it up, care to explain why?
– Tᴚoɯɐuo
2 days ago
I don't think I know how to explain why - but I kinda assumed you would, if you could be so motivated.
– FumbleFingers
2 days ago
1
@FumbleFingers: I lack (the) motivation. :) But all is a shape-shifter.
– Tᴚoɯɐuo
2 days ago
1
@Alexander Kosubek: And you would be wrong to use the article. The money is an alternative to the barter is not grammatical in English.
– Tᴚoɯɐuo
yesterday
|
show 5 more comments
up vote
5
down vote
up vote
5
down vote
You have misunderstood what was meant in that book by "in general".
In this sentence, we are speaking of money and water in general terms:
Money is an alternative to barter.
Water is necessary for life.
But here, even though we are speaking of "all", we're still speaking of the thing in particular:
All the water in the watering hole dries up during the summer dry season.
All the money in the world couldn't get me to do that.
You have misunderstood what was meant in that book by "in general".
In this sentence, we are speaking of money and water in general terms:
Money is an alternative to barter.
Water is necessary for life.
But here, even though we are speaking of "all", we're still speaking of the thing in particular:
All the water in the watering hole dries up during the summer dry season.
All the money in the world couldn't get me to do that.
answered 2 days ago
Tᴚoɯɐuo
104k677168
104k677168
Per comment to @Andrew's answer, and noting that even All water in the watering hole dries up during the summer dry season is "more or less" okay without the article, it's not obvious to me that there's a "complete" explanation here.
– FumbleFingers
2 days ago
@FumbleFingers: You wouldn't say "I drank all water in the glass." But you might say "I siphoned all water from the tank" and "All water in the beaker evaporates when you place it over the bunsen burner". Since you bring it up, care to explain why?
– Tᴚoɯɐuo
2 days ago
I don't think I know how to explain why - but I kinda assumed you would, if you could be so motivated.
– FumbleFingers
2 days ago
1
@FumbleFingers: I lack (the) motivation. :) But all is a shape-shifter.
– Tᴚoɯɐuo
2 days ago
1
@Alexander Kosubek: And you would be wrong to use the article. The money is an alternative to the barter is not grammatical in English.
– Tᴚoɯɐuo
yesterday
|
show 5 more comments
Per comment to @Andrew's answer, and noting that even All water in the watering hole dries up during the summer dry season is "more or less" okay without the article, it's not obvious to me that there's a "complete" explanation here.
– FumbleFingers
2 days ago
@FumbleFingers: You wouldn't say "I drank all water in the glass." But you might say "I siphoned all water from the tank" and "All water in the beaker evaporates when you place it over the bunsen burner". Since you bring it up, care to explain why?
– Tᴚoɯɐuo
2 days ago
I don't think I know how to explain why - but I kinda assumed you would, if you could be so motivated.
– FumbleFingers
2 days ago
1
@FumbleFingers: I lack (the) motivation. :) But all is a shape-shifter.
– Tᴚoɯɐuo
2 days ago
1
@Alexander Kosubek: And you would be wrong to use the article. The money is an alternative to the barter is not grammatical in English.
– Tᴚoɯɐuo
yesterday
Per comment to @Andrew's answer, and noting that even All water in the watering hole dries up during the summer dry season is "more or less" okay without the article, it's not obvious to me that there's a "complete" explanation here.
– FumbleFingers
2 days ago
Per comment to @Andrew's answer, and noting that even All water in the watering hole dries up during the summer dry season is "more or less" okay without the article, it's not obvious to me that there's a "complete" explanation here.
– FumbleFingers
2 days ago
@FumbleFingers: You wouldn't say "I drank all water in the glass." But you might say "I siphoned all water from the tank" and "All water in the beaker evaporates when you place it over the bunsen burner". Since you bring it up, care to explain why?
– Tᴚoɯɐuo
2 days ago
@FumbleFingers: You wouldn't say "I drank all water in the glass." But you might say "I siphoned all water from the tank" and "All water in the beaker evaporates when you place it over the bunsen burner". Since you bring it up, care to explain why?
– Tᴚoɯɐuo
2 days ago
I don't think I know how to explain why - but I kinda assumed you would, if you could be so motivated.
– FumbleFingers
2 days ago
I don't think I know how to explain why - but I kinda assumed you would, if you could be so motivated.
– FumbleFingers
2 days ago
1
1
@FumbleFingers: I lack (the) motivation. :) But all is a shape-shifter.
– Tᴚoɯɐuo
2 days ago
@FumbleFingers: I lack (the) motivation. :) But all is a shape-shifter.
– Tᴚoɯɐuo
2 days ago
1
1
@Alexander Kosubek: And you would be wrong to use the article. The money is an alternative to the barter is not grammatical in English.
– Tᴚoɯɐuo
yesterday
@Alexander Kosubek: And you would be wrong to use the article. The money is an alternative to the barter is not grammatical in English.
– Tᴚoɯɐuo
yesterday
|
show 5 more comments
up vote
4
down vote
I don't know what book told you that, but it's not the truth.1
Fact is, there are several reasons we might use the definite article. Macmillan (definition 1b) says:
used when you are referring to familiar things that people deal with regularly
I looked up at the ceiling; suddenly all the lights went out
Many familiar adages and expressions use the definite article even though they talk about things in general. Consider:
- The lion is king of the jungle.
- Top of the morning to you!
- It hit me right between the eyes.
- Religion is the opiate of the masses.
- All the news that's fit to print.
1See what I did there?
add a comment |
up vote
4
down vote
I don't know what book told you that, but it's not the truth.1
Fact is, there are several reasons we might use the definite article. Macmillan (definition 1b) says:
used when you are referring to familiar things that people deal with regularly
I looked up at the ceiling; suddenly all the lights went out
Many familiar adages and expressions use the definite article even though they talk about things in general. Consider:
- The lion is king of the jungle.
- Top of the morning to you!
- It hit me right between the eyes.
- Religion is the opiate of the masses.
- All the news that's fit to print.
1See what I did there?
add a comment |
up vote
4
down vote
up vote
4
down vote
I don't know what book told you that, but it's not the truth.1
Fact is, there are several reasons we might use the definite article. Macmillan (definition 1b) says:
used when you are referring to familiar things that people deal with regularly
I looked up at the ceiling; suddenly all the lights went out
Many familiar adages and expressions use the definite article even though they talk about things in general. Consider:
- The lion is king of the jungle.
- Top of the morning to you!
- It hit me right between the eyes.
- Religion is the opiate of the masses.
- All the news that's fit to print.
1See what I did there?
I don't know what book told you that, but it's not the truth.1
Fact is, there are several reasons we might use the definite article. Macmillan (definition 1b) says:
used when you are referring to familiar things that people deal with regularly
I looked up at the ceiling; suddenly all the lights went out
Many familiar adages and expressions use the definite article even though they talk about things in general. Consider:
- The lion is king of the jungle.
- Top of the morning to you!
- It hit me right between the eyes.
- Religion is the opiate of the masses.
- All the news that's fit to print.
1See what I did there?
answered 2 days ago
J.R.♦
96.8k8126242
96.8k8126242
add a comment |
add a comment |
up vote
3
down vote
Ditto Andrew's excellent answer, let me just add:
Don't get confused by the difference between how something is in the real world, and how it is grammatically.
Yes, in real life, "all the money in the world" is, well, all the money that exists. Logically, you might say that it's the same as "money" as a general concept. But GRAMMATICALLY, "all the money in the world" is NOT all money that exists, it's a specific set of money, namely, the money that is "in the world". While in real life that may be all money, grammatically it is not.
add a comment |
up vote
3
down vote
Ditto Andrew's excellent answer, let me just add:
Don't get confused by the difference between how something is in the real world, and how it is grammatically.
Yes, in real life, "all the money in the world" is, well, all the money that exists. Logically, you might say that it's the same as "money" as a general concept. But GRAMMATICALLY, "all the money in the world" is NOT all money that exists, it's a specific set of money, namely, the money that is "in the world". While in real life that may be all money, grammatically it is not.
add a comment |
up vote
3
down vote
up vote
3
down vote
Ditto Andrew's excellent answer, let me just add:
Don't get confused by the difference between how something is in the real world, and how it is grammatically.
Yes, in real life, "all the money in the world" is, well, all the money that exists. Logically, you might say that it's the same as "money" as a general concept. But GRAMMATICALLY, "all the money in the world" is NOT all money that exists, it's a specific set of money, namely, the money that is "in the world". While in real life that may be all money, grammatically it is not.
Ditto Andrew's excellent answer, let me just add:
Don't get confused by the difference between how something is in the real world, and how it is grammatically.
Yes, in real life, "all the money in the world" is, well, all the money that exists. Logically, you might say that it's the same as "money" as a general concept. But GRAMMATICALLY, "all the money in the world" is NOT all money that exists, it's a specific set of money, namely, the money that is "in the world". While in real life that may be all money, grammatically it is not.
answered 2 days ago
Jay
45.4k14090
45.4k14090
add a comment |
add a comment |
up vote
2
down vote
The big, fancy language scholar term for this particular use of the definite article, "the", is "modadic"—the as in the one and only.
From your example, rephrased:
There is only one collection of all money in the one and only world.
Reference:
8. Monadic
("One of a Kind" or "Unique")
The Article
New contributor
I'm gonna upvote this one purely because you didn't include the "optional" article in There is only one collection of all the money in the one and only world, even though you didn't specifically draw attention to that yourself!
– FumbleFingers
2 days ago
1
I'm so glad you noticed that! I was mindful of not wanting to use a circular definition with the first "one", with the one and only "the" being qualified enough not to be. ;-)
– Jesse Steele
2 days ago
add a comment |
up vote
2
down vote
The big, fancy language scholar term for this particular use of the definite article, "the", is "modadic"—the as in the one and only.
From your example, rephrased:
There is only one collection of all money in the one and only world.
Reference:
8. Monadic
("One of a Kind" or "Unique")
The Article
New contributor
I'm gonna upvote this one purely because you didn't include the "optional" article in There is only one collection of all the money in the one and only world, even though you didn't specifically draw attention to that yourself!
– FumbleFingers
2 days ago
1
I'm so glad you noticed that! I was mindful of not wanting to use a circular definition with the first "one", with the one and only "the" being qualified enough not to be. ;-)
– Jesse Steele
2 days ago
add a comment |
up vote
2
down vote
up vote
2
down vote
The big, fancy language scholar term for this particular use of the definite article, "the", is "modadic"—the as in the one and only.
From your example, rephrased:
There is only one collection of all money in the one and only world.
Reference:
8. Monadic
("One of a Kind" or "Unique")
The Article
New contributor
The big, fancy language scholar term for this particular use of the definite article, "the", is "modadic"—the as in the one and only.
From your example, rephrased:
There is only one collection of all money in the one and only world.
Reference:
8. Monadic
("One of a Kind" or "Unique")
The Article
New contributor
edited 2 days ago
New contributor
answered 2 days ago
Jesse Steele
1214
1214
New contributor
New contributor
I'm gonna upvote this one purely because you didn't include the "optional" article in There is only one collection of all the money in the one and only world, even though you didn't specifically draw attention to that yourself!
– FumbleFingers
2 days ago
1
I'm so glad you noticed that! I was mindful of not wanting to use a circular definition with the first "one", with the one and only "the" being qualified enough not to be. ;-)
– Jesse Steele
2 days ago
add a comment |
I'm gonna upvote this one purely because you didn't include the "optional" article in There is only one collection of all the money in the one and only world, even though you didn't specifically draw attention to that yourself!
– FumbleFingers
2 days ago
1
I'm so glad you noticed that! I was mindful of not wanting to use a circular definition with the first "one", with the one and only "the" being qualified enough not to be. ;-)
– Jesse Steele
2 days ago
I'm gonna upvote this one purely because you didn't include the "optional" article in There is only one collection of all the money in the one and only world, even though you didn't specifically draw attention to that yourself!
– FumbleFingers
2 days ago
I'm gonna upvote this one purely because you didn't include the "optional" article in There is only one collection of all the money in the one and only world, even though you didn't specifically draw attention to that yourself!
– FumbleFingers
2 days ago
1
1
I'm so glad you noticed that! I was mindful of not wanting to use a circular definition with the first "one", with the one and only "the" being qualified enough not to be. ;-)
– Jesse Steele
2 days ago
I'm so glad you noticed that! I was mindful of not wanting to use a circular definition with the first "one", with the one and only "the" being qualified enough not to be. ;-)
– Jesse Steele
2 days ago
add a comment |
up vote
1
down vote
All the money in the world would not make you happy.
We only have one specific world, and all the money in it is very specific.
Having money in the bank is a good thing, if its yours. [non-specific]
And: The money I have in the bank is none of your business. [specific]
Please note: for certain expressions such as money in the bank, a the is used with bank.
add a comment |
up vote
1
down vote
All the money in the world would not make you happy.
We only have one specific world, and all the money in it is very specific.
Having money in the bank is a good thing, if its yours. [non-specific]
And: The money I have in the bank is none of your business. [specific]
Please note: for certain expressions such as money in the bank, a the is used with bank.
add a comment |
up vote
1
down vote
up vote
1
down vote
All the money in the world would not make you happy.
We only have one specific world, and all the money in it is very specific.
Having money in the bank is a good thing, if its yours. [non-specific]
And: The money I have in the bank is none of your business. [specific]
Please note: for certain expressions such as money in the bank, a the is used with bank.
All the money in the world would not make you happy.
We only have one specific world, and all the money in it is very specific.
Having money in the bank is a good thing, if its yours. [non-specific]
And: The money I have in the bank is none of your business. [specific]
Please note: for certain expressions such as money in the bank, a the is used with bank.
answered 2 days ago
Lambie
14.2k1331
14.2k1331
add a comment |
add a comment |
up vote
1
down vote
There is a word elided which will make parsing the phrase easier:
All of the money in the world
"Of money" is wrong for different reasons -- the preposition requires more than just a bare noun.
This is the point I was hoping to see. As with most English, we've munged it up so it doesn't follow our own quidelines by omitting a word.
– Scott Baker
10 hours ago
add a comment |
up vote
1
down vote
There is a word elided which will make parsing the phrase easier:
All of the money in the world
"Of money" is wrong for different reasons -- the preposition requires more than just a bare noun.
This is the point I was hoping to see. As with most English, we've munged it up so it doesn't follow our own quidelines by omitting a word.
– Scott Baker
10 hours ago
add a comment |
up vote
1
down vote
up vote
1
down vote
There is a word elided which will make parsing the phrase easier:
All of the money in the world
"Of money" is wrong for different reasons -- the preposition requires more than just a bare noun.
There is a word elided which will make parsing the phrase easier:
All of the money in the world
"Of money" is wrong for different reasons -- the preposition requires more than just a bare noun.
answered 2 days ago
arp
34617
34617
This is the point I was hoping to see. As with most English, we've munged it up so it doesn't follow our own quidelines by omitting a word.
– Scott Baker
10 hours ago
add a comment |
This is the point I was hoping to see. As with most English, we've munged it up so it doesn't follow our own quidelines by omitting a word.
– Scott Baker
10 hours ago
This is the point I was hoping to see. As with most English, we've munged it up so it doesn't follow our own quidelines by omitting a word.
– Scott Baker
10 hours ago
This is the point I was hoping to see. As with most English, we've munged it up so it doesn't follow our own quidelines by omitting a word.
– Scott Baker
10 hours ago
add a comment |
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