Wednesday, February 10, 2016

Do I need the definite article here?


I wrote:




For example, in most shopping websites (the) price and shipping details fields are in a product's information and can be used to identify a product item.



Do I need "the" before price? why? I think as each product has one price then I must use "the". Right?



Answer



When referring to a property that is always present as property that is always present (i.e. generically), no article is required but neither is it wrong to use one:



When filling out a bill of lading, be sure to provide dimensions and weight.


When selecting your curtains, remember to specify color and thread-count.


When ordering paint, you can choose not only color but finish.



Auto-tune can modulate not only pitch but timbre.


You can order pizza with this app. There's a multi-select checklist for toppings and a radio-button group for size.



But when referring to the property not in generic terms but in specific terms, we use the article:



I do not like the color of the paint we chose, now that I see it against the carpet.


The weight I provided when filling out the bill of lading was incorrect.


I really like the timbre of her voice.


We should have ordered the large size. This pizza won't be enough for all of us.




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