This question may seem too basic, but after reading through 3 grammar and usage guides, I still can't find the sufficient information on this distinction.
Consider these phrases with their different uses of articles. The question is simple: how do I interpret them differently and correctly?
(1) the story about James and Susie.
I know this can mean 1., but what about 2. ?
- One particular story about James and Susie (not just any story about them)
- A story about James and Susie (not just any story out there)
(2) a story about James and Susie
Is this one OK? If meaning 2. above is OK, how does this one differ from (1) in the same sense?
(3) the stories about James and Susie
(4) stories about James and Susie
Could (3) and (4) both mean all the stories about the two or only (4) can do so?
Answer
Let's put the phrase into a larger context.
Case 1
Have I ever told you the story about James and Susie?
I might begin a storytelling session in that way. I would use the word "the", because I'm thinking of one particular story. There's a good chance there's more than one story about James and Susie I could tell, but I'm thinking of one in particular.
How might you respond?
Oh, you mean the time when they got their car stuck in the mud, and James made Susie push the car in her white cocktail dress?
That might be the story I'm talking about, or it might not. The point is, "the story" generally refers to one particularly story.
Case 2
Have I ever told you a story about James and Susie?
In this case, "a" refers to any story. Essentially, I'm asking you if, in all the stories I've told you about my friends and relatives, I'm wondering if you've ever heard me tell one about James and Susie.
How might you respond?
Well, you told me the story about how they got their car stuck in the mud, and James made Susie push the car in her white cocktail dress.
That may not be the story I had in mind when I asked my question, but I wasn't asking about one particular story; I asked if I had told you a story, which means any story, at any time in the past.
(Evidently, I have.)
Case 3
Every time we start telling the stories about James and Susie, we start laughing.
Every time we start telling stories about James and Susie, we start laughing.
Here, the word "the" doesn't change the meaning of the sentence very much. With the article, the stories pretty much means those stories we've been telling through the years. Without the article, stories probably refers to a few of those stories – a subset of the complete lore.
For example, say we reminisced about two stories last week, and about two different stories the week before that. In both cases, we told stories. Next week, though, we'll recount all the stories we can remember; we'll tell the stories.
For all practical purposes, though, we rarely worry about whether we're telling some of the stories, or all of the stories, so the article can be included or omitted without sounding awkward.
How might you respond?
Yes, I love the one about how they got their car stuck in the mud, and James made Susie push the car in her white cocktail dress.
Epilogue
Those mud stains never did come out of Susie's dress. I can't believe he made her do that!
I'm pretty sure he eventually bought her a new one, though.
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