Articles - All - Unspecific

Articles
All in General - Unspecific	Framed \| Unframed

Read & Contrast

Speaking "in general"

The plural form puts emphasis on "all", a focus more commonly found in everyday speech, books, articles, and magazines. "The" puts emphasis on the class, a focus mostly found in science books, encyclopedias and technical writing.

ALL - UNSPECIFIC	THE CLASS - UNSPECIFIC
Wolves hunt in packs. People are trying to protect wolves. Trappers hunt wolves for their fur. NOTE: Nouns, such as "people", "fish", "deer" and "elk", with no plural form, also do not use articles (e.g. "People are funny." .)	The wolf hunts in a pack. Environmentalists are trying to protect the wolf. Trappers hunt the wolf for its fur. The above examples discuss the quality, character of behavior of a class.

Web Resource
NOVA "The Wolf - Dog Connection" http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/wolves/wolfdog.html

Practice 1

Focusing on "All"

Change the focus from "the dog" (the class) to "dogs" in general (all). Pay attention to subject-verb agreement.

EXAMPLE: Why does the wolf howl? (class form)

Why do wolves howl? (plural form)

#	YOUR EDIT	CHECK ANSWER
1.	(The dog was) long believed to have descended from several species, including the wolf and jackal.
2.	Scientific analysis of (the dog shows its) ancestor was Canis lupis, a wolf.
3.	According to archaeological records, (the dog was) the first animals to be domesticated.
4.	(The dog barks) to protect its territory.

Practice 2

Focusing on "the class"

Change the focus from "dogs" in general (all) to "the dog" (the class). Pay attention to subject-verb agreement.

EXAMPLE: Why do wolves howl? (all)

Why does the wolf howl? (the class)

#	YOUR RESPONSE	CHECK ANSWER
1.	(Dogs are) man's best friend.
2.	(Dogs need) to eat a lot of protein.
3.	(Dogs are not) vegetarian.
4.	(Dogs have) been around for 50 million years.

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Julie Sevastopoulos - College of San Mateo - San Mateo, CA 94402 USA