When we are talking about things or people in general, we do not use the:
- I'm afraid of dogs. (not the dogs)
(dogs = dogs in general, not a specific group of dogs) - Doctors are usually paid more than teachers.
- Do you know anybody who collects stamps?
- Crime is a problem in most big cities. (not The crime)
- Life has changed a lot in the last thirty years. (not The life)
- Do you like classical music / Chinese food / fast cars?
- My favourite sport is football/skiing/athletics.
- My favourite subject at school was history/physics/English.
We say '
most people /
most books /
most cars' etc. (
not the most ... ):
- Most shops accept credit cards. (not The most shops)
We use the when we mean specific things or people.
Compare:
| In general (without the) | Specific people or things (with the) |
| Children learn from playing. (= children in general) | We took the children to the zoo. (= a specific group, perhaps the speaker's children) |
| I couldn't live without music. | The film wasn't very good, but I liked the music. (= the music in the film) |
| All cars have wheels. | All the cars in this car park belong to people who work here. |
| Sugar isn't very good for you. | Can you pass the sugar, please? (= the sugar on the table) |
| English people drink a lot of tea. (= English people in general) | The English people I know drink a lot of tea. (= only the English people I know, not English people in general) |
The difference between 'something in general' and 'something specific' is not always very dear.
Compare:
| In general (without the) | Specific people or things (with the) |
| I like working with people. (= people in general) | |
| I like working with people who say what they think. (not all people, but 'people who say what they think' is still a general idea) | I like the people I work with. (= a specific group of people) |
| Do you like coffee? (= coffee in general) | |
| Do you like strong black coffee? (not all coffee, but 'strong black coffee' is still a general idea) | I didn't like the coffee we had after dinner. (= specific coffee) |
