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Which of the following is correct?
Everyone would agree that the first sentence is correct. But did you know that the second sentence is as well?
In fact, the poem that made this phrase famous goes:
The dog is man's best friend.
- Ogden Nash, "An Introduction to Dogs" (1941)
He has a tail on one end.
Up in front he has teeth.
And four legs underneath.
You might be thinking, "but doesn’t 'the dog' refer to one particular dog?" However in this sentence, "the dog" refers to dogs in general. In today's post, we will look at all the different ways you can make "generic references" to things in English.
In English conversation and writing, the plural is the most common form of generic reference.
And as you can see, no article is used with the plural.
You'll sometimes also hear native English speakers use the definite article "the" to refer to something general. This is called the "definite generic reference" or the "definite generic."
In these sentences, we're not using "the" to talk about a specific dog or panda. We're using it to talk about a specific category or type of nouns that are known as "dog" and "panda."
You will often hear the definite generic used in educational materials, such as textbooks and documentaries, especially if they are about a scientific topic.
English speakers also use the definite generic when referring to machines and musical instruments.
You'll sometimes see the definite generic used when referring to nationalities and ethnicities: e.g. “the French” and “the Japanese.” However, this sounds a little old-fashioned, so just use the plural: i.e. "French people" or "Japanese people."
The last way to talk about something in general is to use the indefinite article "a/an." This is called "indefinite generic reference" or the "indefinite generic."
You'll often hear "a/an" used when someone shares their opinion about how certain people should behave.
When English speakers use the indefinite generic, they're actually picturing one typical member of the group.
So when you're picturing a group as a whole, don't use "a/an."
We hope this post answers some of your questions about English grammar! If you want to improve your grammar even more check out our free Grammar lessons. We also have thousands of online English tutors who can check your writing and give you feedback on your speaking. Learn more about our service here.