Am I right:
She works in a hospital (in one of all buildings=hospitals, we don’t know if she is a doctor or cleaning lady).
She works in hospital (she must be a dr, nurse, general meaning).
She works in the hospital (she must be for example: a cleaning lady).
Thanks !!
She works in a hospital / She works in the hospital - we don’t know what job she does there.
Although we speak about ‘going to hospital’, ‘visiting hospital’ etc. with no article, that does not apply in this case. ‘She works in hospital’ would not be used.
She works in a hospital. (She works in some hospital which the speaker and the listener do not know)
She works in the hospital. (She works in a particular hospital which is known to both the speaker and the listener, perhaps, the local, well-known hospital)
Ok, thanx, but please tell me in what kinds of sentences we use ‘hospital’ without articles?
I was reading about general meaning, so it could be?:
Susan is a doctor and works in hospital.
Betty is a cleaning lady and works in the hospital (besides general meaning).
‘Hospital’ is a countable noun which is to be used with an article. If you are still very particular about using it that way, you can say so in a sentence like these: He is engaged in hospital work. He has, at last, decided to take up some hospital work. They are hospital staff. She doesn’t like hospital duties.
(I wouldn’t say they sound sensible enough unless warranted by specific contexts)
Dear Canadian, I beg to differ with you here. I have not ended that sentence as you see it. Can we write ‘You can say so in a sentence like these.’ and stop it there? The word ‘these’ (demonstrative) certainly demands more to conclude lest it should be semantically incomplete.
You may look at these examples:
All of You don’t know this ?!:
We use school, prison, hospital, university, college and church not using ‘the’ when we are thinking of the general idea of these places and what they are used for.
Joe had an accident. He was taken to hospital. He’s still in hospital now (as a patient).
[color=blue]maybe technically correct, but very unnatural
Joe had an accident. He was taken to hospital. (Correct, but it is different from what we have been discussing)
John goes to church every Sunday. (John is a Christian) Vs I went to the church yesterday. (I went there for some purpose other than worship)
Ryan has gone to hospital. (He is ill, so he wants to consult a physician) Vs I went to the hospital to visit Ryan. (A courtesy call as a friend)
Children go to school. (They go there as students, to study) Vs Parents go to the school. (perhaps, to pay the fees or to meet the headteacher)
They are going to prison. (They are convicts) Vs He went to the prison. (To meet someone there)
Listen to this advice: Be flexible!
Choose either of these: Impose or ignore.
‘I like these colours: blue, green and pink.’ > You say it is [color=blue]correct.
‘You may look at these examples: 1. I like these colours: blue, green and pink. 2. Here are the options: a, b, c or d.’ > You say it is [color=blue]not correct.
I find your observation contradictory and unacceptable. Would you examine it?
quote=“Anglophile”]
You may look at these examples: [color=blue]no thanks
quote]
[/quote]
[color=blue]I am tired of all his colon stuff, both the ending of sentences with a colon and the continuing discussion, with no improvement!
“Listen to this advice: Be flexible!”
Since it is the same sentence, a ‘small’ b is correct.
That’s just an inflexible viewpoint. Since it can be considered to be a standard ‘standalone’ phrase within a sentence, an uppercase b could be acceptable.
[color=blue]No, I don’t agree. You can’t just start capitalizing within a sentence if it is not a name of something.
No surprises there.