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Hi,

Do you think ‘the’ in the following sentence should be replaced with ‘a’?

“Business does not call for the elegant language of the poet, but it does require the writer to express himself accurately in a plain language that is clear, concise, courteous, and readily understood”

Thank you very much.

Either is fine, but I would prefer “a.”

Hi Mordant,

Really I don’t understand why ‘the’ is correct here (after all there’s no particular poet here). I remember I used to raise this question concerning ‘the’ vs ‘a’ some time ago, but then I didn’t fully understand the matter, and now I’m still in confusion. It’s just like saying: ‘The tiger is a very savage animal’. I don’t understand why it’s not ‘Tigers are very savage animals’.

Hi Mordant,

Really I don’t understand why ‘the’ is correct here (after all there’s no particular poet here). I remember I used to raise this question concerning ‘the’ vs ‘a’ some time ago, but then I didn’t fully understand the matter, and now I’m still in confusion. It’s just like saying: ‘The tiger is a very savage animal’. I don’t understand why it’s not ‘Tigers are very savage animals’.

In this situation “the” can be used because they’re talking about a poet as a generic figure. It’s a reference to an imaginary person that embodies the qualities of all poets.

You can also say, “Tigers are very savage animals.” Your two sentences mean the same thing. There’s a choice in that situation.

Hello teachers,

Shouldn’t it be “in plain language”, and not “in A plain language”?

Thanks!

Hi Abc123,

I’d think “a” is more common and soft in such a phrase as “the elegant language of a poet”. However, the above case seems a little different to me. Since there is a suggested comparison between “the poet” and “the writer”, both generic figures as Jamie pointed out, I’d prefer “the” to “a” as far as this particular context is concerned.