I’d appreciate it if someone would answer my question about the following 2 sentences. Thank you in advance.
A: They came to the conclusion that humans were born to be free.
B: They came to the conclusion that they had to abandon the plan.
I’d like to know the reason “the” is added to “conclusion” in both sentences.
I think the reason in A is that people at large know or think humans are born to be free, and so is the listener of A. The listener can specify the conclusion. Am I right?
I have 2 explanations for the reason in B. One is that the listener know them and their plan, so he/she can specify the conclusion.
The other is that the word “conclusion” has a strong power to restrict, and is easily specified, regardless of the listener’s knowledge of them and their plan, by “that they had to abandon the plan”.
Which explanation is correct, or neither, or some other one?
By the way is C OK?
C: They came to a conclusion that they had to abandon the plan.