Dave's ESL Cafe's Student Discussion Forums

[Shinae]

Hi,

Please tell me why or why not the "thes" here are necessary and if not, why so?.

1. Please give chalks to the kids in this classroom.
vs. Please give the chalks to kids in the classroom.
2. The big mistake many people make when learning English is to associate the written words with the spoken ones. vs.
The big mistake many people make when learning English is to associate written words with spoken ones.
3. Is self study not giving you the confidence to speak in Spanish?
vs. Is self study not giving you confidence to speak in Spanish?

[ebb]

1. Please give chalks to the kids in this classroom.
vs. Please give the chalks to kids in the classroom.

1a implies "Give them to all the kids."
1b doesn't imply that all of them should receive chalks.

NB -- Americans would simply say "chalk" .. better example would be "please give pencils..." to illustrate the point and avoid the peculiarities of the word "chalk".

2. The big mistake many people make when learning English is to associate the written words with the spoken ones. vs.
The big mistake many people make when learning English is to associate written words with spoken ones.

2b is better imho because you're not taking a position on the number of words to which this observation pertains. Either is ok however.

3. Is self study not giving you the confidence to speak in Spanish?
vs. Is self study not giving you confidence to speak in Spanish?

Either is OK, but 3b could be: "Are you not gaining enough confidence from your self study to speak Spanish more fluently?"

or more concisely (maybe): "Isn't your self study enabling you to speak Spanish with confidence?"
_________________
"This is insolence up with which I will not put." Winston Churchill, upon reading a newspaper�s criticism of his having ended a sentence with a preposition.

"You can get more with a kind word and a gun, than with just a kind word." Al Capone.