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shvetsov2005
Joined: 30 Nov 2005
Posts: 115
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 Posted: Tue Aug 18, 2009 1:50 am Post subject: hospital |
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Hello,
I have this dialog from IELTS book:
SARAH: John, I�ve just had some good news. Susan has had her baby.
JOHN: Do you know when she had it?
SARAH: Yesterday. The tenth of August.
JOHN: Oh, my father was born on August the tenth. Give me the details and I�ll make a
note for everyone at work. Well, was it a boy or a girl?
SARAH: It�s a boy.
JOHN: And what are they going to call him?
SARAH: Tom. Tom Lightfoot. With masses of black hair, curly black hair. You know, we should go and visit them in hospital. What about tomorrow afternoon at around 1 pm?
Why they don't have a definite article before 'hospital'?
The hospital is something that they already both know by that time. Some specific hospital.
Alex. |
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dragn
Joined: 17 Feb 2009
Posts: 450
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| Posted: Tue Aug 18, 2009 6:51 am Post subject: |
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| Why they don't have a definite article before 'hospital'? |
In the United States they would. Omitting the article is common in British usage, as far as I know.
Greg |
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redset
Joined: 18 Mar 2006
Posts: 582
Location: England
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| Posted: Thu Aug 20, 2009 12:51 pm Post subject: |
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In hospital is a state, like being at work or in school. If you're in hospital, you're there because you're sick or injured (or recovering from having a baby!), not because you're visiting or you work there.
So if you visit someone in hospital, you're visiting them while they're a patient there. |
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shvetsov2005
Joined: 30 Nov 2005
Posts: 115
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| Posted: Thu Aug 20, 2009 9:55 pm Post subject: Thanks |
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| Thanks. |
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