Quote:
Originally Posted by kooiu  Thank you for your response.
But what makes the following highlighted words generic?
The right to privacy is considered important in country Y. This right is specifically supported by stringent conditions in Article B of Country Y's Constitution and national legislative intervention in the Paul case of 2004.
140 million citizens live in a municipality in country Y.
Can the last statement be re-expressed as:
1. 140 million citizens each live in a municipality in country Y.
2. All municipalities in country Y are homes to 140 million citizens.
3. All municipalities in country Y are a home to 140 million citizens.
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I. As I already said the fact that your highlighted words are generalizations or definitions (which are taggable) make them generic.
Things that are not specifically known to the speaker/writer are generic.
II. Your last statement can be re-written as in 2 because of agreement.
1. Singular and plural generic count nouns can be almost
interchangeable.
A mobile makes a good gift for a girl.
Mobiles make good gifts for girls.
(Both sentences = All mobiles make .....)
2. Second mention of generic nouns doesn't require
the. (since we're still not talking about specific people/things known:
Q: What's a mobile?
A: A mobile is a phone/a camera / an MP3 player in one device.
3. generic mass nouns always look like indefinite nouns
(The is never used with generic mass nouns):
Life is short.
4. A few generic countable nouns look like definite nouns (they
take the), even though they do not refer to specific, unique things
The lion is a dangerous animal
III. Treat collective nouns (generic nouns) as singular unless the meaning is clearly plural. Both generic and non-generic noun phrases are tagged. Fictional people, places, and organizations are also taggable.