habit

[Taka]

He has a bad habit of biting his fingernails.
He has the bad habit of biting his fingernails.

Among the two above, which is more natural? If both are natural, what is the difference between the two?

[zagolina]

Hi Taka,
Both of them sound right, the difference is that when you say "the habit" your reader/audience knows which habit you are talking about (the is a definite article).

[englishhobby]

As I view it, both variants are possible, but using the definite article adds irritation to the speaker's words and at the same time means that both speakers know about this bad habit of the third person (=that bad habit of his which you and I both know of). I may be wrong though.