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Old 02-Oct-2007, 20:57
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Default definite vs. zero article (production)

I've read the following sentence in a textbook of English for Economists:

Economy = anorganized system of the production, distribution and consumption of wealth

I'm wondering why the definite article "the" was used before the noun "production". Could anyone of you try to explain the reason to me, please? Or is it a mistake and the definite article should be left out?
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Old 02-Oct-2007, 21:13
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Default Re: definite vs. zero article (production)

Quote:
Originally Posted by Lenka View Post
I've read the following sentence in a textbook of English for Economists:

Economy = anorganized system of the production, distribution and consumption of wealth

I'm wondering why the definite article "the" was used before the noun "production". Could anyone of you try to explain the reason to me, please? Or is it a mistake and the definite article should be left out?
Economy = an organized system for the production, distribution and consumption of wealth.

The sentence is almost correct. It is not a generic reference of the definite article.

An economy is the system of human activities related to the production, distribution, exchange, and consumption of values like goods and services in a particular geographic region.[Wikipedia]

Last edited by Teia; 02-Oct-2007 at 21:22.
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Old 02-Oct-2007, 21:15
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Default Re: definite vs. zero article (production)

Quote:
Originally Posted by Lenka View Post
I've read the following sentence in a textbook of English for Economists:

Economy = an organized system for the production, distribution and consumption of wealth

I'm wondering why the definite article "the" was used before the noun "production". Could anyone of you try to explain the reason to me, please? Or is it a mistake and the definite article should be left out?
"for" should be there rather than "of". You need the article here as it is a specifying of aspects relating to the creation and management of wealth.
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Old 02-Oct-2007, 21:20
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Default Re: definite vs. zero article (production)

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Originally Posted by Anglika View Post
"for" should be there rather than "of". You need the article here as it is a specifying of aspects relating to the creation and management of wealth.
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Old 02-Oct-2007, 22:23
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Default Re: definite vs. zero article (production)

Aaah... I see... The definite article was used because the production is specified by the word "wealth", wasn"t it?

Thank you for your replies :).
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Old 02-Oct-2007, 23:17
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Thumbs up Re: definite vs. zero article (production)

Quote:
Originally Posted by Lenka View Post
Aaah... I see... The definite article was used because the production is specified by the word "wealth", wasn"t it?
To me, it's exactly because of that, Lenka.
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