first floor, second floor, third floor

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ShirleyLing

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Jun 24, 2011
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United States
People refer to the floors of a building as "the first floor", "the second floor", etc, with "the" before the phrase "X floor" since each floor is unique. Suppose I want to refer to multiple floors. Then I could use either of these:
"..the first, second, and third floors.."
"..........first, second, and third floors.."

Would i get away with dropping "the", since "floors" is plural?
 
Would I get away with dropping "the", since "floors" is plural?

No.

You have to go to all the trouble of typing the just the same.

Rover
 
Semantic note: In Britain and Australia, the Ground floor counts as 0. The first floor is above the ground floor. A three storey building has a ground, a first and a second floor.
In the US, a three story building has a first, second and third floor.

(Correct me if regional changes have been made lately).
 
Would i get away with dropping "the", since "floors" is plural?

Just because something is plural, it doesn't mean that we can omit the article.
 
There is a context where the article could be omitted, but I've had to think hard to come up with it. For example:

"Newspapers have reported that there are many health benefits to using the stairs for at least three floors instead of the lift. People are now walking up the stairs to first, second and third floors all over the country."
 
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