[Grammar] Thereof: "Conflicts, or the lack thereof" OR "Conclits, or lack thereof" ?

Thereof: "Conflicts, or the lack thereof" OR "Conclits, or lack thereof" ?

Dear teachers,

Question 1: Do I need "the"?
Longman dictionary online gave an example with "the":
"Money, or the lack thereof, played a major role in their marital problems."
whereas Merriam-Webster gave an example without "the":
"he takes a puckish delight in teasing her about her love life, or lack thereof"

Question 2: "Thereof" seems to have another usage, and I don't understand what it means:
"States differ in standards for products and the labelling thereof."
Can you please help paraphrase this sentence for me?

Thank you!

Re: Thereof: "Conflicts, or the lack thereof" OR "Conclits, or lack thereof" ?

subaru0327 said:

Dear teachers,

Question 1: Do I need "the"?
Longman dictionary online gave an example with "the":
"Money, or the lack thereof, played a major role in their marital problems."
whereas Merriam-Webster gave an example without "the":
"he takes a puckish delight in teasing her about her love life, or lack thereof"

Question 2: "Thereof" seems to have another usage, and I don't understand what it means:
"States differ in standards for products and the labelling thereof."
Can you please help paraphrase this sentence for me?

Thank you!

Click to expand...

I would not omit "the" in the first example. In the second, "thereof" refers to "products" and their labelling in the same way that it refers to "money" in the first example.

Re: Thereof: "Conflicts, or the lack thereof" OR "Conclits, or lack thereof" ?

bhaisahab said:

I would not omit "the" in the first example. In the second, "thereof" refers to "products" and their labelling in the same way that it refers to "money" in the first example.

Click to expand...

Thank you bhaisahab. I understand the answer to the second question now. As for the first question, is there a grammar rule that says why I need to use "the"? My grammar book doesn't seem to cover nouns and articles very extensively, and there is probably just too many different situations to cover.

Re: Thereof: "Conflicts, or the lack thereof" OR "Conclits, or lack thereof" ?

subaru0327 said:

Thank you bhaisahab. I understand the answer to the second question now. As for the first question, is there a grammar rule that says why I need to use "the"? My grammar book doesn't seem to cover nouns and articles very extensively, and there is probably just too many different situations to cover.

Click to expand...

No there is no rule, you don't have to use "the" in that context, but I would.