I lost all [the] respect I had for him.

[navi tasan]

1. I lost all respect I had for him.
2. I lost all the respect I had for him.

Which is correct? I am sure #2 works. I am not sure #1 is incorrect, but logically it should be! In other words, if #1 is correct, then I have a problem with it!
I wrote both sentences. As far as I can see, #2 is unremarkable.

 

[emsr2d2]

As you suspect, #2 is OK and #1 isn't. The first could be fixed by changing "all" to "any".

 

[jutfrank]

I don't really want to complicate things but I don't find 1. incorrect or illogical. The article is not strictly necessary in such restrictive clauses.

 

[Annabel Lee]

1. I lost all respect I had for him.
2. I lost all the respect I had for him.

Which is correct? I am sure #2 works. I am not sure #1 is incorrect, but logically it should be!

Sentence (2) -- "I lost all the respect I had for him" -- is equivalent in meaning to (3) below:

3. I lost all my respect for him.​

The phrase "my respect for him" is naturally paraphrased as "the respect I have for him," not as "respect I have for him."

Possessive determiners are inherently definite. I think the definite article in (2) is needed and find (1) awkward at best.

The article is not strictly necessary in such restrictive clauses.

I agree that it is possible for restrictive relative clauses to modify nouns not introduced by an article -- e.g.:

All men who try may succeed.​

All milk that is sour has gone bad.​

We despise all racism that persists in this nation.​

​

However, in such noun phrases, definiteness of reference seems not to be involved.

 

[Skrej]

I strongly prefer (and use) #1. While there's obviously nothing wrong with #2, adding 'the' sounds just a touch off to my ear.

I do agree it's common to hear 'any' with #1.

This Ngram shows 'all respect' being far more common.

 

[jutfrank]

Possessive determiners are inherently definite. I think the definite article in (2) is needed

Are you simply saying that the lack of 'the' in 1. makes it impossible (or difficult) to interpret the noun phrase as definite? I would argue that noun phrases with 'all' can sometimes be meant as definite. Let me ask you:

I lost all respect for him.
I lost all my respect for him.

Would you say that these two are equivalent in meaning or not?