When we talk about it as a force we use the defenite article. When we refer to it as individuals we may use it without it?
***** NOT A TEACHER *****
Ostap,
(1) According to my research, you are
100% correct.
(a) Here is what Ms. Marilyn Martin says:
"When
the is used, the noun
police is seen as an institution.
... [W]hen no article is used, the noun refers to (an unspecified
number of) actual members of the police force in an actual situation."
BUT she reminds us that even when we use only "police," it is
also proper to use "the police" if we want to. If I understand her:
It is
usually correct to say "the police," and that in "modern"
English, it is also "correct" to say only "police" in certain sentences,
as explained by Ms. Martin.
My teachers:
1. Google "Zero article the police." The second result on the page
will give you Ms. Martin's
excellent article.
2. The first result on that page is most interesting:
Contemporary Indian English.
The scholar who wrote it compared American, British, and Indian
English use of "police" and "the police." The findings were most
informative.
3. Google "The police the definite article"; when the page of results
appears, click on "more" in the menu on the left side; when it
appears, click on "books." Pages of book excerpts will appear.
On page 3, one of the results is
Writing for Broadcast Journalists. Mr. Rick
Thompson tells his readers it is wrong to write "Police in ...." He
says that it should be
"The police in ...." I believe that some people
feel one reason that "the" started to be dropped was the need for
newspapers to save space. And then when radio came, maybe news
readers felt it was more direct and personal to say: "Police are
looking for ...." instead of "The police are looking for ...."
4. On page 6 of those book results is an excerpt from a book written
by Mr. Mortimer Collins --
His Letters. He relates this most insightful
fact:
People in my [area] never talk of "the police;" they drop the
definite article, and seem to
personify [my emphasis] their
natural enemy.
This book is dated 1877. Mr. Collins was a British writer. I know
nothing about him. Apparently, he lived in an area where the
people did not have much love for "police."
***** NOT A TEACHER *****
