[Grammar] (the) power to do

[Snappy]

I found this on the Internet.
"The president of the United States does not have the power to suspend legislation. He has power to veto bills by withholding his assent."
Please tell me why there is "the" before "power to suspend legislation" and "the" is left out before "power to veto bills"?

 

[GoesStation]

I'd include the article in both places.

 

[probus]

I'd include the article in both places.

Me too, but it's also acceptable as written.

 

[Snappy]

Me too, but it's also acceptable as written.

Thanks. The expression "He has the power to veto" sounds like "He is going to use the power" while "He has power to veto" sounds like he is just telling the fact.
Am I right?

 

[GoesStation]

Thanks. The expression "He has the power to veto" sounds like "He is going to use the power" while "He has power to veto" sounds like he is just telling the fact.
Am I right?

No. They're two ways to say essentially the same thing.

 

[Phaedrus]

I found this on the Internet.
"The president of the United States does not have the power to suspend legislation. He has power to veto bills by withholding his assent."
Please tell me why there is "the" before "power to suspend legislation" and "the" is left out before "power to veto bills"?

For what it's worth, we would not use "the" before "power to . . ." if "power" were modified by adjectives denoting amount:

The president doesn't have unlimited power to suspend legislation.
The president doesn't have much power to suspend legislation.

? The president doesn't have the unlimited power to suspend legislation.
* [strike]The president doesn't have the much power to suspend legislation[/strike].

By stating that the president doesn't have all of a certain power, those sentences imply that the president has (the) power to suspend some, but not all, legislation. In the following cases, the adjective before "power" works differently, and we'd use "the" even with the adjective:

The president doesn't have the tyrannical power to suspend legislation.
The president doesn't have the awesome power to suspend legislation.

? The president doesn't have tyrannical power to suspend legislation.
? The president doesn't have awesome power to suspend legislation.

Those sentences imply that the president doesn't have any power to suspend legislation. The adjective does not denote a type of power; rather, it conveys how the speaker regards that power (as tyrannical or as awesome).