Wears THE/A hijab?

[Ashraful Haque]

Why do we use 'the' instead of 'a' before 'hijab?' For example, "She's wearing the hijab."
Other examples I found online:
1) He plays the piano.
2) The city has been a part of human culture for thousands of years. (I wonder why it's not 'cities' instead.)

 

[Charlie Bernstein]

We often use the when a noun represents an entire class of something:

- He loves going to the opera.

- The popularity of the car led to urban sprawl.

 

[jutfrank]

There's a lot to deal with here so I suggest we break it down.

Say She's wearing a hijab if you're talking about one particular woman and one particular item of clothing.

 

[Ashraful Haque]

I think I heard someone say "He's at the church." I wonder if she was talking about the nearest church from where she was.

Also, when we say "I'm going to they gym" do we mean a specific gym that both the speaker and the listener are aware of or just any gym?

 

[emsr2d2]

I think I heard someone say "He's at the church." I wonder if she was talking about the nearest church from where she was.

Also, when we say "I'm going to [STRIKE]they[/STRIKE] the gym", do we mean a specific gym that both the speaker and the listener are aware of or just any gym?

There's no way of knowing where the church is. All we know is that the person is inside it or standing just outside it. However, what we do know is that they are not attending a religious service. For that we say that the person is "at church".

"At the gym" is a set phrase and it simply means "exercising at a gym". It doesn't matter where it is and it makes no difference whether the speaker/listener know where it is.

 

[jutfrank]

I think I heard someone say "He's at the church." I wonder if she was talking about the nearest church from where she was.

It really isn't a good idea to ask about the meaning of reference words (like the) without lots of context. The best we can safely say is that the speaker knows that the listener knows which church the speaker is talking about. The case is similar with he—the speaker knows that the listener understands who he refers to.

Also, when we say "I'm going to the gym" do we mean a specific gym that both the speaker and the listener are aware of or just any gym?

It would be possible in principle, but incredibly unlikely that the speaker did not have a specific gym in mind. It would be far more likely, perhaps even probable, that the listener had no idea which gym the speaker meant.

You can see that both examples you provide differ greatly with respect to the use of the. And the example about the hijab differs from both.

 

[Tdol]

I wouldn't use an article: she wears/is wearing hijab.

 

[Ashraful Haque]

There's no way of knowing where the church is. All we know is that the person is inside it or standing just outside it. However, what we do know is that they are not attending a religious service. For that we say that the person is "at church".

Is it the same for any religious places like Mosque, Temples etc.?
Would saying "I'm at Mosque" mean that I'm performing prayers at a Mosque?
And 'I'm at the Mosque" would mean that I'm somewhere around or inside it?

 

[GoesStation]

Is it the same for [STRIKE]any[/STRIKE] other religious places like mosques and temples [STRIKE]etc.[/STRIKE]?
Would saying "I'm at Mosque" mean that I'm performing prayers at a Mosque?
And 'I'm at the Mosque" would mean that I'm somewhere around or inside it?

That's an interesting question. American Ashkenazi Jews may say "He's at schul", using the Yiddish word for "synagogue". However, we say "He's at the temple/synagogue." I don't know why, nor do I know what members of other non-Christian faiths do. But "He's at Mosque" sounds very wrong to me. It needs an article.

 

[emsr2d2]

Is it the same for any religious places like Mosque, Temples etc.?
Would saying "I'm at Mosque" mean that I'm performing prayers at a Mosque?
And 'I'm at the Mosque" would mean that I'm somewhere around or inside it?

It's a good question and I have no idea of the answer. You would have to ask a Muslim native English speaker. Only they would be able to tell you if "I'm at mosque" is used.

 

[Charlie Bernstein]

I don't think Americans say, "He's at mosque."

 

[Ashraful Haque]

I think I'll just stick to "at Church" when talking about praying and "at the church" when someone's just inside or around it. But, "at the Mosque" for both.

 

[GoesStation]

I think I'll just stick to "at church" when talking about praying and "at the church" when someone's just inside or around it. But, "at the mosque" for both.

Good choice.

 

[Tdol]

I think I'll just stick to "at Church" when talking about praying and "at the church" when someone's just inside or around it. But, "at the Mosque" for both.

You could use at prayer(s)- I've heard British Muslim friends use this.

 

[bubbha]

I've heard native-English-speaking Jewish Americans say "temple" without "the", such as "I go to temple every Saturday."

As for Muslims saying "at mosque" or "to mosque", I've never heard it, but I know very few practicing Muslims in the US.

 

[GoesStation]

I've heard native-English-speaking Jewish Americans say "temple" without "the", such as "I go to temple every Saturday."

Yes, that's normal. But I wouldn't say "he's at temple."

 

[jutfrank]

I'd say 'to be at mosque' is perfectly appropriate. As Tdol says in post #14, 'to be at prayer' is also good, though it's not exactly synonymous because being at mosque doesn't necessarily mean you're praying.

 

[Ashraful Haque]

I'd say 'to be at mosque' is perfectly appropriate. As Tdol says in post #14, 'to be at prayer' is also good, though it's not exactly synonymous because being at mosque doesn't necessarily mean you're praying.

If you asked me where I was and I said:
1) I'm at the mosque
2) I'm at mosque

Would 1 mean that I'm just somewhere around the mosque and 2 mean that I'm praying inside the mosque?

 

[emsr2d2]

Potentially, yes, but we still need a Muslim who is also a native English speaker to answer the question knowledgeably.

 

[jutfrank]

If you asked me where I was and I said:
1) I'm at the mosque
2) I'm at mosque

Would 1 mean that I'm just somewhere around the mosque and 2 mean that I'm praying inside the mosque?

Well, 1 would mean that you're there as a Muslim, as a member of a religious institution. This is what I called the 'institution' use (or lack of use) of the, similarly used in phrases such as at church, in prison, in class, etc.

2 could be used more generally to talk about the mosque merely as a building.