Can I make the word "noun" into a generic with the definite article ?
Ex)
The noun can be a subject or object.
asked Oct 25, 2017 at 11:44
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Yes you can. Just like the leopard can be found in the wild both in Africa and in Asia.– green_ideasCommented Oct 25, 2017 at 15:18
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But, someone said it can't be used.– Haruto NagasakiCommented Oct 25, 2017 at 15:20
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But notice you need to talk about the whole noun phrase the noun not just the noun by itself.– green_ideasCommented Oct 25, 2017 at 15:20
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I see that answer. I disagree. It provides no acceptable rationale for saying no. Maybe @Lawler can comment.– green_ideasCommented Oct 25, 2017 at 15:21
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But, the leopard is just the leopard by itself.– Haruto NagasakiCommented Oct 25, 2017 at 15:21
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1 Answer
No.
A noun can function as a subject or object.
Here 'a' does the job you were looking for. You could also say 'Nouns can function...'
If you say 'the noun', that means you have a particular noun in mind - 'giraffe' for instance.
Edit: There are cases where generic noun phrases can be made with 'the' but here it sounds strange and is ambiguous.
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Can only things like cars and tigers be used with "the"? Commented Oct 25, 2017 at 13:58
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I can play the piano. The kangaroo is the best known mammal in Australia. More often than not we don't use it for a general class of things. I would learn examples of it as exceptions.– RobertCommented Oct 25, 2017 at 14:01
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2This answer is wrong. "The noun" is just a generic noun phrase just like "The giraffe". I agree it sounds a little unusual and stuffy to say "the noun", but to simply say "no" is just wrong.– stangdonCommented Oct 25, 2017 at 15:28
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Yes; you're right. My mistake. Ex. Of all the parts of speech, the noun is the easiest to use. I jumped to a conclusion because the example sentence in the question was ambiguous and confusing.– RobertCommented Oct 26, 2017 at 2:29