"%40 of population is fat."
as opposed to:
"The %40 of population is fat."
I know the definite article is used when referring to specific things but where and how could I make this distinction.
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Sign up to join this community"%40 of population is fat."
as opposed to:
"The %40 of population is fat."
I know the definite article is used when referring to specific things but where and how could I make this distinction.
In this case, the definite article should go before "population", since this is what you are specifying. The percentage is what is describing the specific subject.
Also, the "%" goes after the number. So:
40% of the population is fat.
Although this is more style than grammar, starting a sentence with a number is typically avoided in formal English. So, you could also write it as:
Forty percent of the population is fat.
Although, if this is formal, I would also avoid the word "fat" in favor of something more precise and scientific.
A definite article is required, but not where you've used it. It should be "40% of the population is fat."
There can be many populations, but you should use "the" to indicate you're referring to a specific one.