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Tell me please which of the following sentences is correct.

1 "His actions have raised concerns about monopolization of the industry."
2 "His actions have raised concerns about the monopolization of the industry."

I think the second is correct because "monopolization" is modified by "industry", but I have noticed sometimes people drop "the" before such sentences that is why I am confused by the usage of "the" before nouns from verbs and "of phrase".

2 Answers 2

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They are both correctly-formed sentences, but given the context, the first is probably correct.

To explain, the first implies his actions have caused concerns to be raised that monopolization of the industry in question is happening. The second implies that his actions have caused concerns to have only just now been raised about the previously known about monopolization of the industry in question. Whilst the second scenario is not impossible, the first seems more likely. I should add that these implications are not 100% the only way of reading the two sentences, but seeing them side-by-side that is what the difference wold seem to imply.

The definite article in front of "monopolization" changes how that word is being used so it is not (directly at least) connected to the definite article in front of "industry", which changes how the word "industry" is being used.

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  • I am not sure whether or not I agree with this answer. I definitely agree that both forms are grammatically OK. I just as definitely agree that as a matter of style I would not use "the." I am just not sure that the presence or absence of the definite article carries that much meaning. I am certainly not down voting this answer. I merely express some misgivings about one aspect of what is a good answer. Commented Dec 29, 2017 at 22:34
  • In which simular case would you use "the"? Commented Dec 30, 2017 at 16:22
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Either is correct because mass-nouns may use a definite article or use no article.

"Water is a compound of oxygen and hydrogen." No article.

"The water is cold today." A definite article.

The fact that "monopolization" derives from a verb, "monopolize," that in turn derives from a noun, "monopoly," may be irrelevant. It is true that many, perhaps all, nouns that describe the process of some verb occurring are mass-nouns, but the rule that you are looking for relates to mass-nouns in general.

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