Why is 'the' used before air in the expression in the air? Air is an uncountable noun. However, 'the' (the article) precedes the word 'air'. For example: He hit a ball in the air. How can air be specific?
Add a comment
|
4 Answers
The definite article can be used with both count and mass nouns. With the latter you are referring to some specific portion of it. If I were to say The water is cold, I have a particular portion of water in mind— perhaps the water in my laboratory beaker, or perhaps the water of the lake I am wading in. If I were to say Water is cold, I would mean that all water everywhere is cold, and one would immediately object that water can be warmed up, and that some water is quite hot.
Naturally, you will see the in conjunction with words for "big" concepts, whether physically large like geographic or planetary features, or conceptually sweeping: the sea, the economy, the bush, and so forth. The air in in the air is also a more metaphorical usage:
air 1.2. the free or unconfined space above the surface of the earth: he celebrated by tossing his hat high in the air [ODO]
Thus, to hit something in the air or into the air is to hit it away from the earth. If I hit a line drive, in which the ball is projected close to the ground, it certainly traveling in air in the sense of being surrounded by the mixture of gases which envelopes our planet, but not in the air, which would mean towards the sky.
-
so the tl;dr version is that the air = the sky, right? Now the question is why do we say in the sky, not in sky?...– OokerAug 1, 2016 at 17:50
-
1@Ooker It can, but it depends on context. The sky refers to the firmament, whereas the air refers to the open space above the ground; if you throw a ball at the sky you are much more ambitious than if you throw it in[to] the air, which might just be a few centimeters above your head. An airplane in the sky is overhead, whereas an airplane in the air may have just taken off, and appear below your spot on a mountain overlooking the airport.– chosterAug 1, 2016 at 18:06
-
What if you just jump? You jump into the air, correct? Just like you jump into the water. Oct 29, 2016 at 18:14
In this expression, the “air” in “in the air” can be thought of as “sky”. This is sense 2.a. from thefreedictionary.com:
air (âr)
n.
2.a. The sky
Source: Definition of “air” on thefreedictionary.com
Of course, the sky is usually thought of as very high up, whereas the air is anything off the ground.
So “in the air” generally means “currently somewhere above the ground”.
“The ground” presents the same situation, grammatically speaking. We're not referring to a specific ground, or a specific section of ground, we're referring to the ground in the most general sense, i.e., “the (outdoor) floor”.
You’ll notice that “currently somewhere above the ground” is not what you meant to indicate about the ball. There’s a reason for that, which is not the subject of your question, but is worth mentioning: When describing a movement, such as the movement of the ball from the bat to the air, it’s better to use “into” as in “He hit a ball into the air”.
As it is currently written, the sentence just tells us that the ball was in the air at the time when he hit it, not necessarily that it went up after he did so.
answered Jan 30, 2014 at 18:02
If I say "I breathe air" then I am speaking of some non-specific body of air. If I say "I hit the ball in the air" I am speaking of all the air in the world, which is a specific body of air. That's why we use "the" in this context. An analogy is "I love water" vs. "I love the water." The first suggests that I love to drink water. The second suggests that I love to be by or on or in the ocean, or lakes, or rivers, or some other body of water.
-
"I love mountains" vs "I love the mountains" What's the difference in meaning? Jan 27, 2020 at 8:23
-
-
I think that "I love water" and "I love the water" could equally refer to a body of water whereas Iìd agree that the former would be more likely said for the beverage. Jan 28, 2020 at 19:06
-
1@Mari-LouA I think that the difference, although subtle, is there. When you say "I love the mountains" there's a (subtle) implication of known mountains rather than all mountains. Rather analogous to loving "being on the water" and loving "being on water."– BobRodesJan 28, 2020 at 19:10
-
"He hits a ball into THE air." "AIR" here means a space above THE ground. We use "THE" before the unique things such as THE sun, THE moon, THE sky, THE ground, THE air. Other examples for THE air: "Don't move. Put your hands in THE air." "The balloon rose up into THE air." "Air" also means the mixture of gasses that surrounds the earth and" we breath it for living. In this case "AIR" is uncountable noun so without "A/AN" right before it as well as no plural form. We say: AIR is one of the most important things in life. When we refer to "AIR" in specific context THE is added. "The bus was overcrowded . It makes THE air in the bus stuffy." I hope it help.
