In a list where I'm repeating the word "same", should I repeat the word "the" also?
For example:
Some people of the same nationality, the same age, the same sex, and the same height are in the room.
Are all the "the"-s needed in the above sentence?
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1You might also want to see this question, which is similar: Why is using only one a enough in this sentence?– jimsugCommented Jun 12, 2014 at 16:55
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3 Answers
This is correct:
Some people of the same nationality, the same age, the same sex, and the same height are in the room.
This is also correct:
Some people of the same nationality, age, sex, and height are in the room.
Even this is correct:
Some people of the same nationality, same age, same sex, and same height are in the room.
The only thing that is not correct would be this:
Some people of the same nationality, the age, the sex, and the height are in the room.
Whichever of the first three you should choose mainly depends on style and what you want to emphasize.
The first one is probably the least natural, and its emphasis is on being wordy/verbose.
The second one is focused on being short and to the point, but it risks focusing too little on the word "same". It's probably the best for many casual settings.
The third one probably strikes the best balance in a formal setting. It's not unusually verbose, but it is verbose enough to sound formal. And it also places a fair amount of emphasis on the fact that everything is the "same". It could also be the best choice in casual settings, when the speaker just wants to place a lot of emphasis on the word "same".
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1Interesting, you can mix it up: the same nationality, same age, the same sex, and height...– jimsugCommented Jun 12, 2014 at 17:19
No, you shouldn’t repeat “the”, you shouldn’t even repeat “the same”. On the contrary your sentence would be finer this way:
Some people of the same nationality, age, sex, and height are in the room.
answered Jun 12, 2014 at 8:33
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2The meaning changes slightly with this. When you repeat 'the same', you call more attention to the sameness of the people than when you only use it once at the start.– LiiCommented Jun 12, 2014 at 12:26
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The definite article the can be repeated any number of times unless placing it is justified. In this sentence, the refers to specific group of people with unique characters or qualities that unite them in a specific way.
In most of the cases, same would have the in front of it. That's because when you are talking about something being exactly same, it's unique and thus takes the definite article. As far as the last the in the sentence is concern, it took the definite article because it's about the only room (unique) where we find those people.
I had asked quite similar question here which will be useful.
answered Jun 12, 2014 at 7:29
