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There are cases when I can tell for sure if I should use the before such a noun. However, things might get trickier sometimes.

These disciplinary techniques could range from depriving children of ____ things they treasure, such as their favorite toys or TV programs, to...

One might argue that things are modified by they treasure, thus making it not general anymore: these things are not anything in the world. Therefore, the should precede it.

Nevertheless, this argument could be seen from the opposite angle; is they treasure specific enough to make the compulsory? Children treasure a lot of different things.

What do you think? Thank you!

P.S. Kate said, and I quote, 'the things they treasure implies 'all those things', and without the definite article 'that kind of thing' as a category - in this case implying 'some of the things they treasure'.

I don't understand why "things they treasure" is correct, but "flowers you bought/buy" isn't.

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    Or did you mean: "There are times I know WHEN I should use "the" before a certain noun..."?
    – Mari-Lou A
    Commented Sep 11 at 4:46
  • Thanks. I thought There are cases when I can tell if... equals There are times I know WHEN.... But it turns out that only the latter is idiomatic, isn't it?
    – An IELTS Learner
    Commented Sep 11 at 5:27
  • Re the information in the comments, I'll include it in my OP.
    – An IELTS Learner
    Commented Sep 11 at 5:28

3 Answers 3

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Strictly speaking, the things they treasure implies 'all those things', and without the definite article 'that kind of thing' as a category - in this case implying 'some of the things they treasure'. But in this context the distinction isn't important and both versions are idiomatic.

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  • Does it always work like that? The implies all, and no article implies some? "I don't like flowers you bought" = "I don't like some of the flowers you bought."? It's kinda strange to me.
    – An IELTS Learner
    Commented Aug 23 at 8:25
  • 2
    No, it doesn't work exactly like that... "I don't like flowers you bought" is unidiomatic. "I don't like flowers" means 'flowers in general', "the flowers" refers to 'a particular set of flowers', in this case 'the ones you bought'. I will edit my answer.
    – Kate Bunting
    Commented Aug 23 at 9:30
  • When it's partitive, "the" implies all. members of the team vs the members of the team when the latter is unrestricted as in "the members of the team who sat out last game". But even there it's all of that subset.
    – TimR
    Commented Aug 23 at 11:22
  • Consider also when the verb implies always : "I don't like the flowers you buy".
    – TimR
    Commented Aug 23 at 11:30
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    When it's partitive, "the" implies all. members of the team vs the members of the team when the latter is unrestricted as in "the members of the team who sat out last game". Did you happen to miswrite something because it's somewhat hard to understand.
    – An IELTS Learner
    Commented Aug 23 at 12:13
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Both versions of deprive OBJECT of (the) things, with or without the, are used and have similar meanings. A lot of them found in Ngram have similar constructions, that is, with things modified by relative clauses.

Their usage frequencies are quite similar for the them version.

Ngram

Deprive us of the things is found in Google Books but is not in Ngram due to low usage.

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I. When to use "the"

When to use "the" before a noun modified by a prepositional phrase or a relative clause?

Consider this explanation, which can be applied for OP's case :

When using the article “the” in English grammar, remember that there are different ways to use it.
Use “the” to refer to a specific noun that is known to the speaker.
https://promova.com/english-grammar/when-to-use-the

II. Use of "the" for a modified noun.
In simple words:
We use the definite article when both the speaker (writer) and the listener (reader) know which item is being referred to.
Consider these sentences with and without the definite article.
(1a) She likes to read detective novels written by Golden age authors.
(1b) She likes to read the detective novels written by Golden age authors.

Explanation:
(1a) is more general, while (1b) implies a specific selection of detective novels..

(2a) They order food online from restaurants that have good reviews.
(2b) They order food online from the restaurants that have good reviews.

(2a) is general, while (2b) suggests a specific list of restaurants with good reviews..

Consider OP's sentence and argument for not using "the"

These disciplinary techniques could range from depriving children of ____ things they treasure, such as their favorite toys or TV programs, to...
Nevertheless, this argument could be seen from the opposite angle; is they treasure specific enough to make the compulsory? Children treasure a lot of different things.

If you think "things which children treasure" are vast and cannot be specified by mentioning only favourite toys or tv programmes, you are justified in omitting "the".

  • Omitting "the" implies that the things children treasure are varied and not limited to specific items like favorite toys or TV programs.
  • Including "the" would suggest that the things children treasure are specific and well-defined.

Edit-1.

OP's sentence in the comments
"I don't like the flowers you bought.".
In this case, the speaker and the listener are aware which flowers are being referred to, so "the flowers" is the only choice.
If the speaker doesn't like some of the flowers, the sentence becomes:
"I don't like some of the flowers you bought."

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