Thread: ...in coming down from the trees

Honestly, with articles I have no idea. Take this example: "Can't see the wood for the trees". Are those "the trees" which are specific in any way? Is that a specific "the wood"? You could probably say "the trees" are specific because they are part of "the wood" which was mentioned earlier, and "the wood" is specific because it refers to something important that was mentioned earlier. I mean, after the fact we could probably find a reasonable explanation, but would that help us to use it correctly in a speech?

Originally Posted by Crocodile

I mean, after the fact we could probably find a reasonable explanation, but would that help us to use it correctly in a speech?

Yes, there are so many "rules" about articles that usually it's no trouble to explain an article, even if it is used incorrectly, but it is close to impossible to choose a "proper rule" when you need to use an article yourself.

For example, in the sentence above, shouldn't I have written "the proper rule"? I am not sure. Perhaps, either one could do.