Grammar: Use of the indefinite article in English

[Noface]

This is my first post. And I am very new to this forum. So I hope I am posting it in the right place.

So here’s a sentence, about the use of the indefinite article, that goes:
Use the with names of geographical areas, rivers, mountain ranges, groups of islands, canals, and oceans.

Why is it not phrased as “Use the with the names of geographical areas, rivers, mountain ranges, groups of islands, canals, and oceans.”?

I justify myself with the idea that the example does not just say, “use the with names.” Rather, it specifies the noun names with ...of geographical areas, rivers, mountain ranges, groups of islands, canals, and oceans.

What I mean is, it doesn’t just say names but names of geographical areas. Because we are talking about specific names, shouldn’t we use the?

[patron]

if you go to this website https://www.usingenglish.com/ and search for "the use of articles before of-phrases" it may help you.

[Noface]

Thank you! (:

[patron]

Did it help?

[Firefox]

This is my first post. And I am very new to this forum. So I hope I am posting it in the right place.

So here’s a sentence, about the use of the indefinite article, that goes:
Use the with names of geographical areas, rivers, mountain ranges, groups of islands, canals, and oceans.

Why is it not phrased as “Use the with the names of geographical areas, rivers, mountain ranges, groups of islands, canals, and oceans.”?

I justify myself with the idea that the example does not just say, “use the with names.” Rather, it specifies the noun names with ...of geographical areas, rivers, mountain ranges, groups of islands, canals, and oceans.

What I mean is, it doesn’t just say names but names of geographical areas. Because we are talking about specific names, shouldn’t we use the?

You could also check out the ZERO article on EnglishClub:
https://www.englishclub.com/grammar/det ... rticle.htm

I think the very first case on that page counts: Use zero article with plural nouns and general meaning (in your example, "names").

[Noface]

Did it help?

Yes, it kinda did:)

[Noface]

This is my first post. And I am very new to this forum. So I hope I am posting it in the right place.

So here’s a sentence, about the use of the indefinite article, that goes:
Use the with names of geographical areas, rivers, mountain ranges, groups of islands, canals, and oceans.

Why is it not phrased as “Use the with the names of geographical areas, rivers, mountain ranges, groups of islands, canals, and oceans.”?

I justify myself with the idea that the example does not just say, “use the with names.” Rather, it specifies the noun names with ...of geographical areas, rivers, mountain ranges, groups of islands, canals, and oceans.

What I mean is, it doesn’t just say names but names of geographical areas. Because we are talking about specific names, shouldn’t we use the?

You could also check out the ZERO article on EnglishClub:
https://www.englishclub.com/grammar/det ... rticle.htm

I think the very first case on that page counts: Use zero article with plural nouns and general meaning (in your example, "names").

Thank you. I’ll check this out.