On Aug 27, 2006, at 8:53 PM, John Howell wrote:
The use or non-use of definite or indefinite articles varies with
language. My understanding is that Russian omits them quite often,
Russian doesn't even *have* them!
Normal usage in English (if there is such a thing!) would be to use
the "The," as in "Hootie and THE Blowfish," or "Smokey Robinson and
THE Miracles."
And don't even ask why Americans treat a corporate entity in the
singlular (The BBC is broadcasting...), while the English treat it in
the plural (The BBC are broadcasting...)!
Looser use of collective nouns. When I was young, Americans would still
say things like "the orchestra are debating which music director they
prefer," but "the orchestra is playing Beethoven's Fifth"--depending on
context. By now, American usage seems to have decided that all
collective nouns are singular.
Andrew Stiller
Kallisti Music Press
http://home.netcom.com/~kallisti/
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