English language question: to the or not to the?

[VJ]

A friend has the following part of a sentence:

... are divided into four types: load type, generator type PU, ....

In future references to the types, she also omits 'the'
Her promoter corrected it to:

... are divided into four types: the load type, the generator type PU, ....

And puts 'the' in all future references to the types.

Is one better than the other? Is there a difference in meaning?
(FWIW, it is written in American English)


Thanks!


Jörg

[Jammrock]

I prefer the original. Overuse of "the" the other way. And I generally do not like using "the" in lists. You can omit "the" in the list and use "the" later on to describe the component and not break any rules.

Really, the only rule when using "the" in a list is consistency. You should have "the" in front of everything, or omitted completely. Which one is better depends on the language of the list and personal preference.


By the way, this reminds me of my new favorite saying about the English language. "The English language is a lot like the TV show 'Whose Line is it Anyway?' The words are made up and grammar doesn't matter."

[Umfriend]

English is not my native language but I deal a lot with English texts. I agree with Jamm.

[Brian Ellis]

There is a subtle difference between them. Without 'the', you are not specifying the particular items. With 'the', you must have specific items. Look at it as a grocery list

...: kilo of sugar, frozen chicken ... You go into the supermarket and pick up any pack of sugar and any chicken
...: the kilo of sugar, the frozen chicken ... and the supermarket is poorly stocked as they have only one of each and you take the last ones.

The answer then is contextual; with 'the', there is only one load type and one generator, with no choice.

[VJ]

Our feeling is also that it is better without the 'the', but not being native English makes it sometimes difficult to know why and to be sure. The promoter also is not native English, so that adds to the complication, as he get stuck with some constructions that he feels are better (but he abuses them in situations where they are not).

Brian's example is very good at illustrating it. In the context, it would definitely be better without 'the'. We'll change the construction of the sentence to at least partly accommodate the promoter, in the sense that something was changed.

Thanks again!!!

[Elie]

I write technical documentation all the time and when I am referencing more than one type or item, I usually go about it like this...

... are divided into four types:
1-Load type
Description...

2-Generator type PU,
Description...
3-

4-

To me it just stands out more in a document that usually has a ton of information. Having said that, I do agree that the over use of "the" could get annoying to the reader.