Aug 18, 2023 16:35
9 mos ago
65 viewers *
English term
DELVING into DETAIL
Native in: Russian 
Works in: English to Russian, Russian, Russian to English, and 2 more.
Definite article VS no article
English
Other
Cinema, Film, TV, Drama
Dear native English speakers!
Would someone please clarify one little thing for me.
Why is it that some movie titles (or book titles) have THE in them, while some of them don't have any article at all?
For example, there are two well-known movies with Arnold Schwarzenegger, wich are:
'The Terminator'
and
'Predator'
Why does the first title have this THE article, while the other don't? Why not 'The Predator'? What is the difference between these two? Is there a grammatical nuance of some kind that I just don't really get here?
Please help me with this.
Thank you!
Would someone please clarify one little thing for me.
Why is it that some movie titles (or book titles) have THE in them, while some of them don't have any article at all?
For example, there are two well-known movies with Arnold Schwarzenegger, wich are:
'The Terminator'
and
'Predator'
Why does the first title have this THE article, while the other don't? Why not 'The Predator'? What is the difference between these two? Is there a grammatical nuance of some kind that I just don't really get here?
Please help me with this.
Thank you!
Responses
+5
1 hr
Anna Wright
United Kingdom
United Kingdom
Native in English
&
English
Works in field
United Kingdom
Top-notch tailored DE>EN translations
Native in: English (Variant: British) 
Works in: German to English, English
Related KudoZ points
:
4
Selected
Predator
Hi,
This stylistic question occurred to me too recently, while watching a Czech TV drama titled Herec/Actor, as opposed to the syntactically expected definite 'The Actor', referring to the specific protagonist in question. I think the answer is it's a matter of stylistics over syntax, in that this special usage of an undefined single-word nominative in film and TV drama titles achieves a starker, more memorable effect, and sounds more intriguing than a straightforward 'The xxx'.
This stylistic question occurred to me too recently, while watching a Czech TV drama titled Herec/Actor, as opposed to the syntactically expected definite 'The Actor', referring to the specific protagonist in question. I think the answer is it's a matter of stylistics over syntax, in that this special usage of an undefined single-word nominative in film and TV drama titles achieves a starker, more memorable effect, and sounds more intriguing than a straightforward 'The xxx'.
Note from asker:
| Seems very true to me. So the Terminator movie makers could have used no artical at all - and then the effect would have been somewhat cooler? Why did they choose to use THE after all, I wonder? Thank you Anna! |
4 KudoZ points awarded for this answer.
Comment: "Thank you very much Anna! Thanks everybody!!!"
+5
1 hr
MARINA MOTA
Brazil
Brazil
Specializes in field
Brazil
Fast learner ENPTBR subtitler/transl.
Native in: Portuguese (Variant: Brazilian)
Works in: English to Portuguese, Portuguese to English, Portuguese, and 1 more.
No article refers to something in a general way while the article refers to something specific
On the American English File material from Oxford, book 1 it says that "we don't use THE when we talk about people or things in general", and the examples show:
Men are usually more interested in sports than women. (general)
The women in this class work harder than the men. (specific)
I believe that in movie titles it's a matter of preference, or how strong a name sounds.
As you can see, "The Terminator" or "Terminator", "Predator" or "The predator" don't have a difference in meaning, therefore, it was chosen based on a criterion not related to grammar rules per se.
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Note added at 1 hr (2023-08-18 18:08:52 GMT)
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I hope this can be somewhat helpful.
Men are usually more interested in sports than women. (general)
The women in this class work harder than the men. (specific)
I believe that in movie titles it's a matter of preference, or how strong a name sounds.
As you can see, "The Terminator" or "Terminator", "Predator" or "The predator" don't have a difference in meaning, therefore, it was chosen based on a criterion not related to grammar rules per se.
--------------------------------------------------
Note added at 1 hr (2023-08-18 18:08:52 GMT)
--------------------------------------------------
I hope this can be somewhat helpful.
Note from asker:
| Yes, I know very well the "specific vs. general" thing, but in this particular case it doesn't work, I believe. Both movie titles refer to the main antagonist, that's why the absense of THE kind of confuses me. |
Peer comment(s):
| agree |
Richard VH
46 mins
|
| agree |
Yasutomo Kanazawa
11 hrs
|
| agree |
Corine van Ewijk
13 hrs
|
| neutral |
Yvonne Gallagher
: yes, it can sometimes be simply a grammar thing, specific vs general, but NOT HERE
19 hrs
|
| agree |
Zorana B.
20 hrs
|
| agree |
Mark Robertson
1 day 19 hrs
|
1 hr
You know the identity (The) x You don't kow the identity (no article)
:) The Terminator - You know it is a cyborg who came from future to kill Sarah Connor's ... (the whole story please see in Wikipedia)
But in Predator (an Alien) You don't know his identity (no article) (the whole story in Wikipedia also)
But in Predator (an Alien) You don't know his identity (no article) (the whole story in Wikipedia also)
Note from asker:
| OK, but when you start watching The Terminator for the very first time, you don't know anything about its identity anyway, so I don't really see much difference here. |
| You mean "The Predator" would be somewhat wrong for this movie? |
17 hrs
Susana E. Cano Méndez
Spain
Spain
Spain
Sworn (FRES) & Legal (EN>ES). EN>FR
Native in: Spanish (Variant: Standard-Spain)
Works in: French to Spanish, Spanish to French, English to Spanish, and 5 more.
common noun vs proper noun
Hi,
In the two examples you provide, it seems to me that the article determines it's a common noun, while no article seems to determine it is or can be considered as a proper noun.
Hope this helps.
In the two examples you provide, it seems to me that the article determines it's a common noun, while no article seems to determine it is or can be considered as a proper noun.
Hope this helps.
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