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Sat 20 Sep, 2014 01:38 am
From an English textbook, I happened to see this sentence.
"This would create a new ice age and threaten life on Earth."
What caught my eyes was this part : on Earth
Actually I've always wanted to know the exact usage of articles : a, an and the.
That is I bet the most puzzling part of English to those who learn it as their second language.
I've done my own little research on it only to find that
things that exist as a single unit such as moon, sun, and sky is used with 'the'.
Therefore, 'the Moon', 'the Sun' and 'the sky' are witnessed a lot.
No doubt about it.
Likewise, I've always thought, 'earth' also should bring 'the' to itself
because just as there are no two moons, no two suns,
there are no two earths, to the best of my knowledge.
Logically then, it probably should be 'on the Earth', not 'on Earth'.
However, I guess I've seen 'on Earth' a lot,
and I wonder why.
Is it just out of habit?
Or is there some rigid logical explanation?
I'm dying to know.
Could any of you please comment?
@SMickey,
IMO In your example of an ice age, "on Earth" involves an
implied contrast (to say on Mars, on Jupiter etc). Note that "on the Earth" would be equally acceptable in this respect.
Capitalization of " Earth" as opposed to " earth"distinguishes the planet from soil. But capitalization of "Moon" from " moons" distinguishes our orbiting satellite from those of other planets (similarly "Sun" and "suns") The use of the definite article "the" tends to denote focus of attention or "singling out from the background".
Logic is less relevant than context in all of this.
"On Earth" is the whole of Earth.
"On the Earth" is the surface of Earth.
It is worth noting that an ice age would not threaten life on this planet. During the ice ages, of which we know, not only was life not threatened, life arose and prospered despite those ice ages. The ice ages of the last two and a half million years, coming in cycles of about 40,000 to about 80,000 years, gave rise to species which were specialized for the periglacial regions, and could not survive the retreat of the polar ice caps, but in fact the evidence is that a great many species arose during the ice ages, and as a result of the retreat of the glaciers.
What would be threatened by an ice age is the modern technological culture, especially as it has its home primarily in the northern hemisphere. It is a human conceit that conditions which threaten human culture constitute a threat to all life.
@SMickey,
In a case such as your example, the definite article 'the' is implied in the sentence structure, It would be equally correct to include it, and write 'the earth, ' but it's not necessary as the sentence is perfectly clear without the article. Furthermore, expressions such as 'peace on earth' have made the omission of the article more commonplace than its inclusion.
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