Proper usage of an article/determiner in the given sentence












1














Recently I have read a book in chemistry field, and I have encountered this sentence:




  • This is because typical metal Lewis acids are deactivated by the nitrogen atoms of the product formed that are more basic than those of the starting imine compound.


First of all, I would like to ask if this sentence shouldn't be rephrased to:




  • This is because typical metal Lewis acids are deactivated by the nitrogen atoms of the product formed , which are more basic than those of the starting imine compound.


Since which should be used when it refers to the whole antecedent noun compound (like in the presented example, which refers to "...the nitrogen atoms of the product formed...").



However, I would like to focus on "the" article in "the nitrogen atoms of the product formed".



Let's assume that we are taking about this compound:



enter image description here





  1. Does the sentence relate to all nitrogen atoms (1, 2, 3, 4)? If yes, cannot we then just write:




    • This is because typical metal Lewis acids are deactivated by (no article) nitrogen atoms of the product formed that are more basic than those of the starting imine compound.




  2. What do you think about this sentence:




    • This is because typical metal Lewis acids are deactivated by any nitrogen atom of the product formed that are more basic than those of the starting imine compound.




In my opinion, if all of the nitrogen atoms or only two of them (e.g. 2, 3) are basic, this sentence covers both of the cases. Thus, this option may be more precise than the previous one.





  1. What would this sentence mean in the context:




    • This is because typical metal Lewis acids are deactivated by a nitrogen atom of the product formed that are more basic than those of the starting imine compound.




My problem here is that the author, by having written "the nitrogen atoms of the product formed" did not communicate, whether he referred to all of the atoms of the formed product or just to any of the nitrogen atom of the product formed which fulfils the criteria.



Why the the is used in this sentence?



Thank you for your answers.










share|improve this question







New contributor




Omega is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
Check out our Code of Conduct.

























    1














    Recently I have read a book in chemistry field, and I have encountered this sentence:




    • This is because typical metal Lewis acids are deactivated by the nitrogen atoms of the product formed that are more basic than those of the starting imine compound.


    First of all, I would like to ask if this sentence shouldn't be rephrased to:




    • This is because typical metal Lewis acids are deactivated by the nitrogen atoms of the product formed , which are more basic than those of the starting imine compound.


    Since which should be used when it refers to the whole antecedent noun compound (like in the presented example, which refers to "...the nitrogen atoms of the product formed...").



    However, I would like to focus on "the" article in "the nitrogen atoms of the product formed".



    Let's assume that we are taking about this compound:



    enter image description here





    1. Does the sentence relate to all nitrogen atoms (1, 2, 3, 4)? If yes, cannot we then just write:




      • This is because typical metal Lewis acids are deactivated by (no article) nitrogen atoms of the product formed that are more basic than those of the starting imine compound.




    2. What do you think about this sentence:




      • This is because typical metal Lewis acids are deactivated by any nitrogen atom of the product formed that are more basic than those of the starting imine compound.




    In my opinion, if all of the nitrogen atoms or only two of them (e.g. 2, 3) are basic, this sentence covers both of the cases. Thus, this option may be more precise than the previous one.





    1. What would this sentence mean in the context:




      • This is because typical metal Lewis acids are deactivated by a nitrogen atom of the product formed that are more basic than those of the starting imine compound.




    My problem here is that the author, by having written "the nitrogen atoms of the product formed" did not communicate, whether he referred to all of the atoms of the formed product or just to any of the nitrogen atom of the product formed which fulfils the criteria.



    Why the the is used in this sentence?



    Thank you for your answers.










    share|improve this question







    New contributor




    Omega is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
    Check out our Code of Conduct.























      1












      1








      1







      Recently I have read a book in chemistry field, and I have encountered this sentence:




      • This is because typical metal Lewis acids are deactivated by the nitrogen atoms of the product formed that are more basic than those of the starting imine compound.


      First of all, I would like to ask if this sentence shouldn't be rephrased to:




      • This is because typical metal Lewis acids are deactivated by the nitrogen atoms of the product formed , which are more basic than those of the starting imine compound.


      Since which should be used when it refers to the whole antecedent noun compound (like in the presented example, which refers to "...the nitrogen atoms of the product formed...").



      However, I would like to focus on "the" article in "the nitrogen atoms of the product formed".



      Let's assume that we are taking about this compound:



      enter image description here





      1. Does the sentence relate to all nitrogen atoms (1, 2, 3, 4)? If yes, cannot we then just write:




        • This is because typical metal Lewis acids are deactivated by (no article) nitrogen atoms of the product formed that are more basic than those of the starting imine compound.




      2. What do you think about this sentence:




        • This is because typical metal Lewis acids are deactivated by any nitrogen atom of the product formed that are more basic than those of the starting imine compound.




      In my opinion, if all of the nitrogen atoms or only two of them (e.g. 2, 3) are basic, this sentence covers both of the cases. Thus, this option may be more precise than the previous one.





      1. What would this sentence mean in the context:




        • This is because typical metal Lewis acids are deactivated by a nitrogen atom of the product formed that are more basic than those of the starting imine compound.




      My problem here is that the author, by having written "the nitrogen atoms of the product formed" did not communicate, whether he referred to all of the atoms of the formed product or just to any of the nitrogen atom of the product formed which fulfils the criteria.



      Why the the is used in this sentence?



      Thank you for your answers.










      share|improve this question







      New contributor




      Omega is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
      Check out our Code of Conduct.











      Recently I have read a book in chemistry field, and I have encountered this sentence:




      • This is because typical metal Lewis acids are deactivated by the nitrogen atoms of the product formed that are more basic than those of the starting imine compound.


      First of all, I would like to ask if this sentence shouldn't be rephrased to:




      • This is because typical metal Lewis acids are deactivated by the nitrogen atoms of the product formed , which are more basic than those of the starting imine compound.


      Since which should be used when it refers to the whole antecedent noun compound (like in the presented example, which refers to "...the nitrogen atoms of the product formed...").



      However, I would like to focus on "the" article in "the nitrogen atoms of the product formed".



      Let's assume that we are taking about this compound:



      enter image description here





      1. Does the sentence relate to all nitrogen atoms (1, 2, 3, 4)? If yes, cannot we then just write:




        • This is because typical metal Lewis acids are deactivated by (no article) nitrogen atoms of the product formed that are more basic than those of the starting imine compound.




      2. What do you think about this sentence:




        • This is because typical metal Lewis acids are deactivated by any nitrogen atom of the product formed that are more basic than those of the starting imine compound.




      In my opinion, if all of the nitrogen atoms or only two of them (e.g. 2, 3) are basic, this sentence covers both of the cases. Thus, this option may be more precise than the previous one.





      1. What would this sentence mean in the context:




        • This is because typical metal Lewis acids are deactivated by a nitrogen atom of the product formed that are more basic than those of the starting imine compound.




      My problem here is that the author, by having written "the nitrogen atoms of the product formed" did not communicate, whether he referred to all of the atoms of the formed product or just to any of the nitrogen atom of the product formed which fulfils the criteria.



      Why the the is used in this sentence?



      Thank you for your answers.







      articles relative-clauses






      share|improve this question







      New contributor




      Omega is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
      Check out our Code of Conduct.











      share|improve this question







      New contributor




      Omega is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
      Check out our Code of Conduct.









      share|improve this question




      share|improve this question






      New contributor




      Omega is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
      Check out our Code of Conduct.









      asked 12 hours ago









      Omega

      61




      61




      New contributor




      Omega is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
      Check out our Code of Conduct.





      New contributor





      Omega is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
      Check out our Code of Conduct.






      Omega is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
      Check out our Code of Conduct.



























          active

          oldest

          votes











          Your Answer








          StackExchange.ready(function() {
          var channelOptions = {
          tags: "".split(" "),
          id: "97"
          };
          initTagRenderer("".split(" "), "".split(" "), channelOptions);

          StackExchange.using("externalEditor", function() {
          // Have to fire editor after snippets, if snippets enabled
          if (StackExchange.settings.snippets.snippetsEnabled) {
          StackExchange.using("snippets", function() {
          createEditor();
          });
          }
          else {
          createEditor();
          }
          });

          function createEditor() {
          StackExchange.prepareEditor({
          heartbeatType: 'answer',
          autoActivateHeartbeat: false,
          convertImagesToLinks: false,
          noModals: true,
          showLowRepImageUploadWarning: true,
          reputationToPostImages: null,
          bindNavPrevention: true,
          postfix: "",
          imageUploader: {
          brandingHtml: "Powered by u003ca class="icon-imgur-white" href="https://imgur.com/"u003eu003c/au003e",
          contentPolicyHtml: "User contributions licensed under u003ca href="https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/"u003ecc by-sa 3.0 with attribution requiredu003c/au003e u003ca href="https://stackoverflow.com/legal/content-policy"u003e(content policy)u003c/au003e",
          allowUrls: true
          },
          noCode: true, onDemand: true,
          discardSelector: ".discard-answer"
          ,immediatelyShowMarkdownHelp:true
          });


          }
          });






          Omega is a new contributor. Be nice, and check out our Code of Conduct.










          draft saved

          draft discarded


















          StackExchange.ready(
          function () {
          StackExchange.openid.initPostLogin('.new-post-login', 'https%3a%2f%2fenglish.stackexchange.com%2fquestions%2f478882%2fproper-usage-of-an-article-determiner-in-the-given-sentence%23new-answer', 'question_page');
          }
          );

          Post as a guest















          Required, but never shown






























          active

          oldest

          votes













          active

          oldest

          votes









          active

          oldest

          votes






          active

          oldest

          votes








          Omega is a new contributor. Be nice, and check out our Code of Conduct.










          draft saved

          draft discarded


















          Omega is a new contributor. Be nice, and check out our Code of Conduct.













          Omega is a new contributor. Be nice, and check out our Code of Conduct.












          Omega is a new contributor. Be nice, and check out our Code of Conduct.
















          Thanks for contributing an answer to English Language & Usage Stack Exchange!


          • Please be sure to answer the question. Provide details and share your research!

          But avoid



          • Asking for help, clarification, or responding to other answers.

          • Making statements based on opinion; back them up with references or personal experience.


          To learn more, see our tips on writing great answers.





          Some of your past answers have not been well-received, and you're in danger of being blocked from answering.


          Please pay close attention to the following guidance:


          • Please be sure to answer the question. Provide details and share your research!

          But avoid



          • Asking for help, clarification, or responding to other answers.

          • Making statements based on opinion; back them up with references or personal experience.


          To learn more, see our tips on writing great answers.




          draft saved


          draft discarded














          StackExchange.ready(
          function () {
          StackExchange.openid.initPostLogin('.new-post-login', 'https%3a%2f%2fenglish.stackexchange.com%2fquestions%2f478882%2fproper-usage-of-an-article-determiner-in-the-given-sentence%23new-answer', 'question_page');
          }
          );

          Post as a guest















          Required, but never shown





















































          Required, but never shown














          Required, but never shown












          Required, but never shown







          Required, but never shown

































          Required, but never shown














          Required, but never shown












          Required, but never shown







          Required, but never shown







          Popular posts from this blog

          Morgemoulin

          Scott Moir

          Souastre