In mid-air/in the air

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Angliholic

#419394 Sun, 16 Sep 07 07:23 AM

Hummingbird can fly forward, backward, upside down and even hover in mid-air.

The eagle hovered in the air looking for food on the ground.

I wonder why it's not "in the mid-air" but "in mid-air" based on "in the air" in the second sentence. Thanks.

Angliholic

Joined on Wed, Feb 14 2007

SomewhereinFormosa

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Without true love, life is meaningless and worthless since our physical world is nothing but a dream. ~~Angliholic~~簡瑞達

Feebs11

#419496 Sun, 16 Sep 07 01:10 PM

Hummingbirds hover at a point in the air - they more or less are stationary.

Eagles when hovering are usually high up, and the hover is more of slow sweeping movement as they support themselves on the thermals.

Feebs11

Joined on Thu, Nov 23 2006

Veteran Member (5,003)

Angliholic

#419507 Sun, 16 Sep 07 01:28 PM

Feebs11 wrote:
Hummingbirds hover at a point in the air - they more or less are stationary.

Eagles when hovering are usually high up, and the hover is more of slow sweeping movement as they support themselves on the thermals.

Thanks, Feebs.

Maybe I didn't make myself clear enough; my question is why there in no "the" in the phrase "in mid-air" which makes a sharp contrast with "in the air."

Angliholic

Feebs11

#419786 Sun, 16 Sep 07 11:32 PM

Ah - now you're asking - and I am reading it properly! Cool [H]

I cannot track a precise reason why mid-air does not take an article, but it doesn't - it is one of those idioms that stands as it is. I can only conclude that "mid-" takes the place of the article.

Feebs11

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Ant_222

#419793 Sun, 16 Sep 07 11:42 PM

This is like the word "aboard" which means on(to) the board, but has transformed into a whole word. And it is not a noun.

Grammarians won't like it, but I'd call it a preposition.

"I went aboard"
"The elephant can hover in mid-air"

Prepositions do not take articles.

Ant_222

Joined on Sun, May 21 2006

Podolsk, Russia

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Bokeh

#419827 Mon, 17 Sep 07 01:54 AM

Feebs11 wrote:
it is one of those idioms that stands as it is.

Nothing to do with that. Look:
The hummingbird can even hover in cold air.

"The air" is a definite unique thing, whereas "mid-air" is more of an idea or concept.

Bokeh

Joined on Sun, Mar 18 2007

Spain

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Feebs11

#419831 Mon, 17 Sep 07 02:12 AM

Bokeh wrote:
Feebs11 wrote:
it is one of those idioms that stands as it is.
Nothing to do with that. Look:
The hummingbird can even hover in cold air.

"The air" is a definite unique thing, whereas "mid-air" is more of an idea or concept.

I'm sorry, it may be the time of night, but I do not follow your argument. Grammatically, "mid-air" is an idiom that does not require an article. What has this to do with hummingbirds and cold air?

Feebs11

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Goodman

#419890 Mon, 17 Sep 07 06:22 AM

In reference to "air", here is my take:

You can feel the chill is in the air ...."the" is needed.

The is a sense of optimism in the air – “the” can’t be omitted.

Eagles can stay in the air for a long time by gliding on thermals.

Two small planes collided in mid air while flying over the harbor this morning. – no “the” after “in”.

Goodman

Joined on Mon, Nov 7 2005

Calif. USA

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Bokeh

#419969 Mon, 17 Sep 07 11:05 AM

Feebs11 wrote:
Grammatically, "mid-air" is an idiom that does not require an article. What has this to do with hummingbirds and cold air?

Cold air also does not take the definite article which proves that not taking the article has nothing to do with being an idiom. Mid-air, cold air, etc is a description, not a unique, define thing, hence it does not take the definite article.

Bokeh

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