Ant_222  +  533409 Fri, 27 Jun 08 05:29 PM Hello all! I was looking up a word in theFreeDictionary and stumbled across the following sentence from Jack London's "White Fang": «The months went by, binding stronger and stronger the covenant between dog and man.» Why didn't he write "...between _the_ dog...". Thanks in advance, Anton EDIT: Could it be bacause "between dog and man" is descriptive (not restrictive)? Ant_222 Joined on Sun, May 21 2006 Podolsk, Russia Contributing Member 1,717 Articles

	Clive  +  533417 Fri, 27 Jun 08 06:03 PM Hi, He's thinking that there is a covenant that exists between all dogs and all men. Clive Clive Joined on Thu, Oct 28 2004 Canada Veteran Member 29,628 El tango argentino es un pensamiento triste que se puede bailar (The tango argentino is a sad thought which can be danced) Enrique Santos Discépolo

	CalifJim  +  533446 Fri, 27 Jun 08 06:59 PM I think I would explain it a little differently.  The reference is to abstractions, not to physical entities. It's the covenant between dog-nature and man-nature.  (between what-is-dog-essence and what-is-man-essence; between dog-ness and man-ness) CJ  CalifJim Joined on Mon, Aug 2 2004 California Veteran Member 22,415 "There are no facts, only interpretations" - Nietzsche Articles

	Ant_222  +  533756 Sat, 28 Jun 08 03:14 PM Thanks for another hint. But I am still thinking and can't fully get it (I thought I would with time...). It's general dog-ness and general man-ness that London refers to by writing "man" and "dog" without an article. But isn't that very (wolf)dog's dog-ness and the man-ness of cerain men? I hope I am right in thinking that London writes it that way to emphasize the covenant's being part of "the ancient covenant that the first wolf that came in from the Wild entered into with man". Otherwise he _could_ have used the definite article, I suppose. Anton Ant_222 Articles, Definite Articles

	Jackson6612  +  553727 Mon, 11 Aug 08 10:32 PM Ant_222 “Hello all! I was looking up a word in theFreeDictionary and stumbled across the following sentence from Jack London's "White Fang": «The months went by, binding stronger and stronger the covenant between dog and man.» Why didn't he write "...between _the_ dog...". Thanks in advance, Anton EDIT: Could it be bacause "between dog and man" is descriptive (not restrictive)? ” Suppose he wrote between the dog and man, then would it mean that the is associated with both dog and man, i.e ...the covenant between (the) dog and (the) man. What do you mean by descriptive and restrictive? Best regards, JH Jackson6612 Joined on Wed, Dec 27 2006 Senior Member 3,688 It’s a difficult question for any man to answer… Whether to follow his dreams no matter what… Or to give in slowly and let life lead you where it will. Regards, Articles

	Ant_222  +  553738 Mon, 11 Aug 08 10:53 PM Jackson6612 “uppose he wrote between the dog and man, then would it mean that the is associated with both dog and man, i.e ...the covenant between (the) dog and (the) man.” No, I was referring to the placement of "the" before both "dog" and "man"... I am not sure it would be correct to use "the" only before "dog". Jackson6612 “What do you mean by descriptive and restrictive?” Those are standard grammatical terms. Restrictive – something that restricts the meaning of a noun to a single specified object which otherwise would refer to a multitude or a class of objects. Descriptive – something that only describes an object, but does not specify it. Descriptive: "This is a white car" – we know the color, and it is only a description. Restrictive "I am the guy that wrote you that letter" – the subordinate clause here identifies the person, so it is restrictive. Ant_222 Articles, Clauses, Nouns

	Jackson6612  +  554171 Wed, 13 Aug 08 04:38 AM Ant_222 “ Jackson6612 “uppose he wrote between the dog and man, then would it mean that the is associated with both dog and man, i.e ...the covenant between (the) dog and (the) man.” No, I was referring to the placement of "the" before both "dog" and "man"... I am not sure it would be correct to use "the" only before "dog". ” Example Sentence: I want a mango, pineapple, and strawberry. I believe in the above sentence article a is associated with all the nouns, mango, pineapple, and strawberry. And same is the case with your sentence where article the only comes before dog but it is associated with both dog and man''. I believe this is the feature of English grammar. What do you say? Jackson6612 Articles, Grammar, Nouns, English Grammar

	Cool Breeze  +  554212 Wed, 13 Aug 08 08:41 AM CalifJim “ It's the covenant between dog-nature and man-nature.  (between what-is-dog-essence and what-is-man-essence; between dog-ness and man-ness) ”   I agree. We could also say that this is in a way a matter of "opposites" in that people are human, dogs are not. It is normal in English to drop articles with opposites: from morning till evening, from east to west CB Cool Breeze Joined on Fri, Apr 7 2006 Senior Member 3,978 "I hope you'll all live to be 150 years old - and the last voice you hear is mine!" Frank Sinatra on stage in Oslo, Norway, 28 September 1991 Articles