Re: the wrong number?

ray o'hara wrote:
"Wayne Brown" wrote:
"Alexei A. Frounze" schrieb:

The people who mistakenly dial someone's number say something like
"Sorry, I have probably dialed the wrong number".
This seems to be illogical. If there was just one wrong number, the
difinite article would be the one to use. But, in fact, there're
many wrong numbers and just one right, the one that was intended
but wasn't dialed correctly for some reason. So, how come, it's not
"I dialed a wrong number"?

This may not be the best example of idiomatic use of the definite
article, but it might do to point out the following examples of
article usage which may be of some help to you. The article story
starts with fixed phrases like "the majority" as in, "The majority
of voters are expected to vote for the incumbent." Why "the" before
majority? Would "a" do just as well? Yes, it would, and it's also
heard from native speakers, but "the majority of..." is in frequent
use. The articles, however, are not always interchangeable. Take
"the matter" as in, "What's the matter with you?" The article cannot
be left out or replaced by "a." The same applies to some fixed
combinations with "the" used as conjunctions: the moment, the
instant, the second, the minute etc. "Tell me the minute he comes
home." "I knew he was furious the moment he walked into the room."
"She detested the man the instant she set eyes on him." "The way"
also falls into this category: "The way I choose to explain English
is my business." English usage with "rest" and the definite article
is also interesting: "I told her just part of the story; the rest I
left to her imagination."

The use of the definite article with our environment and when we
talk about shared experiences is also queer. "I love *the* sea, but
my son is partial to *the* mountains." "We never seem to talk about
anything but *the* weather." "My boy just can't settle down; he's
only interested in chasing *the* girls." "I think *the* busses
should run more according to schedule." "You claim you're innocent,
but you have to convince *the* police of that."

American English has enlarged on the trend by using *the hospital*
(Dad was in *the* hospital last week). You example seems to fit into
this category. "Sorry, I dialed *the* wrong number" has been a fixed
expression in American English since before the flood. I just want
to add that all this article business is pure bull*** as anyone who
can speak a language without articles knows. That, however, is the
way the English language has developed, and there's nothing to be
done about it. Much of the usage just has to be memorized. What
drudgery!

Damn, I 've been speaking American English my whole life and didn't
know we were supposed to speak like that.damn!

So should we be saying , "I like sea" "I dialed wrong number," ?

Hmm. I've spoken English for 57 years now, and my usage is:
I chased girls
I love the sea
I dialed a wrong number
I talk about the weather
Buses should run on time I have very little experience with the police.
--
Skitt (in Hayward, California)
http://www.geocities.com/opus731/
.

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