Why does “money” take “the” in “all the money in the world”?

The name of the pictureThe name of the pictureThe name of the pictureClash Royale CLAN TAG#URR8PPP





.everyoneloves__top-leaderboard:empty,.everyoneloves__mid-leaderboard:empty margin-bottom:0;







up vote
17
down vote

favorite
3












"All the money in the world " , in this sentence we talk about money in general , right ? I've read a book that says if we're talking about things in general we do not use "the".
So why "the money" ?










share|improve this question





























    up vote
    17
    down vote

    favorite
    3












    "All the money in the world " , in this sentence we talk about money in general , right ? I've read a book that says if we're talking about things in general we do not use "the".
    So why "the money" ?










    share|improve this question

























      up vote
      17
      down vote

      favorite
      3









      up vote
      17
      down vote

      favorite
      3






      3





      "All the money in the world " , in this sentence we talk about money in general , right ? I've read a book that says if we're talking about things in general we do not use "the".
      So why "the money" ?










      share|improve this question















      "All the money in the world " , in this sentence we talk about money in general , right ? I've read a book that says if we're talking about things in general we do not use "the".
      So why "the money" ?







      grammar articles definite-article






      share|improve this question















      share|improve this question













      share|improve this question




      share|improve this question








      edited Nov 26 at 19:18









      Laurel

      4,59311127




      4,59311127










      asked Nov 26 at 14:33









      isac

      9015




      9015




















          7 Answers
          7






          active

          oldest

          votes

















          up vote
          23
          down vote



          accepted










          This sentence is not talking about money in general. It is talking about a specific set: "all the money in the world", as if it was a specific quantity you could receive:




          Suppose I gave you a box with all the money in the world. How would you choose to distribute it?




          Other examples talking about a specific set of money:




          Do you still have the money I gave you for your birthday?



          The money donated to charities should be included on your tax forms, if you want to take the deduction.




          It is possible to talk about money as a concept, in which case you would not use the definite article. Examples of this:




          I don't care too much for money, and money can't buy me love -- John Lennon / Paul McCartney



          A wise person should have money in their head, but not in their heart. --Jonathan Swift



          Money is a terrible master but an excellent servant. --P.T. Barnum




          It is possible to say "all money in the world" to reference the global concept of money, rather than a specific quantity.




          All money in the world, in whatever form, relies on the collective agreement that it is worth something. Even a brick of gold has no value to a starving man, unless he can exchange it for food.




          [Edit] With regard to FumbleFinger's objection: I would claim "money donated to charities" is either a kind of ellipsis, or else refers to a conceptual subset of the concept of money. In my example, it makes little difference whether I'm talking in general about the practice of donating money, or of a specific instance of some quantity donated. The second half of the sentence applies either way.




          Conceptual example: Money (which has been generally) donated to charities should be declared.



          Ellipsis example: (The specific quantity of) Money (which you have) donated to charities should be declared.




          I think a more in-depth exploration is out of the scope of the question, as OP asks only what the definite article means in this context, and not whether the definite article is required.






          share|improve this answer






















          • All [the] water on earth originally came from comets. That may not be a true statement, but it's syntactically fine with or without the article - or with all of the water, come to that. So I don't really see how your talking about a specific set point really "explains" anything here.
            – FumbleFingers
            Nov 26 at 17:42










          • @FumbleFingers I've edited to try and explain the distinction.
            – Andrew
            Nov 26 at 18:18






          • 2




            @isac please take note of my edits. It is possible to omit the definite article, but this changes the meaning.
            – Andrew
            Nov 26 at 18:18










          • I've cancelled earlier downvote, but still can't see sufficient reason to upvote. I couldn't bring myself to accept article-less Suppose I gave you a box with all money in the world, but there's nothing wrong with Money donated to charities should be included on your tax forms. And in a context such as I still have [the] money [that] I earned when I last had a job, I can't really see that including the article or not makes any difference at all to the meaning - it certainly doesn't seem to be a matter of whether or not "money" represents a "concept".
            – FumbleFingers
            Nov 26 at 18:37











          • @FumbleFingers edited again. I think we're starting to get well above the scope of this question (and out of my depth), and it might be better posed to ELU to get a truly complete answer.
            – Andrew
            Nov 26 at 19:28


















          up vote
          5
          down vote













          You have misunderstood what was meant in that book by "in general".



          In this sentence, we are speaking of money and water in general terms:




          Money is an alternative to barter.



          Water is necessary for life.




          But here, even though we are speaking of "all", we're still speaking of the thing in particular:




          All the water in the watering hole dries up during the summer dry season.



          All the money in the world couldn't get me to do that.







          share|improve this answer




















          • Per comment to @Andrew's answer, and noting that even All water in the watering hole dries up during the summer dry season is "more or less" okay without the article, it's not obvious to me that there's a "complete" explanation here.
            – FumbleFingers
            Nov 26 at 17:47










          • @FumbleFingers: You wouldn't say "I drank all water in the glass." But you might say "I siphoned all water from the tank" and "All water in the beaker evaporates when you place it over the bunsen burner". Since you bring it up, care to explain why?
            – Tᴚoɯɐuo
            Nov 26 at 17:55











          • I don't think I know how to explain why - but I kinda assumed you would, if you could be so motivated.
            – FumbleFingers
            Nov 26 at 18:24






          • 1




            @FumbleFingers: I lack (the) motivation. :) But all is a shape-shifter.
            – Tᴚoɯɐuo
            Nov 26 at 19:01







          • 1




            @Alexander Kosubek: And you would be wrong to use the article. The money is an alternative to the barter is not grammatical in English.
            – Tᴚoɯɐuo
            Nov 27 at 10:55


















          up vote
          4
          down vote













          I don't know what book told you that, but it's not the truth.1



          Fact is, there are several reasons we might use the definite article. Macmillan (definition 1b) says:




          used when you are referring to familiar things that people deal with regularly



          I looked up at the ceiling; suddenly all the lights went out




          Many familiar adages and expressions use the definite article even though they talk about things in general. Consider:



          • The lion is king of the jungle.

          • Top of the morning to you!

          • It hit me right between the eyes.

          • Religion is the opiate of the masses.

          • All the news that's fit to print.


          1See what I did there?






          share|improve this answer



























            up vote
            3
            down vote













            Ditto Andrew's excellent answer, let me just add:



            Don't get confused by the difference between how something is in the real world, and how it is grammatically.



            Yes, in real life, "all the money in the world" is, well, all the money that exists. Logically, you might say that it's the same as "money" as a general concept. But GRAMMATICALLY, "all the money in the world" is NOT all money that exists, it's a specific set of money, namely, the money that is "in the world". While in real life that may be all money, grammatically it is not.






            share|improve this answer



























              up vote
              2
              down vote













              The big, fancy language scholar term for this particular use of the definite article, "the", is "modadic"—the as in the one and only.



              From your example, rephrased:




              There is only one collection of all money in the one and only world.




              Reference:




              8. Monadic



              ("One of a Kind" or "Unique")




              The Article






              share|improve this answer






















              • I'm gonna upvote this one purely because you didn't include the "optional" article in There is only one collection of all the money in the one and only world, even though you didn't specifically draw attention to that yourself!
                – FumbleFingers
                Nov 26 at 17:54






              • 1




                I'm so glad you noticed that! I was mindful of not wanting to use a circular definition with the first "one", with the one and only "the" being qualified enough not to be. ;-)
                – Jesse Steele
                Nov 26 at 17:58

















              up vote
              1
              down vote













              All the money in the world would not make you happy.



              We only have one specific world, and all the money in it is very specific.



              Having money in the bank is a good thing, if its yours. [non-specific]



              And: The money I have in the bank is none of your business. [specific]



              Please note: for certain expressions such as money in the bank, a the is used with bank.






              share|improve this answer



























                up vote
                1
                down vote













                There is a word elided which will make parsing the phrase easier:




                All of the money in the world




                "Of money" is wrong for different reasons -- the preposition requires more than just a bare noun.






                share|improve this answer




















                • This is the point I was hoping to see. As with most English, we've munged it up so it doesn't follow our own quidelines by omitting a word.
                  – Scott Baker
                  Nov 28 at 16:10










                Your Answer








                StackExchange.ready(function()
                var channelOptions =
                tags: "".split(" "),
                id: "481"
                ;
                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',
                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
                );



                );













                draft saved

                draft discarded


















                StackExchange.ready(
                function ()
                StackExchange.openid.initPostLogin('.new-post-login', 'https%3a%2f%2fell.stackexchange.com%2fquestions%2f186691%2fwhy-does-money-take-the-in-all-the-money-in-the-world%23new-answer', 'question_page');

                );

                Post as a guest















                Required, but never shown

























                7 Answers
                7






                active

                oldest

                votes








                7 Answers
                7






                active

                oldest

                votes









                active

                oldest

                votes






                active

                oldest

                votes








                up vote
                23
                down vote



                accepted










                This sentence is not talking about money in general. It is talking about a specific set: "all the money in the world", as if it was a specific quantity you could receive:




                Suppose I gave you a box with all the money in the world. How would you choose to distribute it?




                Other examples talking about a specific set of money:




                Do you still have the money I gave you for your birthday?



                The money donated to charities should be included on your tax forms, if you want to take the deduction.




                It is possible to talk about money as a concept, in which case you would not use the definite article. Examples of this:




                I don't care too much for money, and money can't buy me love -- John Lennon / Paul McCartney



                A wise person should have money in their head, but not in their heart. --Jonathan Swift



                Money is a terrible master but an excellent servant. --P.T. Barnum




                It is possible to say "all money in the world" to reference the global concept of money, rather than a specific quantity.




                All money in the world, in whatever form, relies on the collective agreement that it is worth something. Even a brick of gold has no value to a starving man, unless he can exchange it for food.




                [Edit] With regard to FumbleFinger's objection: I would claim "money donated to charities" is either a kind of ellipsis, or else refers to a conceptual subset of the concept of money. In my example, it makes little difference whether I'm talking in general about the practice of donating money, or of a specific instance of some quantity donated. The second half of the sentence applies either way.




                Conceptual example: Money (which has been generally) donated to charities should be declared.



                Ellipsis example: (The specific quantity of) Money (which you have) donated to charities should be declared.




                I think a more in-depth exploration is out of the scope of the question, as OP asks only what the definite article means in this context, and not whether the definite article is required.






                share|improve this answer






















                • All [the] water on earth originally came from comets. That may not be a true statement, but it's syntactically fine with or without the article - or with all of the water, come to that. So I don't really see how your talking about a specific set point really "explains" anything here.
                  – FumbleFingers
                  Nov 26 at 17:42










                • @FumbleFingers I've edited to try and explain the distinction.
                  – Andrew
                  Nov 26 at 18:18






                • 2




                  @isac please take note of my edits. It is possible to omit the definite article, but this changes the meaning.
                  – Andrew
                  Nov 26 at 18:18










                • I've cancelled earlier downvote, but still can't see sufficient reason to upvote. I couldn't bring myself to accept article-less Suppose I gave you a box with all money in the world, but there's nothing wrong with Money donated to charities should be included on your tax forms. And in a context such as I still have [the] money [that] I earned when I last had a job, I can't really see that including the article or not makes any difference at all to the meaning - it certainly doesn't seem to be a matter of whether or not "money" represents a "concept".
                  – FumbleFingers
                  Nov 26 at 18:37











                • @FumbleFingers edited again. I think we're starting to get well above the scope of this question (and out of my depth), and it might be better posed to ELU to get a truly complete answer.
                  – Andrew
                  Nov 26 at 19:28















                up vote
                23
                down vote



                accepted










                This sentence is not talking about money in general. It is talking about a specific set: "all the money in the world", as if it was a specific quantity you could receive:




                Suppose I gave you a box with all the money in the world. How would you choose to distribute it?




                Other examples talking about a specific set of money:




                Do you still have the money I gave you for your birthday?



                The money donated to charities should be included on your tax forms, if you want to take the deduction.




                It is possible to talk about money as a concept, in which case you would not use the definite article. Examples of this:




                I don't care too much for money, and money can't buy me love -- John Lennon / Paul McCartney



                A wise person should have money in their head, but not in their heart. --Jonathan Swift



                Money is a terrible master but an excellent servant. --P.T. Barnum




                It is possible to say "all money in the world" to reference the global concept of money, rather than a specific quantity.




                All money in the world, in whatever form, relies on the collective agreement that it is worth something. Even a brick of gold has no value to a starving man, unless he can exchange it for food.




                [Edit] With regard to FumbleFinger's objection: I would claim "money donated to charities" is either a kind of ellipsis, or else refers to a conceptual subset of the concept of money. In my example, it makes little difference whether I'm talking in general about the practice of donating money, or of a specific instance of some quantity donated. The second half of the sentence applies either way.




                Conceptual example: Money (which has been generally) donated to charities should be declared.



                Ellipsis example: (The specific quantity of) Money (which you have) donated to charities should be declared.




                I think a more in-depth exploration is out of the scope of the question, as OP asks only what the definite article means in this context, and not whether the definite article is required.






                share|improve this answer






















                • All [the] water on earth originally came from comets. That may not be a true statement, but it's syntactically fine with or without the article - or with all of the water, come to that. So I don't really see how your talking about a specific set point really "explains" anything here.
                  – FumbleFingers
                  Nov 26 at 17:42










                • @FumbleFingers I've edited to try and explain the distinction.
                  – Andrew
                  Nov 26 at 18:18






                • 2




                  @isac please take note of my edits. It is possible to omit the definite article, but this changes the meaning.
                  – Andrew
                  Nov 26 at 18:18










                • I've cancelled earlier downvote, but still can't see sufficient reason to upvote. I couldn't bring myself to accept article-less Suppose I gave you a box with all money in the world, but there's nothing wrong with Money donated to charities should be included on your tax forms. And in a context such as I still have [the] money [that] I earned when I last had a job, I can't really see that including the article or not makes any difference at all to the meaning - it certainly doesn't seem to be a matter of whether or not "money" represents a "concept".
                  – FumbleFingers
                  Nov 26 at 18:37











                • @FumbleFingers edited again. I think we're starting to get well above the scope of this question (and out of my depth), and it might be better posed to ELU to get a truly complete answer.
                  – Andrew
                  Nov 26 at 19:28













                up vote
                23
                down vote



                accepted







                up vote
                23
                down vote



                accepted






                This sentence is not talking about money in general. It is talking about a specific set: "all the money in the world", as if it was a specific quantity you could receive:




                Suppose I gave you a box with all the money in the world. How would you choose to distribute it?




                Other examples talking about a specific set of money:




                Do you still have the money I gave you for your birthday?



                The money donated to charities should be included on your tax forms, if you want to take the deduction.




                It is possible to talk about money as a concept, in which case you would not use the definite article. Examples of this:




                I don't care too much for money, and money can't buy me love -- John Lennon / Paul McCartney



                A wise person should have money in their head, but not in their heart. --Jonathan Swift



                Money is a terrible master but an excellent servant. --P.T. Barnum




                It is possible to say "all money in the world" to reference the global concept of money, rather than a specific quantity.




                All money in the world, in whatever form, relies on the collective agreement that it is worth something. Even a brick of gold has no value to a starving man, unless he can exchange it for food.




                [Edit] With regard to FumbleFinger's objection: I would claim "money donated to charities" is either a kind of ellipsis, or else refers to a conceptual subset of the concept of money. In my example, it makes little difference whether I'm talking in general about the practice of donating money, or of a specific instance of some quantity donated. The second half of the sentence applies either way.




                Conceptual example: Money (which has been generally) donated to charities should be declared.



                Ellipsis example: (The specific quantity of) Money (which you have) donated to charities should be declared.




                I think a more in-depth exploration is out of the scope of the question, as OP asks only what the definite article means in this context, and not whether the definite article is required.






                share|improve this answer














                This sentence is not talking about money in general. It is talking about a specific set: "all the money in the world", as if it was a specific quantity you could receive:




                Suppose I gave you a box with all the money in the world. How would you choose to distribute it?




                Other examples talking about a specific set of money:




                Do you still have the money I gave you for your birthday?



                The money donated to charities should be included on your tax forms, if you want to take the deduction.




                It is possible to talk about money as a concept, in which case you would not use the definite article. Examples of this:




                I don't care too much for money, and money can't buy me love -- John Lennon / Paul McCartney



                A wise person should have money in their head, but not in their heart. --Jonathan Swift



                Money is a terrible master but an excellent servant. --P.T. Barnum




                It is possible to say "all money in the world" to reference the global concept of money, rather than a specific quantity.




                All money in the world, in whatever form, relies on the collective agreement that it is worth something. Even a brick of gold has no value to a starving man, unless he can exchange it for food.




                [Edit] With regard to FumbleFinger's objection: I would claim "money donated to charities" is either a kind of ellipsis, or else refers to a conceptual subset of the concept of money. In my example, it makes little difference whether I'm talking in general about the practice of donating money, or of a specific instance of some quantity donated. The second half of the sentence applies either way.




                Conceptual example: Money (which has been generally) donated to charities should be declared.



                Ellipsis example: (The specific quantity of) Money (which you have) donated to charities should be declared.




                I think a more in-depth exploration is out of the scope of the question, as OP asks only what the definite article means in this context, and not whether the definite article is required.







                share|improve this answer














                share|improve this answer



                share|improve this answer








                edited Nov 27 at 17:05

























                answered Nov 26 at 15:14









                Andrew

                63.4k673141




                63.4k673141











                • All [the] water on earth originally came from comets. That may not be a true statement, but it's syntactically fine with or without the article - or with all of the water, come to that. So I don't really see how your talking about a specific set point really "explains" anything here.
                  – FumbleFingers
                  Nov 26 at 17:42










                • @FumbleFingers I've edited to try and explain the distinction.
                  – Andrew
                  Nov 26 at 18:18






                • 2




                  @isac please take note of my edits. It is possible to omit the definite article, but this changes the meaning.
                  – Andrew
                  Nov 26 at 18:18










                • I've cancelled earlier downvote, but still can't see sufficient reason to upvote. I couldn't bring myself to accept article-less Suppose I gave you a box with all money in the world, but there's nothing wrong with Money donated to charities should be included on your tax forms. And in a context such as I still have [the] money [that] I earned when I last had a job, I can't really see that including the article or not makes any difference at all to the meaning - it certainly doesn't seem to be a matter of whether or not "money" represents a "concept".
                  – FumbleFingers
                  Nov 26 at 18:37











                • @FumbleFingers edited again. I think we're starting to get well above the scope of this question (and out of my depth), and it might be better posed to ELU to get a truly complete answer.
                  – Andrew
                  Nov 26 at 19:28

















                • All [the] water on earth originally came from comets. That may not be a true statement, but it's syntactically fine with or without the article - or with all of the water, come to that. So I don't really see how your talking about a specific set point really "explains" anything here.
                  – FumbleFingers
                  Nov 26 at 17:42










                • @FumbleFingers I've edited to try and explain the distinction.
                  – Andrew
                  Nov 26 at 18:18






                • 2




                  @isac please take note of my edits. It is possible to omit the definite article, but this changes the meaning.
                  – Andrew
                  Nov 26 at 18:18










                • I've cancelled earlier downvote, but still can't see sufficient reason to upvote. I couldn't bring myself to accept article-less Suppose I gave you a box with all money in the world, but there's nothing wrong with Money donated to charities should be included on your tax forms. And in a context such as I still have [the] money [that] I earned when I last had a job, I can't really see that including the article or not makes any difference at all to the meaning - it certainly doesn't seem to be a matter of whether or not "money" represents a "concept".
                  – FumbleFingers
                  Nov 26 at 18:37











                • @FumbleFingers edited again. I think we're starting to get well above the scope of this question (and out of my depth), and it might be better posed to ELU to get a truly complete answer.
                  – Andrew
                  Nov 26 at 19:28
















                All [the] water on earth originally came from comets. That may not be a true statement, but it's syntactically fine with or without the article - or with all of the water, come to that. So I don't really see how your talking about a specific set point really "explains" anything here.
                – FumbleFingers
                Nov 26 at 17:42




                All [the] water on earth originally came from comets. That may not be a true statement, but it's syntactically fine with or without the article - or with all of the water, come to that. So I don't really see how your talking about a specific set point really "explains" anything here.
                – FumbleFingers
                Nov 26 at 17:42












                @FumbleFingers I've edited to try and explain the distinction.
                – Andrew
                Nov 26 at 18:18




                @FumbleFingers I've edited to try and explain the distinction.
                – Andrew
                Nov 26 at 18:18




                2




                2




                @isac please take note of my edits. It is possible to omit the definite article, but this changes the meaning.
                – Andrew
                Nov 26 at 18:18




                @isac please take note of my edits. It is possible to omit the definite article, but this changes the meaning.
                – Andrew
                Nov 26 at 18:18












                I've cancelled earlier downvote, but still can't see sufficient reason to upvote. I couldn't bring myself to accept article-less Suppose I gave you a box with all money in the world, but there's nothing wrong with Money donated to charities should be included on your tax forms. And in a context such as I still have [the] money [that] I earned when I last had a job, I can't really see that including the article or not makes any difference at all to the meaning - it certainly doesn't seem to be a matter of whether or not "money" represents a "concept".
                – FumbleFingers
                Nov 26 at 18:37





                I've cancelled earlier downvote, but still can't see sufficient reason to upvote. I couldn't bring myself to accept article-less Suppose I gave you a box with all money in the world, but there's nothing wrong with Money donated to charities should be included on your tax forms. And in a context such as I still have [the] money [that] I earned when I last had a job, I can't really see that including the article or not makes any difference at all to the meaning - it certainly doesn't seem to be a matter of whether or not "money" represents a "concept".
                – FumbleFingers
                Nov 26 at 18:37













                @FumbleFingers edited again. I think we're starting to get well above the scope of this question (and out of my depth), and it might be better posed to ELU to get a truly complete answer.
                – Andrew
                Nov 26 at 19:28





                @FumbleFingers edited again. I think we're starting to get well above the scope of this question (and out of my depth), and it might be better posed to ELU to get a truly complete answer.
                – Andrew
                Nov 26 at 19:28













                up vote
                5
                down vote













                You have misunderstood what was meant in that book by "in general".



                In this sentence, we are speaking of money and water in general terms:




                Money is an alternative to barter.



                Water is necessary for life.




                But here, even though we are speaking of "all", we're still speaking of the thing in particular:




                All the water in the watering hole dries up during the summer dry season.



                All the money in the world couldn't get me to do that.







                share|improve this answer




















                • Per comment to @Andrew's answer, and noting that even All water in the watering hole dries up during the summer dry season is "more or less" okay without the article, it's not obvious to me that there's a "complete" explanation here.
                  – FumbleFingers
                  Nov 26 at 17:47










                • @FumbleFingers: You wouldn't say "I drank all water in the glass." But you might say "I siphoned all water from the tank" and "All water in the beaker evaporates when you place it over the bunsen burner". Since you bring it up, care to explain why?
                  – Tᴚoɯɐuo
                  Nov 26 at 17:55











                • I don't think I know how to explain why - but I kinda assumed you would, if you could be so motivated.
                  – FumbleFingers
                  Nov 26 at 18:24






                • 1




                  @FumbleFingers: I lack (the) motivation. :) But all is a shape-shifter.
                  – Tᴚoɯɐuo
                  Nov 26 at 19:01







                • 1




                  @Alexander Kosubek: And you would be wrong to use the article. The money is an alternative to the barter is not grammatical in English.
                  – Tᴚoɯɐuo
                  Nov 27 at 10:55















                up vote
                5
                down vote













                You have misunderstood what was meant in that book by "in general".



                In this sentence, we are speaking of money and water in general terms:




                Money is an alternative to barter.



                Water is necessary for life.




                But here, even though we are speaking of "all", we're still speaking of the thing in particular:




                All the water in the watering hole dries up during the summer dry season.



                All the money in the world couldn't get me to do that.







                share|improve this answer




















                • Per comment to @Andrew's answer, and noting that even All water in the watering hole dries up during the summer dry season is "more or less" okay without the article, it's not obvious to me that there's a "complete" explanation here.
                  – FumbleFingers
                  Nov 26 at 17:47










                • @FumbleFingers: You wouldn't say "I drank all water in the glass." But you might say "I siphoned all water from the tank" and "All water in the beaker evaporates when you place it over the bunsen burner". Since you bring it up, care to explain why?
                  – Tᴚoɯɐuo
                  Nov 26 at 17:55











                • I don't think I know how to explain why - but I kinda assumed you would, if you could be so motivated.
                  – FumbleFingers
                  Nov 26 at 18:24






                • 1




                  @FumbleFingers: I lack (the) motivation. :) But all is a shape-shifter.
                  – Tᴚoɯɐuo
                  Nov 26 at 19:01







                • 1




                  @Alexander Kosubek: And you would be wrong to use the article. The money is an alternative to the barter is not grammatical in English.
                  – Tᴚoɯɐuo
                  Nov 27 at 10:55













                up vote
                5
                down vote










                up vote
                5
                down vote









                You have misunderstood what was meant in that book by "in general".



                In this sentence, we are speaking of money and water in general terms:




                Money is an alternative to barter.



                Water is necessary for life.




                But here, even though we are speaking of "all", we're still speaking of the thing in particular:




                All the water in the watering hole dries up during the summer dry season.



                All the money in the world couldn't get me to do that.







                share|improve this answer












                You have misunderstood what was meant in that book by "in general".



                In this sentence, we are speaking of money and water in general terms:




                Money is an alternative to barter.



                Water is necessary for life.




                But here, even though we are speaking of "all", we're still speaking of the thing in particular:




                All the water in the watering hole dries up during the summer dry season.



                All the money in the world couldn't get me to do that.








                share|improve this answer












                share|improve this answer



                share|improve this answer










                answered Nov 26 at 15:50









                Tᴚoɯɐuo

                104k677169




                104k677169











                • Per comment to @Andrew's answer, and noting that even All water in the watering hole dries up during the summer dry season is "more or less" okay without the article, it's not obvious to me that there's a "complete" explanation here.
                  – FumbleFingers
                  Nov 26 at 17:47










                • @FumbleFingers: You wouldn't say "I drank all water in the glass." But you might say "I siphoned all water from the tank" and "All water in the beaker evaporates when you place it over the bunsen burner". Since you bring it up, care to explain why?
                  – Tᴚoɯɐuo
                  Nov 26 at 17:55











                • I don't think I know how to explain why - but I kinda assumed you would, if you could be so motivated.
                  – FumbleFingers
                  Nov 26 at 18:24






                • 1




                  @FumbleFingers: I lack (the) motivation. :) But all is a shape-shifter.
                  – Tᴚoɯɐuo
                  Nov 26 at 19:01







                • 1




                  @Alexander Kosubek: And you would be wrong to use the article. The money is an alternative to the barter is not grammatical in English.
                  – Tᴚoɯɐuo
                  Nov 27 at 10:55

















                • Per comment to @Andrew's answer, and noting that even All water in the watering hole dries up during the summer dry season is "more or less" okay without the article, it's not obvious to me that there's a "complete" explanation here.
                  – FumbleFingers
                  Nov 26 at 17:47










                • @FumbleFingers: You wouldn't say "I drank all water in the glass." But you might say "I siphoned all water from the tank" and "All water in the beaker evaporates when you place it over the bunsen burner". Since you bring it up, care to explain why?
                  – Tᴚoɯɐuo
                  Nov 26 at 17:55











                • I don't think I know how to explain why - but I kinda assumed you would, if you could be so motivated.
                  – FumbleFingers
                  Nov 26 at 18:24






                • 1




                  @FumbleFingers: I lack (the) motivation. :) But all is a shape-shifter.
                  – Tᴚoɯɐuo
                  Nov 26 at 19:01







                • 1




                  @Alexander Kosubek: And you would be wrong to use the article. The money is an alternative to the barter is not grammatical in English.
                  – Tᴚoɯɐuo
                  Nov 27 at 10:55
















                Per comment to @Andrew's answer, and noting that even All water in the watering hole dries up during the summer dry season is "more or less" okay without the article, it's not obvious to me that there's a "complete" explanation here.
                – FumbleFingers
                Nov 26 at 17:47




                Per comment to @Andrew's answer, and noting that even All water in the watering hole dries up during the summer dry season is "more or less" okay without the article, it's not obvious to me that there's a "complete" explanation here.
                – FumbleFingers
                Nov 26 at 17:47












                @FumbleFingers: You wouldn't say "I drank all water in the glass." But you might say "I siphoned all water from the tank" and "All water in the beaker evaporates when you place it over the bunsen burner". Since you bring it up, care to explain why?
                – Tᴚoɯɐuo
                Nov 26 at 17:55





                @FumbleFingers: You wouldn't say "I drank all water in the glass." But you might say "I siphoned all water from the tank" and "All water in the beaker evaporates when you place it over the bunsen burner". Since you bring it up, care to explain why?
                – Tᴚoɯɐuo
                Nov 26 at 17:55













                I don't think I know how to explain why - but I kinda assumed you would, if you could be so motivated.
                – FumbleFingers
                Nov 26 at 18:24




                I don't think I know how to explain why - but I kinda assumed you would, if you could be so motivated.
                – FumbleFingers
                Nov 26 at 18:24




                1




                1




                @FumbleFingers: I lack (the) motivation. :) But all is a shape-shifter.
                – Tᴚoɯɐuo
                Nov 26 at 19:01





                @FumbleFingers: I lack (the) motivation. :) But all is a shape-shifter.
                – Tᴚoɯɐuo
                Nov 26 at 19:01





                1




                1




                @Alexander Kosubek: And you would be wrong to use the article. The money is an alternative to the barter is not grammatical in English.
                – Tᴚoɯɐuo
                Nov 27 at 10:55





                @Alexander Kosubek: And you would be wrong to use the article. The money is an alternative to the barter is not grammatical in English.
                – Tᴚoɯɐuo
                Nov 27 at 10:55











                up vote
                4
                down vote













                I don't know what book told you that, but it's not the truth.1



                Fact is, there are several reasons we might use the definite article. Macmillan (definition 1b) says:




                used when you are referring to familiar things that people deal with regularly



                I looked up at the ceiling; suddenly all the lights went out




                Many familiar adages and expressions use the definite article even though they talk about things in general. Consider:



                • The lion is king of the jungle.

                • Top of the morning to you!

                • It hit me right between the eyes.

                • Religion is the opiate of the masses.

                • All the news that's fit to print.


                1See what I did there?






                share|improve this answer
























                  up vote
                  4
                  down vote













                  I don't know what book told you that, but it's not the truth.1



                  Fact is, there are several reasons we might use the definite article. Macmillan (definition 1b) says:




                  used when you are referring to familiar things that people deal with regularly



                  I looked up at the ceiling; suddenly all the lights went out




                  Many familiar adages and expressions use the definite article even though they talk about things in general. Consider:



                  • The lion is king of the jungle.

                  • Top of the morning to you!

                  • It hit me right between the eyes.

                  • Religion is the opiate of the masses.

                  • All the news that's fit to print.


                  1See what I did there?






                  share|improve this answer






















                    up vote
                    4
                    down vote










                    up vote
                    4
                    down vote









                    I don't know what book told you that, but it's not the truth.1



                    Fact is, there are several reasons we might use the definite article. Macmillan (definition 1b) says:




                    used when you are referring to familiar things that people deal with regularly



                    I looked up at the ceiling; suddenly all the lights went out




                    Many familiar adages and expressions use the definite article even though they talk about things in general. Consider:



                    • The lion is king of the jungle.

                    • Top of the morning to you!

                    • It hit me right between the eyes.

                    • Religion is the opiate of the masses.

                    • All the news that's fit to print.


                    1See what I did there?






                    share|improve this answer












                    I don't know what book told you that, but it's not the truth.1



                    Fact is, there are several reasons we might use the definite article. Macmillan (definition 1b) says:




                    used when you are referring to familiar things that people deal with regularly



                    I looked up at the ceiling; suddenly all the lights went out




                    Many familiar adages and expressions use the definite article even though they talk about things in general. Consider:



                    • The lion is king of the jungle.

                    • Top of the morning to you!

                    • It hit me right between the eyes.

                    • Religion is the opiate of the masses.

                    • All the news that's fit to print.


                    1See what I did there?







                    share|improve this answer












                    share|improve this answer



                    share|improve this answer










                    answered Nov 26 at 15:10









                    J.R.

                    97.1k8126242




                    97.1k8126242




















                        up vote
                        3
                        down vote













                        Ditto Andrew's excellent answer, let me just add:



                        Don't get confused by the difference between how something is in the real world, and how it is grammatically.



                        Yes, in real life, "all the money in the world" is, well, all the money that exists. Logically, you might say that it's the same as "money" as a general concept. But GRAMMATICALLY, "all the money in the world" is NOT all money that exists, it's a specific set of money, namely, the money that is "in the world". While in real life that may be all money, grammatically it is not.






                        share|improve this answer
























                          up vote
                          3
                          down vote













                          Ditto Andrew's excellent answer, let me just add:



                          Don't get confused by the difference between how something is in the real world, and how it is grammatically.



                          Yes, in real life, "all the money in the world" is, well, all the money that exists. Logically, you might say that it's the same as "money" as a general concept. But GRAMMATICALLY, "all the money in the world" is NOT all money that exists, it's a specific set of money, namely, the money that is "in the world". While in real life that may be all money, grammatically it is not.






                          share|improve this answer






















                            up vote
                            3
                            down vote










                            up vote
                            3
                            down vote









                            Ditto Andrew's excellent answer, let me just add:



                            Don't get confused by the difference between how something is in the real world, and how it is grammatically.



                            Yes, in real life, "all the money in the world" is, well, all the money that exists. Logically, you might say that it's the same as "money" as a general concept. But GRAMMATICALLY, "all the money in the world" is NOT all money that exists, it's a specific set of money, namely, the money that is "in the world". While in real life that may be all money, grammatically it is not.






                            share|improve this answer












                            Ditto Andrew's excellent answer, let me just add:



                            Don't get confused by the difference between how something is in the real world, and how it is grammatically.



                            Yes, in real life, "all the money in the world" is, well, all the money that exists. Logically, you might say that it's the same as "money" as a general concept. But GRAMMATICALLY, "all the money in the world" is NOT all money that exists, it's a specific set of money, namely, the money that is "in the world". While in real life that may be all money, grammatically it is not.







                            share|improve this answer












                            share|improve this answer



                            share|improve this answer










                            answered Nov 26 at 18:31









                            Jay

                            45.5k14091




                            45.5k14091




















                                up vote
                                2
                                down vote













                                The big, fancy language scholar term for this particular use of the definite article, "the", is "modadic"—the as in the one and only.



                                From your example, rephrased:




                                There is only one collection of all money in the one and only world.




                                Reference:




                                8. Monadic



                                ("One of a Kind" or "Unique")




                                The Article






                                share|improve this answer






















                                • I'm gonna upvote this one purely because you didn't include the "optional" article in There is only one collection of all the money in the one and only world, even though you didn't specifically draw attention to that yourself!
                                  – FumbleFingers
                                  Nov 26 at 17:54






                                • 1




                                  I'm so glad you noticed that! I was mindful of not wanting to use a circular definition with the first "one", with the one and only "the" being qualified enough not to be. ;-)
                                  – Jesse Steele
                                  Nov 26 at 17:58














                                up vote
                                2
                                down vote













                                The big, fancy language scholar term for this particular use of the definite article, "the", is "modadic"—the as in the one and only.



                                From your example, rephrased:




                                There is only one collection of all money in the one and only world.




                                Reference:




                                8. Monadic



                                ("One of a Kind" or "Unique")




                                The Article






                                share|improve this answer






















                                • I'm gonna upvote this one purely because you didn't include the "optional" article in There is only one collection of all the money in the one and only world, even though you didn't specifically draw attention to that yourself!
                                  – FumbleFingers
                                  Nov 26 at 17:54






                                • 1




                                  I'm so glad you noticed that! I was mindful of not wanting to use a circular definition with the first "one", with the one and only "the" being qualified enough not to be. ;-)
                                  – Jesse Steele
                                  Nov 26 at 17:58












                                up vote
                                2
                                down vote










                                up vote
                                2
                                down vote









                                The big, fancy language scholar term for this particular use of the definite article, "the", is "modadic"—the as in the one and only.



                                From your example, rephrased:




                                There is only one collection of all money in the one and only world.




                                Reference:




                                8. Monadic



                                ("One of a Kind" or "Unique")




                                The Article






                                share|improve this answer














                                The big, fancy language scholar term for this particular use of the definite article, "the", is "modadic"—the as in the one and only.



                                From your example, rephrased:




                                There is only one collection of all money in the one and only world.




                                Reference:




                                8. Monadic



                                ("One of a Kind" or "Unique")




                                The Article







                                share|improve this answer














                                share|improve this answer



                                share|improve this answer








                                edited Nov 26 at 18:01

























                                answered Nov 26 at 17:38









                                Jesse Steele

                                1215




                                1215











                                • I'm gonna upvote this one purely because you didn't include the "optional" article in There is only one collection of all the money in the one and only world, even though you didn't specifically draw attention to that yourself!
                                  – FumbleFingers
                                  Nov 26 at 17:54






                                • 1




                                  I'm so glad you noticed that! I was mindful of not wanting to use a circular definition with the first "one", with the one and only "the" being qualified enough not to be. ;-)
                                  – Jesse Steele
                                  Nov 26 at 17:58
















                                • I'm gonna upvote this one purely because you didn't include the "optional" article in There is only one collection of all the money in the one and only world, even though you didn't specifically draw attention to that yourself!
                                  – FumbleFingers
                                  Nov 26 at 17:54






                                • 1




                                  I'm so glad you noticed that! I was mindful of not wanting to use a circular definition with the first "one", with the one and only "the" being qualified enough not to be. ;-)
                                  – Jesse Steele
                                  Nov 26 at 17:58















                                I'm gonna upvote this one purely because you didn't include the "optional" article in There is only one collection of all the money in the one and only world, even though you didn't specifically draw attention to that yourself!
                                – FumbleFingers
                                Nov 26 at 17:54




                                I'm gonna upvote this one purely because you didn't include the "optional" article in There is only one collection of all the money in the one and only world, even though you didn't specifically draw attention to that yourself!
                                – FumbleFingers
                                Nov 26 at 17:54




                                1




                                1




                                I'm so glad you noticed that! I was mindful of not wanting to use a circular definition with the first "one", with the one and only "the" being qualified enough not to be. ;-)
                                – Jesse Steele
                                Nov 26 at 17:58




                                I'm so glad you noticed that! I was mindful of not wanting to use a circular definition with the first "one", with the one and only "the" being qualified enough not to be. ;-)
                                – Jesse Steele
                                Nov 26 at 17:58










                                up vote
                                1
                                down vote













                                All the money in the world would not make you happy.



                                We only have one specific world, and all the money in it is very specific.



                                Having money in the bank is a good thing, if its yours. [non-specific]



                                And: The money I have in the bank is none of your business. [specific]



                                Please note: for certain expressions such as money in the bank, a the is used with bank.






                                share|improve this answer
























                                  up vote
                                  1
                                  down vote













                                  All the money in the world would not make you happy.



                                  We only have one specific world, and all the money in it is very specific.



                                  Having money in the bank is a good thing, if its yours. [non-specific]



                                  And: The money I have in the bank is none of your business. [specific]



                                  Please note: for certain expressions such as money in the bank, a the is used with bank.






                                  share|improve this answer






















                                    up vote
                                    1
                                    down vote










                                    up vote
                                    1
                                    down vote









                                    All the money in the world would not make you happy.



                                    We only have one specific world, and all the money in it is very specific.



                                    Having money in the bank is a good thing, if its yours. [non-specific]



                                    And: The money I have in the bank is none of your business. [specific]



                                    Please note: for certain expressions such as money in the bank, a the is used with bank.






                                    share|improve this answer












                                    All the money in the world would not make you happy.



                                    We only have one specific world, and all the money in it is very specific.



                                    Having money in the bank is a good thing, if its yours. [non-specific]



                                    And: The money I have in the bank is none of your business. [specific]



                                    Please note: for certain expressions such as money in the bank, a the is used with bank.







                                    share|improve this answer












                                    share|improve this answer



                                    share|improve this answer










                                    answered Nov 26 at 14:57









                                    Lambie

                                    14.3k1331




                                    14.3k1331




















                                        up vote
                                        1
                                        down vote













                                        There is a word elided which will make parsing the phrase easier:




                                        All of the money in the world




                                        "Of money" is wrong for different reasons -- the preposition requires more than just a bare noun.






                                        share|improve this answer




















                                        • This is the point I was hoping to see. As with most English, we've munged it up so it doesn't follow our own quidelines by omitting a word.
                                          – Scott Baker
                                          Nov 28 at 16:10














                                        up vote
                                        1
                                        down vote













                                        There is a word elided which will make parsing the phrase easier:




                                        All of the money in the world




                                        "Of money" is wrong for different reasons -- the preposition requires more than just a bare noun.






                                        share|improve this answer




















                                        • This is the point I was hoping to see. As with most English, we've munged it up so it doesn't follow our own quidelines by omitting a word.
                                          – Scott Baker
                                          Nov 28 at 16:10












                                        up vote
                                        1
                                        down vote










                                        up vote
                                        1
                                        down vote









                                        There is a word elided which will make parsing the phrase easier:




                                        All of the money in the world




                                        "Of money" is wrong for different reasons -- the preposition requires more than just a bare noun.






                                        share|improve this answer












                                        There is a word elided which will make parsing the phrase easier:




                                        All of the money in the world




                                        "Of money" is wrong for different reasons -- the preposition requires more than just a bare noun.







                                        share|improve this answer












                                        share|improve this answer



                                        share|improve this answer










                                        answered Nov 27 at 0:29









                                        arp

                                        34617




                                        34617











                                        • This is the point I was hoping to see. As with most English, we've munged it up so it doesn't follow our own quidelines by omitting a word.
                                          – Scott Baker
                                          Nov 28 at 16:10
















                                        • This is the point I was hoping to see. As with most English, we've munged it up so it doesn't follow our own quidelines by omitting a word.
                                          – Scott Baker
                                          Nov 28 at 16:10















                                        This is the point I was hoping to see. As with most English, we've munged it up so it doesn't follow our own quidelines by omitting a word.
                                        – Scott Baker
                                        Nov 28 at 16:10




                                        This is the point I was hoping to see. As with most English, we've munged it up so it doesn't follow our own quidelines by omitting a word.
                                        – Scott Baker
                                        Nov 28 at 16:10

















                                        draft saved

                                        draft discarded
















































                                        Thanks for contributing an answer to English Language Learners 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%2fell.stackexchange.com%2fquestions%2f186691%2fwhy-does-money-take-the-in-all-the-money-in-the-world%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

                                        How to check contact read email or not when send email to Individual?

                                        Displaying single band from multi-band raster using QGIS

                                        How many registers does an x86_64 CPU actually have?