“Which planet is nearest Earth?” vs “Which planet is the nearest to Earth?”
I don't understand why the definite article is not used in front of the superlative and why we don't use the preposition "to" as in:
- Which planet is the nearest to Earth?
instead of
- Which planet is nearest Earth?
grammaticality prepositions articles
edited 17 hours ago
Mari-Lou A
62.4k56222462
asked 17 hours ago
Ali NoormohammadiAli Noormohammadi
143
New contributor
Ali Noormohammadi is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
Check out our Code of Conduct.
add a comment |
I don't understand why the definite article is not used in front of the superlative and why we don't use the preposition "to" as in:
- Which planet is the nearest to Earth?
instead of
- Which planet is nearest Earth?
grammaticality prepositions articles
edited 17 hours ago
Mari-Lou A
62.4k56222462
asked 17 hours ago
Ali NoormohammadiAli Noormohammadi
143
New contributor
Ali Noormohammadi is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
Check out our Code of Conduct.
1
We usually say, "Which planet is nearest to the Earth?"
– Kaushik
17 hours ago
@Kaushik please avoid giving inaccurate information. It is absolutely not true that "we" usually use to with any superlative. "They are the best band to the world"? No.
– Mari-Lou A
17 hours ago
1
It's not true that 'we' don't say Which planet is the nearest to Earth?. I would consider that to be better grammatically, but all three versions (yours and Kaushik's) are possible.
– Kate Bunting
15 hours ago
I don't commonly see "Which planet is nearest to THE Earth?" at all. (My emphasis on "the" from Kaushik's comment.) I've seen "Which planet is nearest Earth?" and "Which planet is the nearest to Earth?"
– ElG
7 hours ago
add a comment |
I don't understand why the definite article is not used in front of the superlative and why we don't use the preposition "to" as in:
- Which planet is the nearest to Earth?
instead of
- Which planet is nearest Earth?
grammaticality prepositions articles
edited 17 hours ago
Mari-Lou A
62.4k56222462
asked 17 hours ago
Ali NoormohammadiAli Noormohammadi
143
New contributor
Ali Noormohammadi is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
Check out our Code of Conduct.
I don't understand why the definite article is not used in front of the superlative and why we don't use the preposition "to" as in:
- Which planet is the nearest to Earth?
instead of
- Which planet is nearest Earth?
grammaticality prepositions articles
grammaticality prepositions articles
edited 17 hours ago
Mari-Lou A
62.4k56222462
asked 17 hours ago
Ali NoormohammadiAli Noormohammadi
143
New contributor
Ali Noormohammadi is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
Check out our Code of Conduct.
edited 17 hours ago
Mari-Lou A
62.4k56222462
asked 17 hours ago
Ali NoormohammadiAli Noormohammadi
143
New contributor
Ali Noormohammadi is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
Check out our Code of Conduct.
edited 17 hours ago
Mari-Lou A
62.4k56222462
edited 17 hours ago
Mari-Lou A
62.4k56222462
edited 17 hours ago
Mari-Lou A
62.4k56222462
62.4k56222462
asked 17 hours ago
Ali NoormohammadiAli Noormohammadi
143
New contributor
Ali Noormohammadi is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
Check out our Code of Conduct.
asked 17 hours ago
Ali NoormohammadiAli Noormohammadi
143
asked 17 hours ago
Ali NoormohammadiAli Noormohammadi
143
143
New contributor
Ali Noormohammadi is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
Check out our Code of Conduct.
New contributor
Ali Noormohammadi is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
Check out our Code of Conduct.
Ali Noormohammadi is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
Check out our Code of Conduct.
1
We usually say, "Which planet is nearest to the Earth?"
– Kaushik
17 hours ago
@Kaushik please avoid giving inaccurate information. It is absolutely not true that "we" usually use to with any superlative. "They are the best band to the world"? No.
– Mari-Lou A
17 hours ago
1
It's not true that 'we' don't say Which planet is the nearest to Earth?. I would consider that to be better grammatically, but all three versions (yours and Kaushik's) are possible.
– Kate Bunting
15 hours ago
I don't commonly see "Which planet is nearest to THE Earth?" at all. (My emphasis on "the" from Kaushik's comment.) I've seen "Which planet is nearest Earth?" and "Which planet is the nearest to Earth?"
– ElG
7 hours ago
add a comment |
1
We usually say, "Which planet is nearest to the Earth?"
– Kaushik
17 hours ago
@Kaushik please avoid giving inaccurate information. It is absolutely not true that "we" usually use to with any superlative. "They are the best band to the world"? No.
– Mari-Lou A
17 hours ago
1
It's not true that 'we' don't say Which planet is the nearest to Earth?. I would consider that to be better grammatically, but all three versions (yours and Kaushik's) are possible.
– Kate Bunting
15 hours ago
I don't commonly see "Which planet is nearest to THE Earth?" at all. (My emphasis on "the" from Kaushik's comment.) I've seen "Which planet is nearest Earth?" and "Which planet is the nearest to Earth?"
– ElG
7 hours ago
1
1
We usually say, "Which planet is nearest to the Earth?"
– Kaushik
17 hours ago
We usually say, "Which planet is nearest to the Earth?"
– Kaushik
17 hours ago
@Kaushik please avoid giving inaccurate information. It is absolutely not true that "we" usually use to with any superlative. "They are the best band to the world"? No.
– Mari-Lou A
17 hours ago
@Kaushik please avoid giving inaccurate information. It is absolutely not true that "we" usually use to with any superlative. "They are the best band to the world"? No.
– Mari-Lou A
17 hours ago
1
1
It's not true that 'we' don't say Which planet is the nearest to Earth?. I would consider that to be better grammatically, but all three versions (yours and Kaushik's) are possible.
– Kate Bunting
15 hours ago
It's not true that 'we' don't say Which planet is the nearest to Earth?. I would consider that to be better grammatically, but all three versions (yours and Kaushik's) are possible.
– Kate Bunting
15 hours ago
I don't commonly see "Which planet is nearest to THE Earth?" at all. (My emphasis on "the" from Kaushik's comment.) I've seen "Which planet is nearest Earth?" and "Which planet is the nearest to Earth?"
– ElG
7 hours ago
I don't commonly see "Which planet is nearest to THE Earth?" at all. (My emphasis on "the" from Kaushik's comment.) I've seen "Which planet is nearest Earth?" and "Which planet is the nearest to Earth?"
– ElG
7 hours ago
add a comment |
1 Answer
1
active
oldest
votes
Both sentences are correct. They express different ideas. The sentences revolve around the use of the word "nearest." In the first sentence, "nearest" is functioning as a predicate adjective. In the second sentence "nearest" is functioning as a noun which is being modified by the article "the."
It is possible to omit "to" and still have a grammatical sentence: "Which planet is the nearest earth." It sounds strange but if we substitute "one" for "earth," it forms a sentence which doesn't sound strange; "Which planet is the nearest one?" In this sentence, "one" is an adjunct.
Something being grammatical and making sense are frequently two different things.
Also, note that "earth" can either have "the" as an article, which designates it as a planet, or not, which is giving it a name, Earth. For example, "Which woman is nearest Michael?" (some speakers will say "Which woman is closest to Michael.") "Michael" is a proper noun and doesn't need "the." Grammatically-speaking it is not incorrect to say "Which woman is closest to the Michael," but it is not something English speakers say because the usage is not recognized as making sense and isn't supported by the corpus. Earth is a proper noun that can use "the."
answered 15 hours ago
michael_timofeevmichael_timofeev
5,76642147
add a comment |
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
});
}
});
Ali Noormohammadi is a new contributor. Be nice, and check out our Code of Conduct.
Sign up or log in
StackExchange.ready(function () {
StackExchange.helpers.onClickDraftSave('#login-link');
});
Sign up using Google
Sign up using Facebook
Sign up using Email and Password
Post as a guest
Required, but never shown
StackExchange.ready(
function () {
StackExchange.openid.initPostLogin('.new-post-login', 'https%3a%2f%2fenglish.stackexchange.com%2fquestions%2f491383%2fwhich-planet-is-nearest-earth-vs-which-planet-is-the-nearest-to-earth%23new-answer', 'question_page');
}
);
Post as a guest
Required, but never shown
1 Answer
1
active
oldest
votes
1 Answer
1
active
oldest
votes
active
oldest
votes
active
oldest
votes
Both sentences are correct. They express different ideas. The sentences revolve around the use of the word "nearest." In the first sentence, "nearest" is functioning as a predicate adjective. In the second sentence "nearest" is functioning as a noun which is being modified by the article "the."
It is possible to omit "to" and still have a grammatical sentence: "Which planet is the nearest earth." It sounds strange but if we substitute "one" for "earth," it forms a sentence which doesn't sound strange; "Which planet is the nearest one?" In this sentence, "one" is an adjunct.
Something being grammatical and making sense are frequently two different things.
Also, note that "earth" can either have "the" as an article, which designates it as a planet, or not, which is giving it a name, Earth. For example, "Which woman is nearest Michael?" (some speakers will say "Which woman is closest to Michael.") "Michael" is a proper noun and doesn't need "the." Grammatically-speaking it is not incorrect to say "Which woman is closest to the Michael," but it is not something English speakers say because the usage is not recognized as making sense and isn't supported by the corpus. Earth is a proper noun that can use "the."
answered 15 hours ago
michael_timofeevmichael_timofeev
5,76642147
add a comment |
Both sentences are correct. They express different ideas. The sentences revolve around the use of the word "nearest." In the first sentence, "nearest" is functioning as a predicate adjective. In the second sentence "nearest" is functioning as a noun which is being modified by the article "the."
It is possible to omit "to" and still have a grammatical sentence: "Which planet is the nearest earth." It sounds strange but if we substitute "one" for "earth," it forms a sentence which doesn't sound strange; "Which planet is the nearest one?" In this sentence, "one" is an adjunct.
Something being grammatical and making sense are frequently two different things.
Also, note that "earth" can either have "the" as an article, which designates it as a planet, or not, which is giving it a name, Earth. For example, "Which woman is nearest Michael?" (some speakers will say "Which woman is closest to Michael.") "Michael" is a proper noun and doesn't need "the." Grammatically-speaking it is not incorrect to say "Which woman is closest to the Michael," but it is not something English speakers say because the usage is not recognized as making sense and isn't supported by the corpus. Earth is a proper noun that can use "the."
answered 15 hours ago
michael_timofeevmichael_timofeev
5,76642147
add a comment |
Both sentences are correct. They express different ideas. The sentences revolve around the use of the word "nearest." In the first sentence, "nearest" is functioning as a predicate adjective. In the second sentence "nearest" is functioning as a noun which is being modified by the article "the."
It is possible to omit "to" and still have a grammatical sentence: "Which planet is the nearest earth." It sounds strange but if we substitute "one" for "earth," it forms a sentence which doesn't sound strange; "Which planet is the nearest one?" In this sentence, "one" is an adjunct.
Something being grammatical and making sense are frequently two different things.
Also, note that "earth" can either have "the" as an article, which designates it as a planet, or not, which is giving it a name, Earth. For example, "Which woman is nearest Michael?" (some speakers will say "Which woman is closest to Michael.") "Michael" is a proper noun and doesn't need "the." Grammatically-speaking it is not incorrect to say "Which woman is closest to the Michael," but it is not something English speakers say because the usage is not recognized as making sense and isn't supported by the corpus. Earth is a proper noun that can use "the."
answered 15 hours ago
michael_timofeevmichael_timofeev
5,76642147
Both sentences are correct. They express different ideas. The sentences revolve around the use of the word "nearest." In the first sentence, "nearest" is functioning as a predicate adjective. In the second sentence "nearest" is functioning as a noun which is being modified by the article "the."
It is possible to omit "to" and still have a grammatical sentence: "Which planet is the nearest earth." It sounds strange but if we substitute "one" for "earth," it forms a sentence which doesn't sound strange; "Which planet is the nearest one?" In this sentence, "one" is an adjunct.
Something being grammatical and making sense are frequently two different things.
Also, note that "earth" can either have "the" as an article, which designates it as a planet, or not, which is giving it a name, Earth. For example, "Which woman is nearest Michael?" (some speakers will say "Which woman is closest to Michael.") "Michael" is a proper noun and doesn't need "the." Grammatically-speaking it is not incorrect to say "Which woman is closest to the Michael," but it is not something English speakers say because the usage is not recognized as making sense and isn't supported by the corpus. Earth is a proper noun that can use "the."
answered 15 hours ago
michael_timofeevmichael_timofeev
5,76642147
answered 15 hours ago
michael_timofeevmichael_timofeev
5,76642147
answered 15 hours ago
michael_timofeevmichael_timofeev
5,76642147
answered 15 hours ago
michael_timofeevmichael_timofeev
5,76642147
5,76642147
add a comment |
add a comment |
Ali Noormohammadi is a new contributor. Be nice, and check out our Code of Conduct.
Ali Noormohammadi is a new contributor. Be nice, and check out our Code of Conduct.
Ali Noormohammadi is a new contributor. Be nice, and check out our Code of Conduct.
Ali Noormohammadi 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.
Sign up or log in
StackExchange.ready(function () {
StackExchange.helpers.onClickDraftSave('#login-link');
});
Sign up using Google
Sign up using Facebook
Sign up using Email and Password
Post as a guest
Required, but never shown
StackExchange.ready(
function () {
StackExchange.openid.initPostLogin('.new-post-login', 'https%3a%2f%2fenglish.stackexchange.com%2fquestions%2f491383%2fwhich-planet-is-nearest-earth-vs-which-planet-is-the-nearest-to-earth%23new-answer', 'question_page');
}
);
Post as a guest
Required, but never shown
Sign up or log in
StackExchange.ready(function () {
StackExchange.helpers.onClickDraftSave('#login-link');
});
Sign up using Google
Sign up using Facebook
Sign up using Email and Password
Post as a guest
Required, but never shown
Sign up or log in
StackExchange.ready(function () {
StackExchange.helpers.onClickDraftSave('#login-link');
});
Sign up using Google
Sign up using Facebook
Sign up using Email and Password
Post as a guest
Required, but never shown
Sign up or log in
StackExchange.ready(function () {
StackExchange.helpers.onClickDraftSave('#login-link');
});
Sign up using Google
Sign up using Facebook
Sign up using Email and Password
Sign up using Google
Sign up using Facebook
Sign up using Email and Password
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
1
We usually say, "Which planet is nearest to the Earth?"
– Kaushik
17 hours ago
@Kaushik please avoid giving inaccurate information. It is absolutely not true that "we" usually use to with any superlative. "They are the best band to the world"? No.
– Mari-Lou A
17 hours ago
1
It's not true that 'we' don't say Which planet is the nearest to Earth?. I would consider that to be better grammatically, but all three versions (yours and Kaushik's) are possible.
– Kate Bunting
15 hours ago
I don't commonly see "Which planet is nearest to THE Earth?" at all. (My emphasis on "the" from Kaushik's comment.) I've seen "Which planet is nearest Earth?" and "Which planet is the nearest to Earth?"
– ElG
7 hours ago