Writing: Is make contributions the ellipsis of make some...

[tung quoc]

Please read:

Nikky Nguyen, one of the three Vietnamese overseas volunteers of this group, said that for a long time it was her wish to come back to Viet Nam and make contributions to the development of the country.

1/In your opinions, why make contributions but not make the contributions?Do they have the same meaning?If not, what is the difference in meaning btw them?

2/If you think that make contributions sinply means make some contributions,why in Oranges are good (not All the oranges are good) , oranges means all oranges but here,make contributions only means make some contributions, but not make all contributions?

3/Is make contributions the ellipsis of make some contributions?

Q

[canadian45]

1..."make contributions" and "make the contributions" can be different.
"make contributions" means ''make some contributions''. Maybe this is the first time that making contributions has been talked about by the speaker.
"make the contributions" refers to previously mentioned contributions. (some contributions, specified or not, that have been previously talked about)

2...You cannot compare something, in this case oranges, to making something, in this case making contributions.

3...Yes, ''make contributions'' means ''make some contributions''.

[tung quoc]

Thanks
Q

[Yankee]

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You need to think about the context of sentences, Quoc. The context and/or other words in a sentence help you distinguish what is meant.

If you say "Oranges are good." you are stating a general universal truth about all oranges everywhere.

If you said "Some oranges are good." that would suggest that there are also oranges which are not good. Using the word 'some' indicates that there is some sort of restriction or limitation on 'oranges'.

If you say "We need curtains." it is clear from even this short context that you do not mean "We need all of the curtains that exist anywhere in the universe." Here the idea is already limited by the context. The context tells me: "We have a need. Our windows need curtains." That's why you can also say "We need some curtains" without changing the meaning of the sentence.

If you said "Curtains hang on windows." that would mean that all curtains everywhere hang on windows. There is nothing in the rest of the sentence that suggests anything different. You would be stating a universal truth about all curtains everywhere.

If you said "Some curtains hang on windows" that would mean that there are also curtains that do not hang on windows. Using the word some restricts the meaning but does not specifically indicate what the restriction might be.

I hope this clarifies things a bit.
_________________
Amy
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ESL teacher, translator, and a native speaker of American English