"all passengers" vs "all the passengers"

[Linh Bui Hoang]

My friend and I have argued about this problem but found no solution yet.
We considered whether "By the time the train left, all the passengers had been on board" or "By the time the train left, all passengers had been on board" was correct
I think "all the passengers" is right. In my opinion, the train is defined, so the passengers are defined too
But according to my friend, it should be "all passengers". He explained: "all passengers" means in general while "all the passengers" needs a phrase to modify more clearly, e.g., "All the passengers in the Titanic ship would never forget the disaster if they ever survived"
Please kindly help me.

[Alan]

Hi,

I think I'd come down in favour of your explanation - it is ineed 'all the passengers on the train.'

Alan
_________________
English as a Second Language
You can read my ESL story Present Simple

[Linh Bui Hoang]

Oh thank you very much.
So now I can be sure to tell my friend the answer.

[Linh Bui Hoang]

Oh my god, help!
My friend says to me that if the passengers are defined, so it must be "all of the passengers", not "all the passengers"
But I think both are acceptable.
What are your opinions? Please help me

[Alan]

Hi,

The addition of 'of' is simply more emphatic.

Alan
_________________
English as a Foreign Language
You can read my EFL story Progressive Forms

[Linh Bui Hoang]

Thank you very much indeed

[Yankee]

[Linh Bui Hoang]

Thanks very much for your advice