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in the future vs. in future (with or without the)


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in the future vs. in future (with or without the) #1 (permalink) Thu May 22, 2008 18:57 pm   in the future vs. in future (with or without the)
 

1. Experts believe that in the near future the problems that prevent us from exploiting fully the food, minerals, and energy sources of the sea will be largely solved

2. If I could speak Spanish, I would spens the next year studying in Mexico

=> Should the article "the" in these two sentences be omitted?
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with or without "the"? #2 (permalink) Fri May 23, 2008 1:07 am   with or without "the"?
 

I feel,

1. 'in the near future' is correct and 'the' shouldn't be omitted there. By the way, both 'in the future' and 'in future' are correct grammatically but with different meanings.
2. Neither should be omitted. Without 'the' the phrase 'next year' becomes adverbial.
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with or without "the"? #3 (permalink) Fri May 23, 2008 3:54 am   with or without "the"?
 

Haihao wrote:
I feel,

1. 'in the near future' is correct and 'the' shouldn't be omitted there. By the way, both 'in the future' and 'in future' are correct grammatically but with different meanings.

Haihao, you're going to have to show me a sentence where "in future" is correct, because I don't believe you. It's possible to use "in future" where "future" is an adjective ("in future years", "in future articles", etc.), but I don't think you can leave out the article if "future" is a noun.

Haihao wrote:
2. Neither should be omitted. Without 'the' the phrase 'next year' becomes adverbial.

That's right.
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with or without "the"? #4 (permalink) Fri May 23, 2008 6:00 am   with or without "the"?
 

Thank you, Jamie, but you really made me ponder for a while. :) However I still think such a sentence as 'Don't do it again in future' = 'Don't do it again from now on' is possible where 'in future' acts as an adverbial phrase.

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with or without "the"? #5 (permalink) Fri May 23, 2008 6:03 am   with or without "the"?
 

Haihao wrote:
Thank you, Jamie, and you really made me ponder for a while. But I still think such a sentence as 'Don't do it again in future' = 'Don't do it again from now on' is possible where 'in future' acts as an adverbial phrase.

No, Haihao. "Don't do it again in future," is a grammatically incorrect, Chinglish-sounding sentence. It absolutely must be, "Don't do it again in the future." There's no question about it.
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with or without "the"? #6 (permalink) Fri May 23, 2008 7:26 am   with or without "the"?
 

Jamie (K) wrote:
No, Haihao. "Don't do it again in future," is a grammatically incorrect, Chinglish-sounding sentence. It absolutely must be, "Don't do it again in the future." There's no question about it.


I think you'll find that in BrEng, both these are correct:

In future, I'll thank you not to interfere in my affairs.
I'll thank you not to interfere in my affairs in future.

If you keep basing all your replies on your own variant, Jamie, we'll never get anywhere.

Go search in future , in the BNC. Don't forget to add a space before the comma.
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with or without "the"? #7 (permalink) Fri May 23, 2008 7:27 am   with or without "the"?
 

Haihao wrote:
Thank you, Jamie, but you really made me ponder for a while. :) However I still think such a sentence as 'Don't do it again in future' = 'Don't do it again from now on' is possible where 'in future' acts as an adverbial phrase.

Haihao


Yes, that's correct in BrE use, and also in NigE. It's an adverbial phrase used and as a discourse marker when fronted.

Hear it appears as a tail and as fronted:

"And I actually found that it was, it was better to actually talk to them than just send them Press release. their press release, so I might do that in future , send out a release and then follow it up on the phone call."

Amnesty International meeting. Rec. on 11 Feb 1992

........

"A Hindu, a Buddhist and a lion-tamer chanced to meet, in a circus on the Indo-Chinese border. (He breaks out.) They're taking us for granted! Well, I won't stand for it! In future , notice will be taken. (He wheels again to face into the wings.)"

Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are dead. Stoppard, Tom.

.......

As for the latter, you can't get less Chinglish that Tom Stoppard. Maybe Jamie's never heard of Mr Stoppard.
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with or without "the"? #8 (permalink) Fri May 23, 2008 7:41 am   with or without "the"?
 

You might also find a few examples in the BYU American Corpus. I did.
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with or without "the"? #9 (permalink) Fri May 23, 2008 7:51 am   with or without "the"?
 

Jamie (K) wrote:
Haihao wrote:
I feel,

1. 'in the near future' is correct and 'the' shouldn't be omitted there. By the way, both 'in the future' and 'in future' are correct grammatically but with different meanings.

Haihao, you're going to have to show me a sentence where "in future" is correct, because I don't believe you. It's possible to use "in future" where "future" is an adjective ("in future years", "in future articles", etc.), but I don't think you can leave out the article if "future" is a noun.


Hi, Jamie

I saw this CNN news header: Digital age may bring total recall in future - CNN.com
Do you think it is the case where (magazine) headers are "shortened" by cutting out articles ? Or is it a simple mistake
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with or without "the"? #10 (permalink) Fri May 23, 2008 8:14 am   with or without "the"?
 

.
'In future' is OK, I think; I see it and use it sometimes:

in future (adverb)
after this; from now on
Example: Don't do that in future.

.
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with or without "the"? #11 (permalink) Fri May 23, 2008 8:26 am   with or without "the"?
 

And in the near future should be taken as an expression?
Who can explain why the next year?
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with or without "the"? #12 (permalink) Fri May 23, 2008 8:30 am   with or without "the"?
 

Mister Micawber wrote:
.
'In future' is OK, I think; I see it and use it sometimes:

in future (adverb)
after this; from now on
Example: Don't do that in future.

.


Indeed it is.

It means from now on (perceived as no gap between the present time and the future.) "In the future" (possibly perceived as a gap between the present moment and the future.)
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with or without "the"? #13 (permalink) Fri May 23, 2008 8:46 am   with or without "the"?
 

Hi,

'In future' often has the sense of 'next time' as in: In view of the delays experienced at airports where security checks take a long time I have decided in future to go by train when I go on holiday. 'In the future' is much more expansive as in: In the future motorists will be buying cars that have much better fuel efficiency than is the case at the moment.

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with or without "the"? #14 (permalink) Fri May 23, 2008 9:11 am   with or without "the"?
 

And why the next year? in If I could speak Spanish, I would spens the next year studying in Mexico
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with or without "the"? #15 (permalink) Fri May 23, 2008 9:27 am   with or without "the"?
 

'next year' without 'the' is used as an adverbial phrase. Here, the function should be noun.
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