meaning of "Things in nature"

[jose H.]

Test No. incompl/elem-8 "Articles", question 3

It is important sometimes to stop and look around you at all the wonderful things ..........

(a) nature
(b) in nature
(c) in the nature

Test No. incompl/elem-8 "Articles", answer 3

It is important sometimes to stop and look around you at all the wonderful things in nature.

Correct answer: (b) in nature
_________________________

what is nature???

jose H.

[Alan]

Hi,

Nature refers to all living things.

Alan
_________________
English as a Second Language
You can read my ESL story Not Really

[Alan]

As I explained in the last reply, it means the natural world.
_________________
English as a Foreign Language
You can read my EFL story A day in the life of a policeman

[Jon]

Please could you explain why "In the Nature" is incorrect

[Kharisma]

Let me try...

Why don't we use "the" between in and Nature because (like Alan said) it means all living things. if we choose in the Nature, it will seem like a place (like : in the Jungle).

-- Correct me if I'm wrong --

[Peria]

Fist of all I would like to thank you for the English emails. It is very simple and easy to understand.

I got one answer wrong int the articles test. I want to konw why in the nature is not correct please explain.

few e.g on simple present.
My name is Perianaiyagi Anthony. I am an accountant in a timber industries. I live in Gujarat (India). I have tow brothers and two sisters.

[Cuoi]

I made a mistake like Peria, please explain for me.

Thanks!

[Dapitius]

I got that wrong too but it's certainly because my mother tongue is German and we say 'in der Natur'!

[Sarathkottege]

Why is 'in the nature' incorrect?

[Eline2009]

Hi Alan, your explication doesn't explain nothing at all. My mother tongue is french and in french (as in german), we say " Dans la nature" ("in der Natur"). Nature also refers to all living things. So why can't it be also "in the nature" in english.

[Torsten]

Hi Eline,

I don't think it makes much sense to compare languages when it comes to explaining how the articles are used. You are right, we do say 'in der Natur' in German but we also say 'in Wirklichkeit' (in reality).

As you can see, there are fixed expressions in any language and 'in nature' is just one of them. By the way, you might want to stick to basic punctuation and spelling rules when you talk about the English language. Also, the double negative ('doesn't explain nothing at all') is not used in English. Instead, your sentence should read 'doesn't explain anything'.

Best regards,
Torsten
_________________
Test Of English for International Communication
TOEIC Preparation & TOEIC Vocabulary

[Alan]

Hi Eline,

Abstract words like 'nature' 'happiness' 'life' and so on that are used in a general and non-specific sense are not usually preceded by the definite article 'the'.

Alan

PS You might like to look at some material I have written for the site on the articles:

http://www.english-test.net/lessons/16/index.html and

http://www.english-test.net/lessons/57/index.html (1) (2) (3) (4)
_________________
English as a Second Language
You can read my ESL story A day in the life of a stately home owner

[Eline2009]

Thanks!!

[Sonia*]

yes i have got it. Abstract nouns refer to those nouns that we can feel but can not see ...e.g. anger, jealousy,love,feelings...are not followed by the definite article 'the'. thanks a lot Alan sir.