Question

This enabled him to take first place.Почему здесь не ставится артикль the?(перед first place)

Answer 1

Смотрите всё легко перед числителем (то есть First ) всегда ставиться the

Например: the first day of summer, the second of March

Answer 2

In English, there are certain situations where articles (like "the," "a," or "an") are used, and other situations where they are omitted. Let's examine the sentence "This enabled him to take first place" to understand why the article "the" is not used before "first place."

In this context, "first place" refers to a specific and unique position in a competition or ranking. When a person achieves this position, they become the winner. In English, we often omit the article when talking about places in a competition, such as first, second, third, etc., because these positions are considered as standalone entities, and there is only one "first place" in any given competition.

Consider these examples:

1. He won the first place. (Correct)
2. He won first place. (Correct)

Both of these sentences are correct, but the second one is more common and idiomatic in English. The article "the" is optional before "first place" in this context.

However, there are cases where the article is required. For example:

• He won the first place award. (Here, "award" requires an article because it is a specific object being referred to.)

So, to summarize, the article "the" can be used before "first place," but it's also common to omit it, especially when talking about rankings or positions in competitions. Both forms are grammatically acceptable.