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Did you read the previous post titled “Polar Opposites” on this blog? If so, did you notice the phrase “the Earth” was used twice? I bet you didn’t, but one reader who did notice that in the June issue of National Geographic wrote in asking us why we use the article “the” with Earth.
“When we refer to any of the other planets,” he wrote, “we simply use their name, as in ‘We hope to someday send humans to Mars.’ We don’t say, ‘We hope to someday send humans to the Mars.’”
That reader raises an interesting point, one that I have to confess I hadn’t thought of much before. In both of the examples in the “Polar Opposites” article, the sentences are clear without the article: “A view of Earth’s antipodes…” and “…since oceans cover 70 percent of Earth.” There are instances, though, when having the article adds clarity.
In American Usage and Style, by Roy H. Copperud (1980), the entry for “earth, moon, sun” states: “Dropping the article with these nouns is unidiomatic and may be ambiguous: earth without the means soil. ‘A report on the discovery of a new planet 500 times as large as earth was made…’ the earth.”
Although one could argue that because our style is to capitalize Earth, it is clear when we are referring to planet Earth, as opposed to earth, the soil. But keeping the article with the Earth—a common idiomatic use—is relatively harmless and avoids ambiguity.
In the end, it’s a matter of personal preference. After many years in this business, I’ve found that there are few hard and fast rules for word usage. For one reader, “the Earth” is a pet peeve. For us at National Geographic, it’s a matter of ambiguity and idiomatic use. Now that he’s raised the point, though, I’ll keep his suggestion to delete the article in mind next time this usage comes across my desk.
Image: F. Hasler and others, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, and NASA
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Comments
Jun 2, 2009 9AM #
I prefer The Earth though Earth alone will not be a pet peeve...
Jun 2, 2009 9AM #
Actually, using the uncapitalized "earth" for "soil" would unnecessarily add one letter to The Cyberspace, thereby reducing the amount available for the rest of us.
As someone once said "simplify, simplify, simplify", when one "simplify" would have been sufficient
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