new life VS the/his new life

hirashin

Sempai

Donor

8 Apr 2004

2,721

63

• 27 Sep 2017

• #1

Dear native English speakers,
I need your help.

Which would sound right?

My brother has just moved to Tokyo.
(a) He's excited about new life there.
(b) He's excited about the new life there.
(c) He's excited about his new life there.

Thanks in advance.
Hirashin

 

joadbres

八方凡人

19 Sep 2016

733

277

• 27 Sep 2017

• #2

Only (c) is correct to convey the idea that you want to convey.

"Life" used in the sense used here is a countable noun, and singular countable nouns must ALWAYS be preceeded by an article or possessive, so (a) is grammatically incorrect (in the sense in which you are using "life" here).

In (b), "the new life" sounds like some life other than your brother's, so is not correct to convey what you want to convey.

 

hirashin

Sempai

Donor

8 Apr 2004

2,721

63

• 27 Sep 2017

• Thread starter
• #3

Thanks for the help, joadbres.

 

diligentcircle

Sempai

21 Jun 2017

703

97

• 27 Sep 2017

• #4

By the way, A would be interpreted the same way as the opening in Star Trek (or at least that's how I would interpret it), i.e. trying to discover new species.

 

hirashin

Sempai

Donor

8 Apr 2004

2,721

63

• 27 Sep 2017

• Thread starter
• #5

Joadbres, how about (d)?
(d) He's excited about a new life there.

 

joadbres

八方凡人

19 Sep 2016

733

277

• 27 Sep 2017

• #6

"a new life" is 100% natural in some sentences, but sounds somewhat unnatural in this sentence, perhaps because the sentence as a whole is describing something specific/definite, rather than general/indefinite.
With your sentences, I would say:
(c) ◎
(d) ○
An example of a perfectly natural sentence with "a" is:
When he moves to Chicago, he can start a new life. ◎
However,
When he moves to Chicago, he can start his new life. × or △
sounds unnatural.
The differences in these cases might have to do with definite vs. indefinite objects (i.e., the same type of difference that affects whether "the" or "a" is used).

 

L

Laoto

後輩

21 Dec 2020

21

22

• 18 Jun 2021

• #7

hirashin said:

Dear native English speakers,
I need your help.

Which would sound right?

My brother has just moved to Tokyo.
(a) He's excited about new life there.
(b) He's excited about the new life there.
(c) He's excited about his new life there.

Thanks in advance.
Hirashin

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