English Language & Usage Asked on April 17, 2021
Suppose in all the sentences below, by reception I mean the place or the office that visitors go to.
Take, for example, these sentences:
Which ones are correct?
Is it wrong to use the definite article here? Why?
Let's consider this from a broader perspective.
The names of many departmental areas of the modern office have zero-article.
We speak of:
-Human Resources,
-IT
-Hospitality
-Maintenance
-Security
-Parking
None of those use "the"...it is just another area. However, if you add "office" or "department" or "desk" to the equation, then the definite article does function.
Usually we say..."Call security, ask at reception, get IT to fix it..." Not the HR, the Security etc.
That said, "the reception" sounds like a reaction to a public statement, or what your radio is getting on the airwaves, or the event that occurs after a wedding.
It's a usage issue. As alphazero has mentioned: "This is the general principle that unique objects are identified by their name, without an article."
Correct answer by Cascabel on April 17, 2021
This is not too easy to research. But Lexico gives an example licensing the use of the definite article with 'reception' in this sense:
reception [noun] [British] The area in a hotel, office, or other establishment where guests and visitors are greeted and dealt with.
- The larger areas, the reception, pub, and dining room, have been repositioned around a central atrium, as have the smaller offices.
I'm happy that amongst Brits 'from reception' is totally acceptable, and in fact more idiomatic than 'from the reception', but ngrams are tricky to use here as the attributive usage ('from the reception desk' etc) muddies the results.
Answered by Edwin Ashworth on April 17, 2021
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