Which of the following is correct?

1. Dogs are man’s best friend.
2. The dog is man’s best friend.
3. A dog is man’s best friend.

If you answered “all of them,” you’re right! It doesn’t matter if you say “dogs,” “the dog” or “a dog.” These all refer to dogs in general.

However, in other contexts, it does make a difference, and this can be very confusing for learners! For example, why is it that “pandas are an endangered animal” is acceptable, but “a panda is an endangered animal” sounds unnatural?

Let’s look at how we can explain this grammar concept to our students.

Generic Reference

In the three sentences about dogs, the word dog is a “generic noun.” Generic nouns are used to make “generic references,” that is to refer to all members of a group, in this case “dogs.”

As you can see, generic nouns can be:

• plural (“dogs”)
• singular with "the" (“the dog”)
• singular with "a(n)"  (“a dog”)

1. The Dog is Man’s Best Friend

Let’s start with the definite article option: “the dog is man’s best friend.” This is the version preferred by a famous American poet who wrote the following in the 1920s:

This form of generic reference sounds a little old-fashioned, so it’s no longer used except in specific contexts, like in documentaries about nature or science.

Here are some typical sentences that use the “the” generic form:

• “The maple (tree) is originally from Asia”
• “The panda is an endangered animal.”

As you can see, the generic nouns here refer to species of a plant (maple tree) and an animal (panda).

This form of generic reference is also sometimes used to talk about nationalities and ethnicities, such as “the French” and “the Japanese.” However, it’s best not to refer to people like this, as it sounds like we’re making a stereotype.

2. A Dog is Man’s Best Friend 

The second way to make a generic reference is to use “a”: “A dog is man’s best friend.”

We usually hear this form of generic reference used to make statements about how a certain group of people should act:

However, because “a” often means “one,” it can be confusing when used with a generic noun. For example, the title of this blog post would sound a little weird if we used “a”: “Why A Dog Is Man’s Best Friend.” This is because it sounds like we’re talking about one dog!

This also explains why “A panda is an endangered animal” doesn’t make sense: it sounds like “one panda is an endangered animal.” 

In both instances above, it would be clearer to use “the” or the plural:

• The-generic: “Why the dog is man’s best friend.” “The panda is an endangered species.”
• Plural generic: “Why dogs are man’s best friend.” “Pandas are an endangered species.” 

3. Dogs are Man’s Best Friend

The plural is the most common way to make a generic reference and probably the one we’re most familiar with. In fact, all of the sentences above could be formed using this plural:

• Dogs are man’s best friend.
• Good students should know better than to plagiarize.
• Pandas are an endangered species.

Whereas the sentences with “the” or “a” sound more wise or official, these sentences sound more neutral and plain.

After all, the plural is also the form of the generic reference we learn the earliest. It’s the one we use in sentences like “I like dogs.”

Teaching Implications

So what does all this mean for those of us who teach? Well, we can teach students to default to the plural when making generic references, since the “the” is basically limited to nature documentaries, and “a” can cause confusion.

Another reason to default to the plural is that English has many more count nouns than non-count nouns (like “cheese” or “broccoli” which don’t pluralize with an -S). Yet, students often forget to add -S’s to plural nouns, ending up with sentences like, “I like dog” instead of “I like dogs.”

👋 That’s it for now!

Hope this article clears things up about teaching generic reference and why dogs (not cats) are man’s best friend. (Kidding! Don’t shoot me, cat people!) Happy tutoring!