the whole object vs a whole object

Both phrases are correct, but they are used in different contexts. 'The whole object' is used when referring to a specific, known object, while 'a whole object' is used when referring to any complete object without specifying a particular one.

Last updated: March 25, 2024 • 741 views

the whole object

This phrase is correct and commonly used in English.

This phrase is used when referring to a specific, known object in its entirety.

Examples:

I need to analyze the whole object before making any conclusions.
She painted the whole object in one sitting.

Show examples from the web [+]

Surely, the whole object of this exercise is simplification and clarification.
Otherwise, the interpretation made by the House's services will defeat the whole object of the reform.
If the quantity is not known, then for the purposes of this Directive the whole object shall be treated as explosive.
The whole object of EU support is the promotion of the peace process, but it is wrong to give financial support to those who seek its downfall.
In the final analysis, this is the whole object of the exercise: to ensure that people are affected as little as possible and to reconcile - at least up to a certain degree - two aspects which are, in fact, irreconcilable.
So this whole subject-object thing has relevance to humor in this way.
And then there is this fourth level, which is a whole new object in the world: the prop made for the movie, the representative of the thing, becomes, in its own right, a whole other thing, a whole new object of desire.
In fact there's a whole list of lethal objects they will allow you to take on board.
Quite apart from that, I see this whole debate as an object lesson in the weaknesses of European energy policy, which are more or less marked from one Member State to another.
No, the most important object - In pretty much the whole universe.
The whole is transformed into an object smooth and closed, round... like a sort of egg, unbreakable and transparent.
And so I'd feel a lot better about the whole thing if we could somehow show that an everyday object also follows quantum mechanics.
There's no personal objects in the whole place except for this.
This 1967 Chevrolet impala would turn out to be the most important object in pretty much the whole universe.
If two objects collide, The blowing up of debris can destroy the whole ring create chaos in communications.
And she would put objects on shoots that would just bring the whole thing to life.
That goes against the whole idea of trans-European networks, the object of which was always to improve infrastructure so that business can use it.
The object of the whole exercise is to give the people a chance to share in Europe's wealth and prosperity.
This property can apply to the whole of the network element it is associated with or - for linear spatial objects - be described using linear referencing.
If the common position were to be approved, the gates would flood open for the whole patent system as "ideas would become market objects", leaving SMEs with no chance to keep up.

Alternatives:

the entire object
the complete object
the whole item
the whole thing
the whole entity

a whole object

This phrase is correct and commonly used in English.

This phrase is used when referring to any complete object without specifying a particular one.