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I am confused by whether or not to add "the" before a plural noun. For example, do the following two sentences mean something slightly different from each other?
(1) We analyzed the potential implications of such practices for consumers.
(2) We analyzed potential implications of such practices for consumers.
A similar question was already asked here.
It can have different meanings, for example:
We analyzed the potential implications of such practices for consumers.
In this case, "the" could mean that the implications studied were specific ones, which the author may have already stated before.
We analyzed potential implications of such practices for consumers.
While in this sentence, the implications are unidentified and clearly not stated before.
Generally, "the" before a plural name indicates a specific group, while a plural without "the" is a general not specified group.
