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Consider the following sentence.

Yet I still enjoy making ____ (an/the) effort to bake at home from time to time.

Here, what is the difference between an and the? Is effort here a specific or common noun?

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  • What does basic research show? Macmillan states that they are variants with the same meaning. Google data somewhat disconcertingly has 30 200 000 hits for each! // 'An' is licensed by 'effort' not having being mentioned so far, while 'the' is licensed by post-specification (the Lord of the Rings, the back of beyond, the effort to bake at home).
    – Edwin Ashworth
    Commented Oct 11, 2021 at 11:11
  • ok @EdwinAshworth, but as per the textbook I'm referring to, the answer is specified as "the". There is no previous mention of the word "effort" at all. Although, even I do agree with you, I just wanted to make it sure
    – tofuthefirst
    Commented Oct 11, 2021 at 11:18
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    With the, it's clear what's involved—something specific (baking at home). An to me means any or some-- you didn't make an/any effort = took no steps. You should make the effort of driving to see her. You should make an effort—drive to see her, call her, send her a letter. Have a look at specific instances of use and see if you perceive a difference.
    – DjinTonic
    Commented Oct 11, 2021 at 11:49
  • My impression is that you make an effort in general terms (someone watching you do a manual task without much enthusiasm says "Come on! Make an effort!"), but you make the effort to do a particular task (motivate yourself, prepare the equipment etc.).
    – Kate Bunting
    Commented Oct 12, 2021 at 8:21

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I doubt OP's cited speaker "literally" enjoys making a/the effort to do home baking. More likely she enjoys the process of baking (disregarding the "effort"), and/or the subsequent eating or offering to others of the fruits of her labours.

This kind of "loose" phrasing is quite normal in English, and most Anglophones would say my observation is pedantic / over-exacting. I only make the point because to speakers of some other languages, the phrasing may seem odd.

Having said all that, I think a slightly different example sentence better shows how different articles can affect meaning...

1: I make the effort to clean my teeth twice a day - I do it, but it's an effort
2: I make an effort to clean my teeth twice a day - I try to do it, perhaps successfully

Many if not most native speakers would agree it's unambiguous that that the speaker in #1 does in fact clean his teeth twice daily - but that's not true for #2 (where although the speaker tries to achieve his goal, it's implied that he's not always successful). Bear in mind this is quite a fine difference, that won't always be either intended by a speaker, or understood by his audience.

I could perhaps justify this difference on the grounds that #1 refers to a specific amount of effort (the amount needed to achieve the goal), whereas #2 simply implies some effort (but possibly not enough to succeed).

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