I know that this may be a basic question but I'm severely confused. How do you decide when or not to use "the". For what I've read, if you are referring to objects within a large class (without any specific object in mind), you don't use "the". For example:
- People who workout often tend to be fitter.
But how do you know that you are in such a case? How do I distinguish between a broad class and a not so broad class. It seems sort of idiomatic. It doesn't seem wrong to me if I write:
- The people who workout often tend to be fitter.
Is it just a matter of choice or there is a really a strict rule of usage? If so, how do you distinguish between one case and the other?