Client 1:

"The percentage of the population aged 65 and over in the USA has been increasing, and THE growth is forecast to continue."

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Why do I need "the" here when "growth" is more common than "the growth"? Doesn't it have something to do with countable and uncountable nouns? 

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For example, in this quote from The Economist, "growth" instead of "the growth" is used: “Output started to increase in the first three months of last year (compared with the final three of 2013) and growth continued into the third quarter, when GDP rose by 0.7%, one of the best performances in the Euro area.”

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Red Pen:

You are right that “growth” is a mass noun, an uncountable noun, and that “increase” is a countable noun. And truthfully, native speakers would use “growth” and “the growth” almost interchangeably in your example. “Growth” is more common in business industries.

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“The growth” is more correct in your example, though, because you are talking about “the growth” of the percentage. “Growth” might mean any growth. “The growth” can refer only to the percentage.

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For an easier example, consider the following:

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“The growth of the boys was remarkable.”
“Growth of the boys was remarkable.”

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The second sentence is wrong not because “growth” is a mass noun but because it doesn’t specify which growth I am referring to. 

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Client 2:

I believe that "of" is the preposition that they use in English when comparing one member of a group to the rest.

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For example, I might write "40% of households owned a washing machine in 1920, the highest OF the three electrical appliances that year." But why should I use "of" here?

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Red Pen:

You need to use "of" here because you are not comparing the percentage of households owning a washing machine to the percentage of households owning all three appliances. 

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You are comparing the percentage of households owning a washing machine to the percentage of households owning the other two appliances.

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“Of” means that the percentage of households owning a washing machine is different from the percentage of households owning the other two appliances in the group.

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Client 3:

Why do I need to use "of" here: "The proportion of over-65s in Japan is predicted to double to 10% by 2030 before soaring to 27% by 2040, the highest OF the three countries that year." 

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Red Pen:

You need to use "of" here because you are not comparing the proportion of over-65s in Japan to the proportion in all three countries.

 

You are comparing the proportion of over-65s in Japan to the proportion in the other two countries.

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“Of” means that the proportion of over-65s in Japan is different from the proportion in the other two countries in the group.
 

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