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Anonymous Posted 14 years ago
Grammar
article - need help
My nobles, I've again faced a problem. With singular countable nouns (when we don't think of "that", "this" subject) we can use either "a" or "the".
the - genaralisations about classes of things:
the computer is an important research tool
and a - every thing
a computer is an important research tool
But the difference isn't sometimes visible at all.
E.g.
He works in a bank
You see here the bank he works in is unknown, so "a" is used.
But could i, u know, say for instance:
he works in the bank
like a general term (the bank). or another case:
He takes the train to work every morning
here the train is like a general term, isn't it?
Could i write:
He takes a train to work every morning
so as to say that it's just a train, which is unknown.
Many thanks.
the - genaralisations about classes of things:
the computer is an important research tool
and a - every thing
a computer is an important research tool
But the difference isn't sometimes visible at all.
E.g.
He works in a bank
You see here the bank he works in is unknown, so "a" is used.
But could i, u know, say for instance:
he works in the bank
like a general term (the bank). or another case:
He takes the train to work every morning
here the train is like a general term, isn't it?
Could i write:
He takes a train to work every morning
so as to say that it's just a train, which is unknown.
Many thanks.
Top answer
Hi, My nobles <<< a very odd and archaic-sounding way to address us , I've again faced a problem. With singular countable nouns (when we don't think of "that", "this" subject) we can use either "a" or "the". the - genaralisations about classes of things: the computer is an important research tool and a - every thing a computer is an important research tool But the difference isn't sometimes visible at all.
- Hi, My nobles <<< a very odd and archaic-sounding way to address us , I've again faced a problem.
- With singular countable nouns (when we don't think of "that", "this" subject) we can use either "a" or "the".
- the - genaralisations about classes of things: the computer is an important research tool and a - every thing a computer is an important research tool But the difference isn't sometimes visible at all.
- g.
- He works in a bank You see here the bank he works in is unknown, so "a" is used.
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10 Answers
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Hi,
My nobles <<< a very odd and archaic-sounding way to address us
, I've agai
My nobles <<< a very odd and archaic-sounding way to address us
, I've agai
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"The" can be used to generalize about things (the computer, the tie etc) , animals (the tiger, the wolf), plants (the apple etc) and different groups of people (the student, the average American etc) and some other things but not about banks. It is very idiomatic, as Clive says.
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some more examples
The campaign against smoking in public places argues that its harmful effects are not confined to the smoker.
It sometimes seems that the individual can have little impact on the decisions that governments take
Hewings , green book
heare are meant general terms
Could someone explain how to distinguish wheter it's ok to use "the" to express genral term (as
The campaign against smoking in public places argues that its harmful effects are not confined to the smoker.
It sometimes seems that the individual can have little impact on the decisions that governments take
Hewings , green book
heare are meant general terms
Could someone explain how to distinguish wheter it's ok to use "the" to express genral term (as
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Ivanhr"The" can be used to generalize about things (the computer, the tie etc) , animals (the tiger, the wolf), plants (the apple etc) and different groups of people (the student, the average American etc) and some other things but not about banks.Not quite right, Ivan. This sentence is fine:
The financial problems we have today were caused by the ba
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if we say:
the book, the window, the table, the chair, the bottle, and so forth.
we can't mean a general term, that is:
the book=that, this book, but not as a general class.
Am i right?
the book, the window, the table, the chair, the bottle, and so forth.
we can't mean a general term, that is:
the book=that, this book, but not as a general class.
Am i right?
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Hi,
Depends on the context.
eg The book was first invented by the ancient Egyptians.
eg The book on the table belongs to me.
Clive
Depends on the context.
eg The book was first invented by the ancient Egyptians.
eg The book on the table belongs to me.
Clive
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AlpheccaStars
here are meant those banks - specific ones. Generalisation with plural form isnt used with "the"
here are meant those banks - specific ones. Generalisation with plural form isnt used with "the"
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AnonymousCould someone explain how to distinguish whether it's ok to use "the" to express a general term (as in the sentences above) and where notIn general, when you refer to a specific group as distinguished from other similar things, you can use "the." (But is is more common to use the plural. )
The Inuit lives in the n
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AnonymousAlpheccaStarshere are meant those banks - specific ones. Generalisation with plural form isnt used with "the"Yes, that's right. I stand corrected.
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