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Anonymous Posted 18 years ago
Grammar
Article usage: proper noun and uncountable noun correspondence?
Hi,
1. I seem to sense a correspondence between a proper noun and uncountable noun in terms of their ability to accompany English articles. Is it unfounded or baseless?
Case in point: name of a street which normally doesn't have an article in front of it:
..., a pastor of the influential Park Street Church at the edge of the Boston Common, ...
I think one can substitute in the part interested a last name to make something like this:
... the influential Smith has decided to enter the race.
Could a person do this to all proper nouns?
2. Why isn't there any article in front of this?
... paying respects at Babaoshan cemetery in Beijing ...
1. I seem to sense a correspondence between a proper noun and uncountable noun in terms of their ability to accompany English articles. Is it unfounded or baseless?
Case in point: name of a street which normally doesn't have an article in front of it:
..., a pastor of the influential Park Street Church at the edge of the Boston Common, ...
I think one can substitute in the part interested a last name to make something like this:
... the influential Smith has decided to enter the race.
Could a person do this to all proper nouns?
2. Why isn't there any article in front of this?
... paying respects at Babaoshan cemetery in Beijing ...
Top answer
1. It may be unwise to say that something can be done to all proper nouns in English because there seem to be so many exceptions to every rule. However, using a and the with proper nouns in certain contexts is normal.
- 1.
- It may be unwise to say that something can be done to all proper nouns in English because there seem to be so many exceptions to every rule.
- However, using a and the with proper nouns in certain contexts is normal.
- The of-genitive - or of structure - or whatever you prefer to call it often requires the: the England of my dreams An adjectival attribute is a common reason for a: We saw a sad George Bush on television last night.
- He wants to live in a different England.
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2 Answers
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1. It may be unwise to say that something can be done to all proper nouns in English because there seem to be so many exceptions to every rule. However, using a and the with proper nouns in certain contexts is normal. The of-genitive - or of structure - or whatever you prefer to call it often requires the:
the Englan
the Englan
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Thank you. What threw me off was the non-capitalization of the first letter of the word 'cemetery'. A common word plus non-capitalization could make it necessary to have an article, at least for the sake of the common noun, at least to me. Can you tell me what the reason for that possibly be?
... paying respects at Babaoshan cemetery in Beijing ...
... paying respects at Babaoshan cemetery in Beijing ...
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