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Dipsik Posted 16 years ago
Grammar
Get A feel X get THE feel
Hi,
I've come across this sentence on an English website on Dutch grammar:
You can also start by listening to Dutch audio to get a feel of what the Dutch language sounds like.
Nothing wrong with it, probably, I'm asking just out of curiosity: could the sentence read "to get THE feel of..."?
get a feel = get a taste (meaning: be given a sample of spoken Dutch)
get the feel = get the picture (meaning: develop a basic knowledge of what spoken Dutch sounds like; you know basic rules)
Am I right?
Many thanks
Lenny
I've come across this sentence on an English website on Dutch grammar:
You can also start by listening to Dutch audio to get a feel of what the Dutch language sounds like.
Nothing wrong with it, probably, I'm asking just out of curiosity: could the sentence read "to get THE feel of..."?
get a feel = get a taste (meaning: be given a sample of spoken Dutch)
get the feel = get the picture (meaning: develop a basic knowledge of what spoken Dutch sounds like; you know basic rules)
Am I right?
Many thanks
Lenny
Top answer
Hi Lenny, What you have suggested sounds reasonable for me. "A feel" is a sample, and "the feel" is a more in-depth experience of what something is like. Give the car a test drive - get a feel for what it would be like to own one.
- Hi Lenny, What you have suggested sounds reasonable for me.
- "A feel" is a sample, and "the feel" is a more in-depth experience of what something is like.
- Give the car a test drive - get a feel for what it would be like to own one.
- We'll have you learn to drive your mother's old stick-shift until you get the feel for how to drive a manual transmission.
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3 Answers
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Hi Lenny,
What you have suggested sounds reasonable for me. "A feel" is a sample, and "the feel" is a more in-depth experience of what something is like.
Give the car a test drive - get a feel for what it would be like to own one.
We'll have you learn to drive your mother's old stick-shift until you get the feel for how to drive a manual transmission.
What you have suggested sounds reasonable for me. "A feel" is a sample, and "the feel" is a more in-depth experience of what something is like.
Give the car a test drive - get a feel for what it would be like to own one.
We'll have you learn to drive your mother's old stick-shift until you get the feel for how to drive a manual transmission.
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Thanks Barbara.
However, in the Macmillan dictionary I've just found something that doesn't quite fit with my theory: an idiomatic phrase "get A feel for something", meaning " to develop a good knowledge or understanding of something". This really puzzles me, I'd definitely expect a definite article here (quite like you say: get THE hang of sth or get THE picture). I know that idioms do
However, in the Macmillan dictionary I've just found something that doesn't quite fit with my theory: an idiomatic phrase "get A feel for something", meaning " to develop a good knowledge or understanding of something". This really puzzles me, I'd definitely expect a definite article here (quite like you say: get THE hang of sth or get THE picture). I know that idioms do
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Hmm. You could say "get a good feel for something" to be more in-depth.
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