0
MariaRC Posted 10 years ago
Grammar
haircut, car (articles)
Hi all,
I need some help again with articles, for my homework.
i) Ever since you got a/the haircut, you're nice to look at.
Both the person and I know what haircut we're taking about, but I still think 'a' does it nicely, but 'the' is okay too and maybe even 'that haircut'.
ii) Ever since you bought a/the car, you became arrogant.
I think 'the' is a better better than 'a' to emphasize that particular car (a car is more specific than a haircut), but I think 'a' could do it, too. Or 'that car' for emphasis.
Could you please tell me if I am on the right track?
Thank you,
Maria
I need some help again with articles, for my homework.
i) Ever since you got a/the haircut, you're nice to look at.
Both the person and I know what haircut we're taking about, but I still think 'a' does it nicely, but 'the' is okay too and maybe even 'that haircut'.
ii) Ever since you bought a/the car, you became arrogant.
I think 'the' is a better better than 'a' to emphasize that particular car (a car is more specific than a haircut), but I think 'a' could do it, too. Or 'that car' for emphasis.
Could you please tell me if I am on the right track?
Thank you,
Maria
Top answer
MariaRC Ever since you got a/the haircut get a haircut is (more or less) a fixed expression. 'the' is not wrong. MariaRC Ever since you bought a/the car buy a car is not so much a fixed expression, but it fits well in this sentence.
- MariaRC Ever since you got a/the haircut get a haircut is (more or less) a fixed expression.
- 'the' is not wrong.
- MariaRC Ever since you bought a/the car buy a car is not so much a fixed expression, but it fits well in this sentence.
- 'the car' would be more useful after some talk about a particular car which was bought.
- MariaRC tell me if I am on the right track Yes, you're on the right track.
Get the Weekly English Kit 📬
New words, one handy idiom, and a 2-minute quiz — delivered to your inbox to keep your streak alive.
10 Answers
0
MariaRCEver since you got a/the haircutget a haircut is (more or less) a fixed expression. 'the' is not wrong.
MariaRCEver since you bought a/the carbuy a car is not so much a fixed expression, but it fits well in this sentence. 'the car' would be more useful after some talk abou
00
CalifJimYes, you're on the right track.Thank you, CJ, that really means a lot to me!
00
MariaRCSo if I use either article in my two examples, I am not making any mistakes?It depends what you mean by a mistake. "buy the car" is not a grammatical mistake, but if there is no specific car that is relevant to the conversation, it's a mistake of meaning (a semantic mistake). The same applies to "get the haircut".
Individual statements like
00
CalifJimIt depends what you mean by a mistake. "buy the car" is not a grammatical mistake, but if there is no specific car that is relevant to the conversation, it's a mistake of meaning (a semantic mistake). The same applies to "get the haircut".Oh, I see. Well, my thinking was that the other person (who bought the car) knows which car I am talking about. Yo
00
MariaRCmy thinking was that the other person (who bought the car) knows which car I am talking about.Right. So in that case 'the' is fine. You'll know when you go wrong on the use of 'the ***'. The person you're talking to will ask "which ***?"
00
That's exactly what I had thought, CJ.
The issue for me (and it might be hard for you to understand) is that there NO articles in my native language, so it's sometimes very challenging for me to understand how in the same situation I have recourse to either one (like my car examples). Because at the end of the day, I can say 'a car' or 'the car' and either is correct (neither grammaticall
The issue for me (and it might be hard for you to understand) is that there NO articles in my native language, so it's sometimes very challenging for me to understand how in the same situation I have recourse to either one (like my car examples). Because at the end of the day, I can say 'a car' or 'the car' and either is correct (neither grammaticall
00
MariaRCThe issue for me (and it might be hard for you to understand) is that there NO articles in my native languageHaving studied Latin and Russian I know exactly what you mean. For us English speakers going the other way, it's a piece of cake! Easy as pie.
In contrast, you have thousands of endings on your nouns, and we have very few, so that's a
00
CalifJimIn contrast, you have thousands of endings on your nouns, and we have very few, so that's a piece of cake for you when you learn English.A worldly man! You're right.
00
MariaRCBut many more people want to learn English than Czech!Ano, to je pravda.
CJ
(No, I don't speak Czech. I cheated by using Google translate.)
00
CalifJimAno, to je pravda. CJ(No, I don't speak Czech. I cheated by using Google translate.)Very good, even with the benefit of Google Translate!
0
Related Questions