It is difficult to combine the job of a teacher with being a full time mother.

Question

Hello.Could you please explain why in the sentence below the author used 'the job'? Or maybe it is not correct?It is difficult to combine the job of a teacher with being a full time mother.This sentence is general and as far as I know we use an indefinite article in such context.

GPY · Accepted Answer

"of a teacher" makes "job" specific, justifying the use of the definite article. "the + general noun + modifier making noun specific" is a common pattern in English, e.g. "the roof of my house", "the car that I drive", etc. etc.

Reegis · Answer

GPY"the + general noun + modifier making noun specific" is a common pattern in English

I am familiar with this rule, but as far as I know, this pattern not always makes a noun specific enough and then we can't use 'the'. I find it very difficult to be able to recognize if something is specific enough to justify the use of the definite article.

Your examples "the roof of my house" and "the car that I drive" are of course very specific (there is one such thing), but "the job of a teacher" sounds less specific (at least for my perception, but I might be wrong), because there might be many teachers, thus many jobs. What do you think of this?

Going even further please have a look at this:
1a) A shell of a turtle is rounded.
1b) The shell of a turtle is rounded.
For me, here we have some random turtle with a shell and this is not specific, so I would say 1a (as a non-native speaker). Is this reasoning correct or am I wrong? Could you please give me a few more examples so that I can get a better feeling for the pattern you mentioned?

GPY · Answer

Reegisbut "the job of a teacher" sounds less specific (at least for my perception, but I might be wrong), because there might be many teachers, thus many jobs. What do you think of this?

If you count each teacher individually then there are many jobs. However, in this case "the job of a teacher" is considered as one thing -- as a general concept of the kind of role that all teachers perform.

ReegisFor me, here we have some random turtle with a shell and this is not specific, so I would say 1a (as a non-native speaker).

Normally you would say "The shell of a turtle is rounded". It is making a general statement about turtles, not a statement about some random turtle. I suppose you could say it is a bit like "the eagle is a magnificent bird" (eagles generally) or "the computer has changed people's lives" (computers generally).

You could also say "The shell of the turtle is rounded".

Reegis · Answer

GPYHowever, in this case "the job of a teacher" is considered as one thing -- as a general concept of the kind of role that all teachers perform.

I see. Thanks.

GPYNormally you would say "The shell of a turtle is rounded".

What do you mean by 'normally'? Then what is the difference between 'a shell of a turtle' and 'the shell of a turtle' (and perhaps 'the shell of the turtle' as you mentioned this as well)?

Your comparison reminds me of this usage of articles:
A lion lives in Africa. (any one as an example of all)
The lion lives in Africa. (the class as a whole, more scientific language)
But I am not sure if I can apply this reasoning to 'shell' and 'turtle'.

GPY · Answer

ReegisWhat do you mean by 'normally'?

I mean that that would be the usual and common way to say it.

ReegisThen what is the difference between 'a shell of a turtle' and 'the shell of a turtle' (and perhaps 'the shell of the turtle' as you mentioned this as well)?

"a shell of a turtle" can mean an individual shell. Sometimes you may see it used to mean turtle shells generally, like "the shell of a turtle" mentioned earlier, though I would recommend "the" for that usage.

"the shell of the turtle" can mean turtle shells generally, or it can mean the shell of a specific turtle that has already been mentioned.

ReegisA lion lives in Africa. (any one as an example of all) The lion lives in Africa. (the class as a whole, more scientific language)

"A lion lives in Africa" seems vague is not a very likely statement. It seems to be referring to some individual animal.

Reegis · Answer

Thanks for your explanation.

My understanding of this topic comes from this article:
http://www.grammar-quizzes.com/article1c.html

There the author explains that we can use both the indefinite and definite articles to speak in general. For me, as a non-native speaker, it is difficult to judge any English-related information.

GPY · Answer

ReegisMy understanding of this topic comes from this article:http://www.grammar-quizzes.com/article1c.html

There are some quite subtle factors at play here, and examples that may appear analogous actually behave differently. For example, when we are talking generally about things:

"A banana makes an excellent snack" is fine
"A shell of a turtle is rounded" is passable
"A lion lives in Africa" sounds odd

Reegis · Answer

So, to sum up:
1) "The shell of a turtle is rounded" - the best choice
2) "The shell of the turtle is rounded" - acceptable
3) "A shell of a turtle is rounded" - passable
Can I also say "A turtle's shell is rounded" (I am not sure if interpret this as the equivalent of 1 or 3) or "A turtle shell is rounded"?

GPY"A lion lives in Africa" sounds odd

Perhaps because this was my invention

The original example about lions from that website is as follows:
A lion sleeps much of the day.
Does it sound odd too or for some reason does it sound differently than my example?

Thanks GPY for your patience with answering my inquisitive questions! It really helps me understand English better and in a deeper way.

GPY · Answer

Reegis1) "The shell of a turtle is rounded" - the best choice 2) "The shell of the turtle is rounded" - acceptable 3) "A shell of a turtle is rounded" - passable

For a general statement about turtles, (1) and (2) are both OK. I wouldn't say that one is necessarily better than the other. (3) is not so good in my view (but is of course intelligible).

ReegisCan I also say "A turtle's shell is rounded" (I am not sure if interpret this as the equivalent of 1 or 3)

Yes, this is OK. You can also say "The turtle's shell is rounded".

Reegis"A turtle shell is rounded"?

You might see this, though I would personally write "turtle's shell".

ReegisA lion sleeps much of the day. Does it sound odd too or for some reason does it sound differently than my example?

No, it does not sound odd in the way that "A lion lives in Africa" does. I haven't been able to exactly pin down the reason for this difference.

Reegis · Answer

GPYYes, this is OK. You can also say "The turtle's shell is rounded".

Let me ask one last question regarding turtles:
Is "A turtle's shell is rounded" more analogous to "A shell of a turtle is rounded" or "The shell of a turtle is rounded"? Or perhaps there is no relation between these and we can't compare them?

GPYNo, it does not sound odd in the way that "A lion lives in Africa" does. I haven't been able to exactly pin down the reason for this difference.

It is interesting that these two sentences might sound differently... Poor non-native speakers

It is difficult to combine the job of a teacher with being a full time mother.

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