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HSS Posted 21 years ago
Grammar
Lake, Mountain, Beach
Hi.
This is regarding rather minute an issue but it may be of much interest to non-native speakers of English whose mother tongues do not use articles or differentiate the plural forms of nouns from the singulars.
I wanted start a journal by stating [1-1] after coming back from my trip, but a good friend of mine shook his head, and pointed out that I should say either [1-2] or [1-3] instead. While [2-1] sounds okay (or, does it?), what do you think makes [1-1] sound odd?
[1-1] I went to lakes in Scotland in Feburary in my recent visit to Europe.
[1-2] I went to the lakes in Scotland in Feburary in my recent visit to Europe.
[1-3] I went to some lakes in Scotland in Feburary in my recent visit to Europe.
[2-1] I climbed mountains near Florence in my recent visit to Europe.
Does [1-4] sound okay if this opens my journal? I’m sure [2-2] does as the opener, but I’m not too sure about [1-4].
[1-4] I went to a lake in Scotland in Feburary in my recent visit to Europe.
[2-2] I climbed a mountain near Florence in my recent visit to Europe.
Even without a prior mention of the beach, you could normally say “the beach” as the listeners understand which beach you are talking about --- the beach that is situated in the area you are talking about. If the listeners can clearly tell there are more than one beaches in the area you are talking about, would you say “the beaches” even if you don’t mention the beaches beforehand as in [2-2]?
[2-1] I went to the beach and had a B.B.Q. there the other day with friends from the college.
[2-2] I went to the beaches and had a B.B.Q. several times that year.
Hiro/ Sendai, Japan
This is regarding rather minute an issue but it may be of much interest to non-native speakers of English whose mother tongues do not use articles or differentiate the plural forms of nouns from the singulars.
I wanted start a journal by stating [1-1] after coming back from my trip, but a good friend of mine shook his head, and pointed out that I should say either [1-2] or [1-3] instead. While [2-1] sounds okay (or, does it?), what do you think makes [1-1] sound odd?
[1-1] I went to lakes in Scotland in Feburary in my recent visit to Europe.
[1-2] I went to the lakes in Scotland in Feburary in my recent visit to Europe.
[1-3] I went to some lakes in Scotland in Feburary in my recent visit to Europe.
[2-1] I climbed mountains near Florence in my recent visit to Europe.
Does [1-4] sound okay if this opens my journal? I’m sure [2-2] does as the opener, but I’m not too sure about [1-4].
[1-4] I went to a lake in Scotland in Feburary in my recent visit to Europe.
[2-2] I climbed a mountain near Florence in my recent visit to Europe.
Even without a prior mention of the beach, you could normally say “the beach” as the listeners understand which beach you are talking about --- the beach that is situated in the area you are talking about. If the listeners can clearly tell there are more than one beaches in the area you are talking about, would you say “the beaches” even if you don’t mention the beaches beforehand as in [2-2]?
[2-1] I went to the beach and had a B.B.Q. there the other day with friends from the college.
[2-2] I went to the beaches and had a B.B.Q. several times that year.
Hiro/ Sendai, Japan
Top answer
1-1 is as good as the other sentences in that set. m /) as the plural indefinite article. 1-4 is fine for your journal: lakes are just as countable as mountains .
- 1-1 is as good as the other sentences in that set.
- m /) as the plural indefinite article.
- 1-4 is fine for your journal: lakes are just as countable as mountains .
- I would use during my visit rather than in my visit .
- The beach (singular) is fine even if not mentioned before, as it designates a type of terrain common to all coastal countries; the plural, the beaches , though less common, is just as acceptable, for the same reason.
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36 Answers
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1-1 is as good as the other sentences in that set. It does not sound terribly odd, just less common, because native speakers tend to use some (/s?m/) as the plural indefinite article.
1-4 is fine for your journal: lakes are just as countable as mountains. I would use during my visit rather than in my visit.
The beach (singu
1-4 is fine for your journal: lakes are just as countable as mountains. I would use during my visit rather than in my visit.
The beach (singu
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In what kind of context would you use [1-1], Mister Micawber? Would you use that to emphasize you went to lakes this time as opposed to forests in Scotland a while back, saying:
"I went to lakes in Scotland in Feburary during my recent visit to Europe, instead of going to forests. Last time I was in the country a while back, I went to see forests, but thought I might enjoy v
"I went to lakes in Scotland in Feburary during my recent visit to Europe, instead of going to forests. Last time I was in the country a while back, I went to see forests, but thought I might enjoy v
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[1-1] sounds off to me because my first instinct would be to put "the" in front of "lakes". It's not wrong, but it's not what I would naturally say. [1-3] would also work, but it wouldn't be my first choice either.
As for your last question, in the case of there being more than one beach in the area, either sentence would be fine.
As for your last question, in the case of there being more than one beach in the area, either sentence would be fine.
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Hello Hiro
I'm glad to know you are from Japan, as I too am an English learner from Japan. I'm amazed at your excellent English writing skills and I believe you know much more about English than me. But if you don't mind let me tell what thought I have about your question.
I was told in school that the basic rule about the use of THE is they (= English native speakers) use THE
I'm glad to know you are from Japan, as I too am an English learner from Japan. I'm amazed at your excellent English writing skills and I believe you know much more about English than me. But if you don't mind let me tell what thought I have about your question.
I was told in school that the basic rule about the use of THE is they (= English native speakers) use THE
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Hi, Paco.
Gee, I'm more than flattered. Thanks. Seriously, I have a long way to go; although I spent some time in an English-speaking country as a teen, my grasp of the language is half-baked, and I desparately need everyone's help ....
I will be back with my thoughts on this matter when I've gotten over this horrendous cold I have. The flu shot I had my doc give me Friday must h
Gee, I'm more than flattered. Thanks. Seriously, I have a long way to go; although I spent some time in an English-speaking country as a teen, my grasp of the language is half-baked, and I desparately need everyone's help ....
I will be back with my thoughts on this matter when I've gotten over this horrendous cold I have. The flu shot I had my doc give me Friday must h
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The cold is gone over yonder, and now I can think.
Yes, the sense of “the” that my running around with teenage buddies in the country instilled in my language hemisphere is to use it as a marker when you “believe” the listener or reader knows which one(s) of the set you are referring to. And with some it sometimes doesn’t matter whether the listener or reader is actually sure w
Yes, the sense of “the” that my running around with teenage buddies in the country instilled in my language hemisphere is to use it as a marker when you “believe” the listener or reader knows which one(s) of the set you are referring to. And with some it sometimes doesn’t matter whether the listener or reader is actually sure w
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Hero Hiro
I've been annoyed by the usage of articles since I started learning English and still now I didn't get it.
Quite recently I got a question from a Japanese person about the difference between the following two sentences.
(1) This is the book I bought yesterday.
(2) This is a book I bought yesterday.
According to the questioner, an E-J dictionar
I've been annoyed by the usage of articles since I started learning English and still now I didn't get it.
Quite recently I got a question from a Japanese person about the difference between the following two sentences.
(1) This is the book I bought yesterday.
(2) This is a book I bought yesterday.
According to the questioner, an E-J dictionar
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To me, the only real difference between the two sentences is that, in the first one, the speaker is assuming that the listener already has previous knowledge about that particuar book (perhaps the speaker mentioned it earlier?), whereas in the second one, the speaker is simply introducing the listener to the book. The "a" in the second sentence doesn't imply that the speaker bought more tha
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Hello Erin
Thank you for the reply. I agree completely to your take about the second sentence. For the first sentence, how about a case when the speaker didn't mention anything about the book beforehand? If you hear "This is the book I bought yesterday" without any previous knowledge about the book, does it sound weird to you?
paco
Thank you for the reply. I agree completely to your take about the second sentence. For the first sentence, how about a case when the speaker didn't mention anything about the book beforehand? If you hear "This is the book I bought yesterday" without any previous knowledge about the book, does it sound weird to you?
paco
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Yeah, it would sound weird. The first thing to come to my mind would be "Huh? The book? What the **** are you talking about?"
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