Limiting "the"

Question

When and under what circumstances a limiting adjective like perfect wants the? Is it just a general rule that needs to be followed like: any teacher that is perfect = use a, one specific teacher = use the? Would you use the here to make your statement more ironic, for example, or something like that?

Would you say and when (and it is not just about a and the):

Nobody likes a perfect teacher!
Nobody likes the perfect teacher!

the

"Is it John?" "Yes, it's the John.",

[This is not a question, but an initiator, so no opinion can be wrong as long as you feel it and/or use it.]

Cool Breeze · Accepted Answer

Nobody likes a perfect teacher!
Nobody likes the perfect teacher!

Both sentences are correct and mean the same thing. When you make an assertion about a whole species or class, you can use either article:

A cat is a wise animal.
The cat is a wise animal.

Of course the plural is also possible:

Cats are wise animals.

Cheers
CB

Aperisic · Answer

Cool Breeze
Nobody likes a perfect teacher!
Nobody likes the perfect teacher!

Both sentences are correct and mean the same thing. When you make an assertion about a whole species or class, you can use either article:

A cat is a wise animal.
The cat is a wise animal.

Of course the plural is also possible:

Cats are wise animals.

Cheers
CB

OK, I'll rephrase the question, the reason we say

He is the best (teacher or whatever).

is because there is only one (the) who can be better than all others. Perfect and many other adjective are almost limiting in the same sense. What is your feeling of using the with adjectives like perfect, excellent, splendid, extraordinary, unique...?

Cool Breeze · Answer

I don't think I am scholarly enough to answer such an encompassing question. I can only reiterate what I said: I don't see any difference in your two examples, nor do any of the grammarians I am familar with. However, English being what it is, I am certain there are people who do see a difference. Just wait and see!

Cheers
CB

Jargonaut · Answer

I. "The" is used to point out (1) one or more particular objects or (2) a class of objects: as, "The dog bit the boys;" that is, the particular "dog" and "boys" previously referred to. "The dog is a faithful animal;" that is, the class or kind of animals named, dogs.

II. An, or a, is used to indicate any one of a class of objects named by a noun: as, "A dog bit me." "I saw an old man." [color=blue]English Grammar and Composition (Harper's Language Series)[/color]

Remember that while we call words like "the" and "an" (or "a" in this case as the "n" is dropped when before a vowel sound) articles, they are limiting adjectives. "The" is a contracted form of the demonstrative "that", and "an", or "a", is a contracted form of "one" (from the Anglo-Saxon "ane" or "an").
He is the best teacher.
"The" is just pointing out the particular in this instance and should most definitely be used with adjectives of the superlative degree, as there can be no other of that class equally [whatever]. That's why it's superlative.

I hope this helps.

Anonymous · Answer

JargonautRemember that while we call words like "the" and "an" (or "a" in this case as the "n" is dropped when before a vowel sound) articles, they are limiting adjectives. "The" is a contracted form of the demonstrative "that", and "an", or "a", is a contracted form of "one" (from the Anglo-Saxon "ane" or "an").

You might be right in your etymology of "the" and "a", but etymologies are not definitions.

Saying that "the" is a contraction of "that" and "a" is a contraction of "one" doesn't make sense in terms of grammar.

"the" and "a" are .

Aperisic · Answer

OK I'll rephrase again. Before that first just think about how close the adjectives like perfect, excellent, splendid, extraordinary, unique... are to superlative, if they are at all. Now, because with superlative we use the does it have any sense to use the with these adjectives that are by the meaning more or less close to superlative?

This story is the best

This story is the best one. OK

This story is the perfect one. possible-impossible

This story is the excellent one. possible-impossible

This story is the splendid one. possible-impossible

This story is the extraordinary one. possible-impossible

This story is the unique one. possible-impossible

If not why not?

(And down the same path one rephrasing more: is there any adjective that distinguishes the quality so strong as superlative? If there is - why we do not use the with it, following the same rule as with superlative?)

Anonymous · Answer

I would say that these sound better in the superlative.

This story is the most perfect one.
This story is the most excellent one.
This story is the most splendid one.

etc.

I think this is because "the" is used with the superlative.

Or we could use "a"

This story is a perfect one.
This story is an excellent one.
This story is a splendid one.

That's probably not the answer you were looking for.

Mr Patrick · Answer

Hi Aperisic,
"Nobody likes a perfect teacher!" That sentence looks familiar.

A hint for all other readers: I wrote it. Now bear in mind that I am a non-native speaker of English, so you should probably refrain from searching for very subtle meanings. Having said that, I would certainly not have written "Nobody likes the perfect teacher", because this sentence implies (to me, at least) that the writer believes that such a perfect teacher exists, or even more problematic, that there is a certain teacher who believes that he/she is perfect.

The sentence I wrote centers its attention on the students´minds, and their (supposed) preference for those teachers who are willing to give both sides of an argument and may even agree to learn along with their students. A great educator (his name escapes me) once said: "I can only teach things I need to learn myself".

Maybe this post digresses too far from the linguistic discussion, but I felt it would be of interest.

Limiting "the"

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