Still struggling with "the" and "a (an)"

Question

We don't have definite or indefinite articles ("the" or "a" or "an) in our language (Japanese), and I still have difficulty using them.

I believe native speakers of English use them by instinct and they do not have difficulty using them.
Please tell me if my understanding to the following sentences is correct.

1. We celebrate the arrival of autumn.
In the above sentence, "the" before "arrival" cannot be left out, because it means "autumn's arrival."
Similarly, "the" is required when I say, "I'm awaiting the arrival of an important parcel," because I am talking about an important parcel's arrival.

2. We need elimination of the employer-based system.
3. Can we see the elimination of property tax next year?

There is no definite article (i.e., "the") before "elimination" in sentence 2 while there is in sentence 3. In these sentence structure, "the" before the abstract noun "elimination" can be left out depending on the meaning.
In my understanding, sentence 2 is talking about just an idea of eliminating the employer-based system while sentence 3 is talking about a rather concrete idea of eliminating property tax. Unlike sentence 1, "Of phrase" in sentences 2 and 3 does not express possession (i.e., we cannot say, "Can we see property tax's elimination next year?).

Cool Breeze · Accepted Answer

You're on the right track!

Snappy1. We celebrate the arrival of autumn.

I never thought of it using the genitive, s-genitive, as it is called in some grammars for non-natives. The of structure very often necessitates the definite article. In your example the one and only arrival of the autumn is meant. If there were more than one of them, a might be used. Consider these two examples:

He is the representative of Japan. (the only one)
He is a representative of Japan. (one of many representatives)

Snappy2. We need elimination of the employer-based system.

The could be used but it can be left out if we think of elimination of the employer-based system as one concept, and in this case we would be talking about something uncountable, which justifies omitting the article.

Snappy3. Can we see the elimination of property tax next year?

Snappy3 is talking about a rather concrete idea of eliminating property tax

I agree. It refers to the act of eliminating the tax.

CB

Snappy · Answer

Cool BreezeIn your example the one and only arrival of the autumn is meant. If there were more than one of them, a might be used. Consider these two examples:

Thank you for your advice.

I found this on the Internet.
"Canadian tourism boosted with arrival of first Chinese leisure tourists."

No definite article (i.e., "the") is used before "arrival." Does this sentence talk about a boost of Canadian tourism with an arrival stream of first Chinese leisure tourists ?

"We will guarantee delivery of your order in good time for Christmas."
Does this sentence talk about a process of deliverying your order?

CalifJim · Answer

SnappyI believe native speakers of English use them by instinct and they do not have difficulty using them.

So true. So true. They are so instinctive that it is often nearly impossible for a native speaker to explain them, especially in the case of abstract nouns like arrival and elimination, which are derived from verbs (arrive, eliminate).

Snappy1. We celebrate the arrival of autumn.
In the above sentence, "the" before "arrival" cannot be left out, because it means "autumn's arrival."
Similarly, "the" is required when I say, "I'm awaiting the arrival of an important parcel," because I am talking about an important parcel's arrival.

Your attempt to relate this to possessive constructions is valiant, but it's not the full story.

Whenever you use the arrival, or the anything, you indicate that you believe you have specified which (kind of) arrival sufficiently so that the listener knows which (kind of) arrival you are talking about. The of phrase specifies this, so the is appropriate. There is only one arrival that could be considered the arrival of autumn, because autumn is a uniquely named season of the year, so it is the arrival of autumn.

Snappy2. We need elimination of the employer-based system.

This strikes me as unidiomatic. Native speakers say We need to eliminate the employer-based system. So the question of whether to use the does not arise.

Snappy3. Can we see the elimination of property tax next year?

Native speakers use will: Will we see the elimination ...? Or could: Could we see ...?

But to your point. You can use the or an here.

1. Will we see the elimination of property tax next year?
2. Will we see an elimination of property tax next year?

The first is conceptually simpler and more likely to be used. It is equivalent to Will property tax be eliminated next year?

The second is something like this: Will there be any new developments of any kind (in legislation, etc.) whereby property tax will be eliminated next year? Will there be a case of property-tax elimination next year? Will there be an instance of property-tax elimination next year? This shows less certainty. The speaker is not sure that such a thing could happen.

Compare:

Do you see the difference between these two cars? (I see the difference. I know what the difference is. For the speaker, the difference exists. The speaker is asking if the listener can identify this difference.)

Do you see a difference between these two cars? (I may see the difference. I may not see the difference. The speaker is asking if, for the listener as well, a difference exists.)

When will we see the end of this project? (The project is envisioned as having a definite end time. The speaker wants to be told what time this is.)

When will we see an end of this project? (The project is dragging on. The speaker is impatient. The project is envisioned as having no definite end time.) In this case, also: an end to this project.

Will the newspaper ever publish the correction of yesterday's error? (The speaker frames this in terms of a specific correction he has in mind.)

Will the newspaper ever publish a correction of yesterday's error? (The speaker frames this in an indefinite way. He just wonders if any developments will occur at the newspaper whereby some kind of corrective action will be taken.)
________________

Of the three examples I have given, the last one is closest to the one with elimination.

Many of these situations show very subtle differences between the and a(n). That's probably why it's so difficult for non-natives to work out, and so difficult for us natives to explain. Unfortunately, you will probably have to work through many, many more examples before you gain a thorough understanding of these articles.

CJ

CalifJim · Answer

SnappyI found this on the Internet.
"Canadian tourism boosted with arrival of first Chinese leisure tourists."

This is a headline. Articles and sometimes auxiliary verbs are removed when creating headlines. The full sentence is as follows:

Canadian tourism is boosted with the arrival of the first Chinese leisure tourists.

Don't try to learn the use of articles by reading headlines!

CJ

CalifJim · Answer

SnappyWe will guarantee delivery of your order in good time for Christmas.

Think of this as an idiomatic use of the verb guarantee. After this verb, particularly in advertising, the is removed. Meaning:

We will guarantee the delivery of your order ...

Note also:

guarantee arrival (in time for ...) / guarantee satisfaction / guarantee return (on your investment)

CJ

Snappy · Answer

CalifJim
SnappyI found this on the Internet."Canadian tourism boosted with arrival of first Chinese leisure tourists."
This is a headline. Articles and sometimes auxiliary verbs are removed when creating headlines. The full sentence is as follows:Canadian tourism is boosted with the arrival of the first Chinese leisure tourists.Don't try to learn the use of articles by reading headlines!CJ

Thank you for your advice.

I found the following sentences on the Internet.

1. The closure of the factory will mean hundreds of jobs will be lost.

Does this sentence denote the entire act of closing the factory (and the completion of the act) and that is why "the" is used before "closure of"?

2. Surgical closure of the defect is recommended if the defect is large, the heart is swollen, or symptoms occur.

Does this sentence denote the act of closing the defect (without referring to the completion of the act) and that is why "the" is not used before "surgical closure"?

CalifJim · Answer

Snappy1. The closure of the factory will mean hundreds of jobs will be lost.
Does this sentence denote the entire act of closing the factory (and the completion of the act) and that is why "the" is used before "closure of"?

No. Completion has nothing to do with it. the is used because the reader knows (or should know) exactly which closure the writer is referring to (and which factory, because factory also has the). Something in the context that precedes this sentence has made clear which closure of which factory it is. The reader does not have to ask "Which closure?" because the context has already explained that. Of all the closures in the world, the reader knows that this specific closure is the closure the writer is talking about.

Snappy2. Surgical closure of the defect is recommended if the defect is large, the heart is swollen, or symptoms occur.
Does this sentence denote the act of closing the defect (without referring to the completion of the act) and that is why "the" is not used before "surgical closure"?

Again, the question is not related to completion, or the lack of it. In this case there is no particular (surgical) closure that the writer is referring to. He is talking about some act of (surgical) closure, and it doesn't matter which one. The reader doesn't ask "Which closure?" because he knows that no particular closure is being referred to. The reader knows that the writer is not choosing to talk about any one specific surgical closure out of all the surgical closures in the world. Note that a closure is recommended in a hypothetical situation -- the situation that exists when the defect is large. So the writer cannot be referring to any particular act of surgical closure. The situation has not even occurred yet, and may never occur.
____________

Actually, if this is the kind of thing you meant by "completion" and "non-completion", then you are on the right track.

____________

Here's another way to look at it. It works at least 95% of the time.

the car, the dog, the table, the number, the house are all expressions made up of words.

a car, a dog, a table, a number, a house are also all expressions made up of words.

You must admit that while "a car" is a series of letters written on a page, a real car is something that you can get into and drive. It can take you places. It's important to understand the difference between a word for a thing and the thing itself. The difference between the and a(n) lies in how these expressions in words are connected to real things in the real world.

If the speaker uses the, he is making a connection between the word and some real thing that exists in the real world. He knows which real thing he's talking about. He can point to it if it is in front of him.

If the speaker uses a (or an), he is not making that kind of connection. He is only talking about any example of such a thing you care to think of. He can't point to a specific thing. What he says is valid no matter which of these things you imagine.

CJ

Snappy · Answer

Thanks CJ,

Let me use two examples.

1. We specialize in the delivery of air cargo containers.

Can I understand that the person is saying that they specialize in delivering air cargo containers to the destinations (connoting that there is a particular method of delivery in the person's mind)?

2. We specialize in delivery of sail and power yachts from 35 to 90 feet.

Can I understand that the person is saying that they specialize in delivering sail and power yachts from 35 to 90 feet (not connoting that there is a particular method in the person's mind but they will probably take a certain appropriate method).

Vorpar · Answer

I think that the difference is that "the delivery..." is a noun phrase while "delivery" is a verb.

CalifJim · Answer

Snappy1. We specialize in the delivery of air cargo containers.

Can I understand that the person is saying that they specialize in delivering air cargo containers to the destinations (connoting that there is a particular method of delivery in the person's mind)?

2. We specialize in delivery of sail and power yachts from 35 to 90 feet.

Can I understand that the person is saying that they specialize in delivering sail and power yachts from 35 to 90 feet (not connoting that there is a particular method in the person's mind but they will probably take a certain appropriate method).

That might be a way to look at it. However, I don't sense any difference between the two, and a native speaker would never try to analyze it in such depth, of course. To me, the second one also means We specialize in the delivery of ....

CJ

Still struggling with "the" and "a (an)"

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