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Anonymous Posted 12 years ago
Grammar
"The owner of a shop," "birds of prey," "waves of radiation"
Here are three instances regarding the usage of articles:
From a poll on the Internet: "Should the owner of a shop be able to buy from or sell to their shop?"
From the Wikipedia: "Birds of prey, also known as raptors, hunt and feed on other animals."
"Waves of radiation are called sine waves."
In 1, can the phrase "the owner of a shop" refer to the same reference as that of "owners of a shop"?
In 2, can the phrase "birds of prey" refer to the same reference as that of "the birds of prey"?
In 3, does the phrase "waves of radiation" refer to the same reference as that of "the waves of radiation"
My answers are yes, no, yes. Am I right? Thanks in advance!
From a poll on the Internet: "Should the owner of a shop be able to buy from or sell to their shop?"
From the Wikipedia: "Birds of prey, also known as raptors, hunt and feed on other animals."
"Waves of radiation are called sine waves."
In 1, can the phrase "the owner of a shop" refer to the same reference as that of "owners of a shop"?
In 2, can the phrase "birds of prey" refer to the same reference as that of "the birds of prey"?
In 3, does the phrase "waves of radiation" refer to the same reference as that of "the waves of radiation"
My answers are yes, no, yes. Am I right? Thanks in advance!
Top answer
I don't see much difference in the uses of the zero-article versus the definite article in these sentences. They all refer to general types. #1 = anyone who owns a shop #2 = any bird who hunts #3 = any flux in a force field emitted by a radiator
- I don't see much difference in the uses of the zero-article versus the definite article in these sentences.
- They all refer to general types.
- #1 = anyone who owns a shop #2 = any bird who hunts #3 = any flux in a force field emitted by a radiator
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7 Answers
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I don't see much difference in the uses of the zero-article versus the definite article in these sentences. They all refer to general types.
#1 = anyone who owns a shop
#2 = any bird who hunts
#3 = any flux in a force field emitted by a radiator
#1 = anyone who owns a shop
#2 = any bird who hunts
#3 = any flux in a force field emitted by a radiator
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AnonymousMy answers are yes, no, yes. Am I right? Thanks in advance!Partly. 1. Yes; 2. No; 3. No.
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AnonymousMy answers are yes, no, yes.No. It's yes, no, no. 2 and 3 follow the same logic.
CJ
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CalifJim2 and 3 follow the same logic.Speaking of logic, could you clarify any differences in logic between the two statements below?
1. "Waves of fire" works like the phrase "a cup of coffee" because 'waves' and 'a cup' means the forms and 'fires' and 'coffee' indicates the contents.
2. "The problem of hate crimes" works differently though
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Anonymous"Waves of fire" works like the phrase "a cup of coffee" because 'waves' and 'a cup' means the forms and 'fires' and 'coffee' indicates the contents.Waves do not 'contain' fire in the way that a cup contains coffee, so there is no real analogy.
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OK. One more question though:
1. "A light beam or beam of light is a directional projection of http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Light energy radiating from a light source." - Wikipedia.
2. "Do you believe that the media tends to exaggerate the problem of racism?"
I reckon in
1. "A light beam or beam of light is a directional projection of http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Light energy radiating from a light source." - Wikipedia.
2. "Do you believe that the media tends to exaggerate the problem of racism?"
I reckon in
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No.
1. 'A beam of light' in your example is any beam of light. There are many beams of light in the world, radiating from many different light sources 'The beam of light' refers only to that particular beam of light that we are talking about.
2. As far as the writer of that sentence is concerned, racism is one problem. S/he thinks that perhaps the media exaggerate that one prob
1. 'A beam of light' in your example is any beam of light. There are many beams of light in the world, radiating from many different light sources 'The beam of light' refers only to that particular beam of light that we are talking about.
2. As far as the writer of that sentence is concerned, racism is one problem. S/he thinks that perhaps the media exaggerate that one prob
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