ZERO articles; articulate people please.

Question

Hi,I don't like to be greedy but the questions below are all related in terms of the zero article so please forgive me for being so.Please correct the text in blue if it is wrong, also answer to the questions in red. Most of the sentences are from dictionaries. a) He was hit by a car. b) I always go to work by car. "a car" in the sentence (a) refers to a vehicle with four wheels. "car" in (b) refers to a means of transport. c) A table clock is on a TV.d) Lady Gaga is on TV."a TV" in (c) refers to a TV set. "TV" in (d) refers to a medium that broadcasts tv programs.e) In 1966, a large pile of waste material from coal mines fell onto a school and killed 116 children and 28 adultsf) All my kids are still in school."a school" in (e) refers to a school as a building. "school" in (f) refers to ?? I have no idea. According to a textbook that I have, it is supposed to mean "school in general" but I don't understand what it means. Would you help me imagine what it means?g) She lay on the bed.h) He lay in bed."the bed" in (g) refers to a piece of furniture to sleep. "bed" in (h)?? Why there's no articles here? What's the difference? i) This is a pen. J) Please fill out the form in pen. "a pen" in (i) refers to an instrument for writing. "pen" in (j) refers to a material for writing.I appreciate your help.M

AlpheccaStars · Accepted Answer

"a school" in (e) refers to a school as a building. "school" in (f) refers to ?? I have no idea. According to a textbook that I have, it is supposed to mean "school in general" but I don't understand what it means. Would you help me imagine what it means?

It means the idea of sitting in a classroom and taking classes from teachers, and then going out for recess, and then doing sports and cheering for your team, and taking tests, and studying, doing homework, etc. ... all this is the concept of "school."

"the bed" in (g) refers to a piece of furniture to sleep. "bed" in (h)?? Why there's no articles here? What's the difference?

He lay in bed.
He was going to sleep or resting. The idea of being in bed is resting, sleeping, being lazy in the morning, or being sick.

J) Please fill out the form in pen. I usually see "ink" rather than "pen", but the idea is the same.

Mitsuo23 · Answer

Thank you for the reply as always,

I got the main ideas of the zero article nouns, except "bed." It's still confusing for me. The image that "bed" has is too close to "a bed" or "the bed".

It seems I need to take more time to figure it out.
M

AlpheccaStars · Answer

When we mean "bed" as a piece of furniture, we use the article:

He bought a new bed.
We moved the bed to another room.
A homeless man would do anything for a nice comfortable bed.

When we mean "sleep or rest," we don't.
It is like the difference between house and home.

Mom told the boy to go to bed. (not go to a bed.) Going to bed means to go through your evening ritual before sleep: wash your face, put on your PJs, say your prayers, say goodnight, etc.

She told his friend to go home. (not go to a home)
I'm tired. I'm going to bed.

Because he went to sleep late, he stayed in bed an extra hour that morning.

Mitsuo23 · Answer

Thank you for taking your time!

Great great breakthrough, I finally got the main concept of the zero article. When you use words like "car" "school" or "bed" with no article, they don't refer to the things themselves but refers to the typical ideas that those words include. In other words, the activities that those words are involved. Right?

Just one more quick question. Do you think it's wrong if I include the words like "director" or "writer" that express job titles into the same category?

What I mean is these:
I hope to meet the director of the movie tomorrow.
Mr. Goldwyn acted as director after Mr. Meyer resigned.

"director" in the second example has no article because it refers to a role as director not a person. But I am wondering if I should take this usage as the zero article such as "car" or "school."

Thank you,

M

Mitsuo23 · Answer

I"m sorry for being so persistent. I've just had one more thing I can't figure out about the zero article.

I am fine with these sentences:

I am going to school

I will meet you after school.

But I feel the statement below is too ambiguous to make sense.

School begins at 8:30.

I understand "school" here means not a building but the activities that take place in schools in general.

But if someone said it to me, I would wonder "which school? all of them?" At the same time, I don't think he should say, "the school begins at 8:30" because it may suggest a school as a building begins at 8:30, which don't make sense, either.

How do you judge which school the speaker is talking about? in context?

Thank you,

M

AlpheccaStars · Answer

mitsuwao23Great great breakthrough, I finally got the main concept of the zero article. When you use words like "car" "school" or "bed" with no article, they don't refer to the things themselves but refers to the typical ideas that those words include. In other words, the activities that those words are involved. Right?

Yes. You can use that as a general rule.

On the other hand, there are some odd cases such as when "the" + animal name refers to the species in general.

The giraffe has a very long neck so it can browse the leaves of tall trees.
The giraffe is not a particular individual, but giraffes in general as a species.

mitsuwao23"director" in the second example has no article because it refers to a role as director not a person. But I am wondering if I should take this usage as the zero article such as "car" or "school."

I can't think of and example of "car" with a zero article, but names of roles are commonly used without articles.

Mitsuo23 · Answer

Thank you for your clear explanations always. I can't appreciate you more!
M

CalifJim · Answer

mitsuwao23zero article

There are many short phrases in English that consist of a preposition and a noun with no intervening article. These two-word groups are idiomatic units of meaning, and they should be learned with their special meanings separately from the single words that make them up. The unit of meaning for these is not each word, but the combination of the words. Trying to analyze these as a logical combination of two words frequently ends in failure because they are more often arbitrary than they are logical.

by car, by plane, by train, by foot, by bus - the means by which a trip is taken
by telegram, by letter, by telephone, by mail - the means by which information is communicated
by height, by weight, by size, by color - the means by which groups of things are classified
at work, at play, at rest, at war, at peace - activity (or inactivity) in which one is engaged
in pen, in pencil - the means by which words are written or pictures are drawn
in school, in college - enrolled in a school / a college (and actively taking courses, etc.)
in bed - lying in a bed, usually in one's own bed
on TV - as part of a television broadcast (nothing to do with the electronic appliance on which images are seen)
on tape, on film, on paper - medium on which information is recorded
on cue, on demand - at the time of (a cue, a demand)
on time, on schedule - at the right time; not late

CJ

Mitsuo23 · Answer

Thank you, CJ, for the additional info.

The reason that I have being so persistent with "whys" is because, though this may sound paradoxical, understanding the logics behind particular expressions gives me clearer pictures of the expressions. For instance, "in pencil;" I had had no idea why you use "pencil" as a uncountable noun until two days ago, but since now I know the reason -- you treat the word as uncountable to refer to the substantial aspect, not the pencil-shaped aspect. So, you don't say "with pencil," but you say, "in pencil." -- I am able to picture the phrase clearly. I don't have to remind myself, "It means a mean for writing" any more.

I should know some small percentage of the English grammar is totally nonlogical but I just have no way to know if they are without asking you people and thinking over and over again.

M

ZERO articles; articulate people please.

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