Article (grammar): Difference between revisions

Content deleted Content added

Inline

Revision as of 17:09, 2 June 2008

The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The End The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The

@@ Line 1: / Line 1: @@
+The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The End The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The The
-{{redirect|The}}
-{{redirect|Definite article|the Eddie Izzard comedy DVD|Definite Article}}
-[[Image:EuropeArticleLanguages.png|thumb|300px|Articles in European languages
-{{legend|darkblue|indefinite and definite articles}}
-{{legend|blue|only definite articles}}
-{{legend|darkmagenta|indefinite and postfixed definite articles}}
-{{legend|magenta|only postfixed definite articles}}
-{{legend|lightgray|no articles}}
-]]
-An '''article''' is a [[word]] that combines with a [[noun]] to indicate the type of reference being made by the noun. The three main articles in the English language are ''the'', ''an'' and ''a''. An article is sometimes called a ''noun marker'', although this is generally considered to be an archaic term.<ref>[http://grammar.ccc.commnet.edu/grammar/determiners/determiners.htm Articles, Determiners and Quantifiers]</ref>
-It is sometimes wondered which [[part of speech]] articles belong to. Despite much speculation, articles are not adjectives because they don't describe nouns; they just agree with them. Linguists place them in a different category, that of [[determiner (class)|determiners]].
-Articles can have various functions:<ref>[http://owl.english.purdue.edu/handouts/esl/eslart.html The Use and Non-Use of Articles]</ref>
-*A '''definite article''' ([[English language|English]] ''the'') is used before singular and plural nouns that refer to a particular member of a group.
-::''The cat is on the black mat.''
-*An '''indefinite article''' (English ''a, an'') is used before singular nouns that refer to any member of a group.
-::''A cat is a mammal.''
-*A '''partitive article''' indicates an indefinite quantity of a [[mass noun]]; there is no partitive article in English, though the words ''some'' or ''any'' often have that function.
-::[[French language|French]]: ''Voulez-vous '''du''' café ?'' ("Do you want '''some''' coffee?" or "Do you want coffee?")
-*A  '''zero article''' is the absence of an article (e.g. English indefinite plural), used in some languages in contrast with the presence of one. Linguists hypothesize the absence as a zero article based on the [[X-bar theory]].
-::''Cats are mammals.''
-==Logic of definite articles==
-In [[English language|English]], a definite article is mostly used to refer to an object or person who has been previously introduced.  For example:
-:At last they came to a piece of rising ground, from which they plainly distinguished, sleeping on a distant mountain, a mammoth bear. . . . Then they requested the eldest to try and slip the belt over the bear's head. . . .
-::&mdash; [[Mark Twain]], ''[[Life on the Mississippi]]'', appendix D
-In this example, a bear becomes ''the bear'' because a "mammoth bear" had been previously introduced into the narrative, and no other bear was involved in the story.  Only previously introduced subjects like "the bear" or unique subjects, where the speaker can assume that the audience is aware of the identity of the referent (''The heart has its reasons. . . '') typically take definite articles in English.
-By contrast, the indefinite article is used in situations where a new subject is being introduced, and the speaker assumes that the hearer is not yet familiar with the subject:
-:There was an old woman who lived in a shoe. . .
-:: &mdash; A traditional [[nursery rhyme]]
-Reflecting its historical derivation from the number word ''[[one]]'', the English indefinite article can only be used with singular [[count noun]]s.  For [[mass noun]]s, or for plurals, adjectives or adjective phrases like ''some'' or ''a few'' substitute for it.  In English, [[pronoun]]s, nouns already having another non-number [[Determiner (class)|determiner]], and [[proper noun]]s usually do not use articles.  Otherwise in English, unlike many other languages, singular count nouns take an article; either ''a'', ''an'', or  ''the''.<ref>Sidney Greenbaum, ''The Oxford English Grammar'' (Oxford University Press, 1996) ISBN 0-19-861250-8</ref>  Also in English word order, articles precede any [[adjective]]s which modify the applicable noun. {{Fact|date=May 2008}}
-In French, the masculine definite article ''le'' (meaning ''the'') is contracted with a following word if that word begins with a vowel sound.  When the French words ''de'' and ''le'' are to be used sequentially (meaning ''of the''), the word ''du'' is used instead, in addition to the above mentioned use of ''du'' as a partitive article.
-In various languages other than English, masculine and feminine forms of articles differ.  Singular and plural forms of articles can also differ in other languages.  Many languages do not use articles at all, and may use other ways of indicating old vs. new information, such as [[topic-comment]] constructions.
-==The==
-The word '''''the''''' is the only [[Definiteness|definite]] [[article (grammar)|article]] of the [[English language]]. ''The'' is the most common word in the English language.<ref>{{cite web
-|url=http://www.world-english.org/english500.htm
-|title=The 500 Most Commonly Used Words in the English Language
-|author=World English
-|accessdate=2007-01-14
-}}</ref>
-The article ''the'' is used in [[English language|English]] as the very first part of a [[noun phrase]]. For example:
-:''The end of time begins now.''
-Here "the end of time" is a noun phrase. The use of ''the'' signals that the reference is to a specific and unique instance of the concept (such as person, object, or idea) expressed in the noun phrase. Here, the implication is that there is one end of time, and that it has arrived.
-:''The time is 3:29 PM.''
-There are many times, but the meaning here is the time ''now'', of which (at the moment the sentence was produced) there is only one.
-===Etymology===
-Linguists believe that the common ancestor of the [[Indo-European languages]] (i.e., the [[Proto-Indo-European language]]) did not have a definite article. Most of the languages in this family do not have definite or indefinite articles; there is no article in [[Latin]], [[Sanskrit]], [[Persian language|Persian]] or in some modern Indo-European languages, especially in Slavic languages - [[Russian language|Russian]], [[Slovak language|Slovak]] and [[Czech language|Czech]], etc (the only Slavic languages that have articles are [[Bulgarian language|Bulgarian]] and [[Macedonian language|Macedonian]]) and in the Baltic languages - [[Latvian language|Latvian]], [[Lithuanian language|Lithuanian]] and [[Latgalian language|Latgalian]]. Errors with the use of ''the'' and other determiners are common in people learning English (e.g., native Czech-speaker [[Ivana Trump]], first wife of [[Donald Trump]], referring to him as "the Donald"). Classical [[Greek language|Greek]] has a definite article (which happens to be very similar to the definite article in [[German language|German]], but with ''t'' instead of German ''d''), but [[Homeric Greek]] did not. In the etymologies of these and many other languages, the definite article arose by a demonstrative pronoun or adjective changing its usage; compare the fate of the Latin demonstrative "ille" (meaning "that") in the [[Romance languages]], becoming [[French language|French]] ''le'', ''la'', ''l’'', and ''les'', [[Spanish language|Spanish]] ''el'', ''la'', ''lo'', ''los'', and ''las'', [[Italian language|Italian]] ''il'', ''la'', ''lo'', ''l’'', ''i'', ''gli'', and ''le'', and [[Portuguese language|Portuguese]] ''o'', ''os'', ''a'', and ''as''.
-''The'' and ''that'' are common developments from the same [[Old English language|Old English]] system. Old English had a definite article ''se'', in the masculine [[grammatical gender|gender]], ''seo'' ([[feminine]]), and [[That|''þæt'']] ([[neuter]]). In [[Middle English]] these had all [[merge]]d into ''þe'', the ancestor of the [[Modern English]] word ''the''.
-In Middle English ''the'' (þe) was frequently abbreviated as a ''þ'' with a small ''e'' above it, similar to the abbreviation for ''that'', which was a ''þ'' with a small ''t'' above it. During the latter [[Middle English]] and [[Early Modern English]] periods, the letter [[Thorn (letter)|Thorn]] (þ) in its common script, or [[cursive]], form came to resemble a ''y'' shape. As such the use of a ''y'' with an ''e'' above it as an abbreviation became common. This can still be seen in reprints of the 1611 edition of the [[King James Version of the Bible]] in places such as Romans 15:29, or in the [[Mayflower Compact]]. Note that the article was never pronounced with a ''y'' sound, even when so written.
-===Reduction and omission===
-The article is omitted in prepositional phrases that refer to traveling to places where a change in social behaviors is required.{{Fact|date=January 2008}} Hence the pattern "Mary had a little lamb. ... It followed her to school one day" (rather than "to the school") is standard, as is "I'll see you in court" (rather than "in the court"). American English has fewer of these than does the language of Britain. Such phrases as "went to hospital" or "went to university" (but not "went to college") seem to Americans to be missing something.  Most English speakers say "in town" but "in the city".  These phrases are a matter of custom rather than following clear rule.<br />
-In fact, there is continuing debate over the use and semantics of NPs with articles. It is more customary to consider the article as 'not used' rather than 'omitted' in these cases, as claiming that something is 'omitted' is to make wider claims about the grammatical system that are far from easy to substantiate. The reason for not using an article is not so much that a change of behaviour is required, as claimed above, but more that the NP under the scope of the article is referred to as an institution as opposed to a particular place. "I'll see you in court" for a court case as opposed to "I'll see you in the court" because this is where we are meeting next. Also, I study "at university" (institution), but left my jacket "in the university" (location). Exceptions, as usual, seem to be the rule, as e.g. "I went to the police station" is used in both senses.
-In news headlines and informal writing, such as notes or diaries, the definite article and some other particles are often omitted, for example, "''Must pick up [[prescription]] at [[pharmacy]] today.''"
-In some Northern England [[dialect]]s of English, ''the'' is pronounced as {{IPA|[tə]}} (with a [[voiceless dental plosive|dental t]]) or as a [[glottal stop]], usually written in [[eye dialect]] as <t>; in some dialects it reduces to nothing. This is known as [[definite article reduction]]; see that article for further details.
-In dialects that do not have {{IPA|/ð/}} ([[voiced dental fricative]]), ''the'' is pronounced with a [[voiced dental plosive]], as in {{IPA|/d̪ə/}} or {{IPA|/d̪iː/}}).
-===Country names===
-In English most countries never take the definite article, but there are many that do.  It is commonly used with many country names which derive from names of island groups ([[the Philippines]]), mountain ranges ([[the Lebanon]]), deserts ([[the Sudan]]), and other geographic expressions ([[the Netherlands]]).  Such use is declining, but for some countries it remains common.  Since the independence of [[Ukraine]], most style guides have advised dropping the article, in part because the Ukrainian government was concerned about a [[Name of Ukraine#Preposition usage in Ukrainian and Russian|similar issue involving prepositions]].
-The [[U.S. Department of State]] [http://www.state.gov/misc/list/] and [[CIA World Factbook]] [https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/fields/2142.html] show the definite article with only two countries:  [[The Bahamas]] and [[The Gambia]].
-==See also==
-{{wiktionarypar|the}}
-* [[A, an]]
-* [[Definiteness]]
-* [[Definite description]]
-* [[Determiner (class)]]
-* [[Al-]]
-* [[Teh]]
-==References==
-{{reflist}}
-==External links==
-* [http://dissertations.ub.rug.nl/FILES/faculties/ppsw/2005/h.n.thu/thesis.pdf Vietnamese learners mastering english articles]
-*"[http://www.theindexer.org/files/22-3/22-3_119.pdf The Definite Article: Acknowledging 'The' in Index Entries]," Glenda Browne, The Indexer, vol. 22, no. 3 April 2001, pp. 119-22.
-*[http://cf.linguistlist.org/cfdocs/new-website/LL-WorkingDirs/pubs/diss/browse-diss-action.cfm?DissID=11895  Low MH 2005: "The Phenomenon of the Word THE in English - discourse functions and distribution patterns"] - a dissertation that surveys the use of the word 'the' in English text.
-* [http://home.bluemarble.net/~langmin/miniatures/the.htm The Commonest Word in the Language: The social role of the word "the"]
-* [http://www.englicious.com/Lessons/Articles/eArticles-AFoundation01.php Articles - a Foundation] - an educational resource for explaining articles to speakers of foreign languages
-[[Category:Parts of speech]]
-[[Category:English language]]
-[[cs:Člen (mluvnice)]]
-[[da:Artikel (grammatik)]]
-[[de:Artikel (Wortart)]]
-[[es:Artículo (gramática)]]
-[[eo:Artikolo]]
-[[gd:Alt (gràmar)]]
-[[id:Artikula]]
-[[it:Articolo (grammatica)]]
-[[lt:Artikelis]]
-[[mk:Член (граматика)]]
-[[nl:Lidwoord]]
-[[ja:冠詞]]
-[[pl:Przedimek]]
-[[pt:Artigo]]
-[[ru:Артикль]]
-[[fi:Artikkeli (kielioppi)]]
-[[sv:Artikel (grammatik)]]
-[[yi:ארטיקל (גראמאטיק)]]
-[[zh:冠词]]