Talk:IPhone SE (1st generation)

Generation

Is this 10th generation? --Jobu0101 (talk) 16:12, 26 March 2016 (UTC)

Using "the"

Hello, everyone

While the use of articles in English can sometimes be tricky, I expect any editor should know the basic rules of it. For the starter, you can study WP:THE and the Grammar Girl article "When to Use Articles Before Nouns". For a more thorough reading, you can consult a grammar book like Advanced Grammar in Use chapters 44 through 47 or Modern English: A Practical Reference Guide chapter 7.

But the basic rule is: Proper nouns, definite names and plural nouns do not need a definite article. So, most of the times, it is "iPhone" not "the iPhone".

There are two exceptions:

1. When "iPhone" is not the core noun, and so "the" applies to the core noun that appears after "iPhone. e.g. "the iPhone design". The core here is "the design".
2. When metonymical deletion occurs, i.e. "the iPhone" really stands for "the iPhone device". e.g. "My father bought us three iPhones. One of them stopped working that night. We couldn't make it work so we returned the iPhone for repairs." This applies only to computer hardware; computer software are totally exempt from this rule. e.g you never hear "Red Alerts"; it is always two copies of Red Alert.

Best regards,
Codename Lisa (talk) 14:15, 27 March 2016 (UTC)

@Codename Lisa:, I invite you (and other editors who may be interested) to read these two articles which were written by an English teacher. They discuss using the definite article with the names of manufactured products and inventions. The second one specifically discusses the iPhone.

http://masteringarticles.com/inventions-product-names/ (See Rule 6.6)

http://masteringarticles.com/definite-article-iphone/

2601:5C2:100:9A1:3D84:8C90:84FC:BC34 (talk) 02:11, 4 April 2016 (UTC)

Hi. These articles seem to come from a self-published blog with no by-line, no date and no identification means whereas my sources are books by reputable publishers (Cambridge University Press no less). They could very well be your blog posts!

You'd forgive my skepticism but I also see that your IP address resembles the IP of certain troll that only seeks to dispute me. (He once claimed he is just trying to edit like everyone else, but he has certainly not offered any assistance.)

Best regards,

Codename Lisa (talk) 08:47, 4 April 2016 (UTC)

@Codename Lisa: The Grammar Girl article doesn't address this situation since it is only discussing time. Do the others discuss product names specifically? If so, can you please narrow down the reference to specific pages or rules that apply to product names?

On the other hand, here is a Wall Street Journal article which also specifically discusses the iPhone as well as Apple's history of improper grammar use in marketing:

http://www.wsj.com/articles/SB10001424053111903895904576546910525327024

2601:5C2:100:9A1:98ED:C19:4902:B940 (talk) 11:42, 4 April 2016 (UTC)