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Latest post Thu, Oct 29 2009 9:28 AM by Avangi. 2 replies.
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Anonymous  +  955969 Thu, 29 Oct 09 04:25 AM

Hi. Would you help me with this?

 

In the Collins COBUILD Advanced Learner's Dictionary, the definition for the word "lectureship" is this:

 

A lectureship is the position of lecturer at a university or college.

 

As to the question, I feel, for the definition above, either the words "a university" or the word "university" (without the article) would be correct. Then it got me thinking: Was the indefinite article "a" in the above-dictionary definition is used to mean (for this case) any university? Or, in other words, could we take the phrase "a university" in the above definition to mean any university? Or possibly take it to mean "a particular university"? I am lost on this and need help.

 

After you have given me your answer (or answers) to the above question. would you give me your answer to this: Would you say this use of the indefinite article "a" in a sentence is wrong? I think it is wrong. Let us pretend the letters "XXXX" represent a particular year and the letters "YYYY" represents the name of a certain company he worked for -- all part of a made-up sentence (that was made-up to ask a grammar question (or questions). 

 

In XX, he attended a university and he went to work for YYYY after graduation.
Anonymous
Cool Breeze  +  956090 Thu, 29 Oct 09 09:25 AM
Some may disagree with me, but this is how I see it:

Anonymous
“A lectureship is the position of lecturer at a university or college.”

A cannot be omitted as a lecturer isn't a student. The whole of your analysis or guesswork that follows the sentence makes sense and appears to be correct.


In the last sentence "he" was a student and therefore the article could be dropped.


There are other similar words. In the field of education, school is the most common of them:


What did you learn at/in school today?

Student.


My parents were at the school last night.

To see their son's teacher, for example. The parents weren't there to study a school subject.


CB
Cool Breeze
Joined on Fri, Apr 7 2006
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"I hope you'll all live to be 150 years old - and the last voice you hear is mine!" Frank Sinatra on stage in Oslo, Norway, 28 September 1991
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Avangi  +  956091 Thu, 29 Oct 09 09:28 AM
It would also be perfectly natural to say "the position of lecturer at a college or university," or "at a college or a university."

I believe the British define "college" differently than do the Americans.  Also, we say, "He is away at college" and the British say, "He is away at university," I think.  (We would not say that without an article.)

I believe it's one of those things like, "He's in the hospital" vs. "He's in hospital."


I take the meaning of your original example as "any university or any college."


In your last example, "a university" would be natural in the US.  I'm not sure if it would be so in GB.
Avangi
Joined on Mon, Nov 19 2007
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Anonymous, 28 days ago

Thank you, Avangi and Cool Breeze.

 

I wrote:

 

After you have given me your answer (or answers) to the above question. would you give me your answer to this: Would you say this use of the indefinite article "a" in a sentence is wrong? I think it is wrong. Let us pretend the letters "XXXX" represent a particular year and the letters "YYYY" represents the name of a certain company he worked for -- all part of a made-up sentence (that was made-up to ask a grammar question (or questions). 

 

In XX, he attended a university and he went to work for YYYY after graduation.

 

 

 

Now, uUpon looking at what I wrote above, it came to my attention that there should have been two more X's after the preposition "In."

 

Thus, the sentence should be:

 

In XX, he attended a university and he went to work for YY after graduation.  

Anonymous, 28 days ago

Hi. In a naver.com online dictionary, I saw this definition for the word "tithe."

 

A tithe is a fixed amount of money or goods that is given regularly in order to support a church, a priest, or a charity.

 

Now to the questions:

I think giving a tithe is an act that benefits the working of a particular church. For instance, I think the money from tithes is used pay for something that occurs in the ordinary course of its operation. (I am not sure I said correctly to reflect what I wanted to say, though.) If we apply (if possible) the logic in your explanation for the use of the indefinite article "a" in front of the word "school" (if I understood your explanation correctly) to the word "church" and its use/placement of the indefinite article "a" in front of it.  I think it would be correct not to attach the article "a" in front of it since the money from tithes is very much tied to the general aspects of a church's operation. (Again, I am not sure I have phrased correctly to reflect what I wanted to say.) What is your take/opinion on this?

 

Anonymous, 25 days ago

Hi. I wrote:

 

Now, uUpon looking at what I wrote above, it came to my attention that there should have been two more X's after the preposition "In."

 

 

Thus, the sentence should be:

 

In XX, he attended a university and he went to work for YY after graduation.  

 

 

Upon looking at what I last wrote (in above sentence), I found that the sentence should be this and not the one above, to follow the explanation given before the example sentence above:

 

In XX, he attended a university and he went to work for YY after graduation.

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