Search results for 'tag:Definite articles tag:Pronunciation' matching tags 'Definite articles' and 'Pronunciation'

Looking for some tips and/or curriculum suggestions

mikesusangray — Fri, 15 Aug 2008 21:50:11 GMT

Hi all!

I've been giving English conversation lessons to a theology professor for about a year now. He's getting on in the years - a couple years from retirement - and his primary goal has been just to get his spoken English going a little stronger. His mother tongue is French but he's been teaching at a German language university for many years.

I'd like to add some more specific inputs to our lessons but I can't seem to find the right material. His passive skills are excellent - he reads widely and with perfect comprehension in his field - and he can communicate quite understandably. He is a linguistics specialist and can grasp any concept about the language immediately. I brought along Cambridge Advanced Grammar in Use and he could plow through a chapter in five minutes with perfect conceptual comprehension.

However, he also continues to make very simple errors - for example, he has trouble choosing between present simple and continuous or often uses the present tense for past events. Sentence order tends to get wander hither and yon while definite and indefinite articles come and go with the tide. (Prepositions are a problem too, but I won't beat him to hard there - prepositions are difficult in any new language.) In many cases his mistakes are typical of French or German speech patterns.

One other limitation is that he enjoys the weekly lessons (a good hour), but doesn't have much time to study in between.

Right now we spend about 15 minutes reading a chapter from Advanced Grammar in Use and about 45 minutes talking about just about anything under the sun, while I take notes and show him problems under the categories Pronunciation/Articles & Prespositions/Word Order/Other Grammar/Vocabulary/Idioms. However, I don't think the work book is a good choice - particularly since he doesn't do the homework - and it seems like he isn't making very good progress with his typical problem patterns - though he greets them like old friends when I point them out.

Any tips here?

Re: Puzzle about the pronunciation of the word 'THE'

yizhivika — Mon, 28 Jul 2008 20:04:16 GMT

Hi Mathew,

Yes, as Mister Micawber says, native English-speakers instinctively know which pronunciation of 'the' to use before a noun (or an adjective + noun), but I can see that it may be a problem for some people learning the language.

As you have yourself noted, we generally use the 'thee' version before a vowel (as in 'the apple'), and the "theh' version before a consonant (as in 'the pen'), and the reason native English-speakers know which version to use, is because they read (or think of) the two words together, not separately!

From your name, I would guess that your mother-tongue is probably Mandarin Chinese (Ni shi zhong guo ren ma?), and if so, then you'll know that there's sometimes a similar situation in Chinese with tones (e.g. 'bu' meaning 'not' is normally pronounced as a fourth tone, but changes to a second tone when followed by another word that is pronounced with a fourth tone), and the only way you know which tone to use is by thinking of the two words together, not as individual characters.

By the way, there is an exception to the general rule of pronouncing 'the' as 'theh' before a consonant, but it's a special case, as the 'the' is being used less as a definite article, and more like an adjective. For example:

"Beijing is the (pronounced as 'thee') place to be this August!" (because of the Olympic Games!).

Re: Puzzle about the pronunciation of the word 'THE'

Mister Micawber — Mon, 28 Jul 2008 13:22:23 GMT

.
Hello Mathew, and welcome to English Forums.

The 2 pronunciations of 'the' are not grammar rules, but physical effects of the smooth flow of sounds between words-- they are more like laws of physics. Native speakers (lucky us!) do not have to affirm pronunciations-- we just talk without thinking. However, I can tell you that in the native mind, the definite and indefinite articles are mostly already attached to their nouns, so that they are conceived and produced with a single thought. This kind of conversation is common:

A: I see you've got a pear for lunch.
B: A what?
A: A pear.
B: Oh no, that's the apple you gave me this morning.
A; The what?
B: The apple-- you remember?

Re: a historic, an historic

Anonymous — Wed, 13 Feb 2008 18:35:29 GMT

It is all about pronunciation; you must have been taught incorrectly in the '50s. Let's look at a primary source for what's right or wrong in English.

Quoting from the OED:
"There is still some divergence of opinion over the form of the indefinite article to use preceding certain words beginning with h- when the first syllable is unstressed: 'a historical document' or 'an historical document'; 'a hotel' or 'an hotel'. The form depends on whether the initial h is sounded or not: an was common in the 18th and 19th centuries, because the initial h was commonly not pronounced for these words. In standard modern English the norm is for the h to be pronounced in words like hotel and historical, and therefore, the indefinite article a is used; however, the older form, with the silent h and the indefinite article an, is still encountered, especially among older speakers."

There are rare cases in American English where the 'h' is silent, like the word 'honorary'. In that case, it would be appropriate to say 'I received an honorary degree.' But in most other cases, like historical and homeless, we would say, 'I gave charity to a homeless man today' or 'Digging a hole also builds a hill.' Saying these with 'an' instead of 'a' indicates how silly it sounds.

In most cases, like with the word 'historic,' we pronounce the 'h.'

The pronunciation of "a" in a sentence.

Bluealbatross — Sat, 09 Feb 2008 15:53:37 GMT

I have a little pronunciation problem:

Some times I hear in sentences that the indefinite article "a" is pronounced / / and other times /ej/ e.g. "a man who is sick can't work"

What is the proper, correct or educated pronunciation of the I.A. "a"

Thank you in advance!!!!!

A.

Re: Different pronounciations of the indefinite article "a"?

CalifJim — Thu, 24 Jan 2008 05:55:37 GMT

Personally, the [ey] pronunciation strikes me as an affectation, even though you will occasionally hear the news announcers on television using it. Very grating on the nerves!

CJ

Re: Different pronounciations of the indefinite article "a"?

Anonymous — Thu, 24 Jan 2008 04:43:21 GMT

for a pretty exhaustive explanation : http://books.google.com/books?id=7iocw3kK9BIC&pg=PA1&lpg=PA1&dq=pronunciation+%22indefinite+article+a%22&source=web&ots=3SLECX41vh&sig=AqJxfi4Lf4VgfCf4VPAobN-SBIk#PPR17,M1

Re: a (indefinite article)

CalifJim — Fri, 19 Oct 2007 04:38:18 GMT

I have an answer based on personal preference.
Never use the pronunciation as in "base" -- the 'strong' form!
To me it sounds like a second-grader who is just learning how to read.

Nevertheless, you will sometimes hear the news on television read in this way, depending on who is reading. I have to say that it makes me want to throw a shoe at the TV!

CJ

Re: What makes English so difficult to learn?

Bldudas — Mon, 09 Jul 2007 02:34:42 GMT

Saska wrote:

Guest wrote:
Why many foreign speakers have such problems with the English language? I mean, I came to the U.S. about two years ago, and in the beginning I've had problems with the language (probably just like eveybody else), but what makes English such a difficult language to learn? Most people (like in Europe) they grasp the [other] languages right away. The pronunciation is a lot easier, but still? What is so difficult about English? I know that there is stress, and that a lot of people shorten the vowels, but what makes English so hard?

Thank You for taking Your time reading this

To the original poster, I do not believe English is a language hard to learn, much easier than all the other languages I am learning at the moment, (excluding ONE) and I am learning 6 languages. English is fairly easy, if you compare it to lets say French or Croatian ... What's difficult is to learn it PROPERLY.

That is right. Many native speakers do not even know proper English. It would definitely be difficult for a non native speaker to learn Proper English.

I am currently learning Icelandic, and it is really hard. Everything declines, nouns, numbers, adjectives, and the definite article. At least only pronouns decline in English.

Re: Indefinite article with Hispanic?

Clive — Sun, 29 Jan 2006 15:30:12 GMT

Hi,

I am having a debate with co-workers regarding which indefinite article to use preceding Hispanic. We agree the article a precedes words beginning with a consonant, the article an precedes words beginning with vowels. We also know an precedes words beginning with a silent h, and words with a sounding h having the second syllable accented. We are still confused where the word Hispanic fits in with all of this. Any help is greatly appreciated.

Simply put, I'd say you should use 'a' if you sound the 'h', otherwise use 'an'.

The larger question is whether the 'h' should be sounded. For me, it is, but I think other people may give you other, and probably more detailed, opinions on its pronunciation.

Best wishes, Clive