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

Re: superative and article

Avangi — Tue, 26 Aug 2008 03:55:21 GMT

Yes, you need the definite article before a superlative, whether the noun it modifies is singular or plural. the most beautiful girl/girls

Top gun; top dog are fixed expressions when used without an article. Ultimate climber/climbers may be a fixed expression, but I haven't heard it. If so, and the plural uses no article, I believe the singular would use the indefinite article. They are ultimate climbers. He is an ultimate climber (possible fixed expression.) They are the ultimate climbers. He is the ultimate climber. (superlative)

- A.

Re: Is "There is the ..." an exceptional use?

CalifJim — Fri, 08 Aug 2008 01:28:22 GMT

jazzmaster
A few grammar books carried by ESL students suggest that "there is" only takes indefinite articles

Good advice for beginners using "existential there".

You've got four combinations to disentangle here.

"existential there" means there exists -- such-and-such "has existence".

"locative there" means in that location -- at that place.

The two meanings are different. And each can be used with either an indefinite or a definite expression.

1. Existential there with an indefinite: There's a book on the table. (A book is to be found -- has existence -- on the table.)

2. Existential there with a definite: For sinners, there's hell. | For help with your homework, there's your brother. This turn of phrase asks us to take something into consideration. (Consider hell, consider your brother, as an answer to the problem of sinners, of doing homework.) Common with always: If you ever need a favor, there's always good old Charlie.

3. Locative there with an indefinite: I'd like a good mystery for summer reading. -- (pointing to a book on a shelf) There's a good one for you. (In that location is a good one.)

4. Locative there with a definite: There's the postman. He's coming up the walk just now. | Where did I leave the car? -- Oh! There's my car! (In that place the postman is found. | In that location is my car.)

You'll probably notice that, statistically, existential there usually goes with an indefinite expression, and locative there usually goes with a definite expression. Your three examples that you wanted to call exceptional are actually members of class 4 above, and are not among the patterns the ESL text is cautioning against. (I don't think so anyway.) Case 2 is the focus of the prohibition. And for beginners, it might not be a bad idea to keep away from those, since they are, as I pointed out above, more like an idiomatic way of asking someone to take something into consideration.

Re: Use of thereof in the first amendment

Anonymous — Sun, 24 Feb 2008 17:50:15 GMT

I think there are a couple way to look at this. One is the use of the word 'thereof' and what it means. It is defined as such:

thereof -adverb: of or concerning this, that or it

When the word 'thereof' is used it gets its meaning entirely from the word to which it refers. So in a sense you must ask 'Of what?' in order to understand what it means.

free exercise of what? of religion

What kind of establishment? one of religion

The indefinite articles a and an are defined as such: weakened variation of one; one, lone, single So my use of 'one' should be correct there.

Another thing you must do is put it into context. The Bill of Rights is a document which defines the rights and liberties of the people(individuals) and Congress' limitations on abridging or limiting them. If you read the phrase as such:

B) ''Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion,
or prohibiting the free exercise of an establishment of religion; ...''

What are the rights of the people with regard to religion? This defines rights and liberties as they apply only to 'establishments' and not individuals. If you also use it that way then there would be no need for the Free Exercise clause. If in the Establishment Clause Congress cannot make law which even respects(concerns, regards, deals with, relates to) 'an establishment of religion' then why would they need to tell us that Congress cannot make law prohibiting 'free exercise of an establishment of religion'? We already know they cannot prohibit 'free exercise of an establishment' because they can't even make law with respect to it! I hope that makes sense.

Also, you could look at The Constitution for other examples of the word 'thereof' and see how it is used.

For example:

Article. I. - The Legislative Branch
Section 2 - The House

"When vacancies happen in the Representation from any State, the Executive Authority thereof ..."

Executive Authority of what? 'any State'

Section 3 - The Senate

"The Senate of the United States shall be composed of two Senators from each State, (chosen by the Legislature thereof,)"

Legislature of what? 'each State'

"...if Vacancies happen by Resignation, or otherwise, during the Recess of the Legislature of any State, the Executive thereof"

The Executive of what? 'any State'

Section 4 - Elections, Meetings

"The Times, Places and Manner of holding Elections for Senators and Representatives, shall be prescribed in each State by the Legislature thereof;""

Legislature of what? 'each State'

Section 8 - Powers of Congress

"To coin Money, regulate the Value thereof,..."

Value of what? 'Money'

"To make all Laws which shall be necessary and proper for carrying into Execution the foregoing Powers, and all other Powers vested by this Constitution in the Government of the United States, or in any Department or Officer thereof."

Department or Officer of what? 'the Government of the United States'

Article. II. - The Executive Branch

Section 1 - The President

"Each State shall appoint, in such Manner as the Legislature thereof..."

Legislature of what? 'Each State'

So on and so forth until...

Amendment 1 - Freedom of Religion, Press, Expression. Ratified 12/15/1791.

"Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof;..."

Free exercise of what? 'religion'

I hope this all makes sense.

Re: clear, get up

Anonymous — Sat, 25 Aug 2007 08:01:56 GMT

User_gary wrote:

Teacher, we want to get up a small group for a folk dance, but it has not yet been cleared by the principal. So could you recommend for us?

Are these expressions correct?

Almost OK, except that I would not capitalize "principal" and would put a definite article before it.

Re: Expression: "I will join the back to school week."

Clive — Sat, 12 May 2007 13:56:43 GMT

Hi,

I fail to understand the following sentence. I will join the back to school week.

I don't understand the meaning either. How does one join a week? I think the writer means 'I will join in (ie participate in) the activities that will be part of the back-to-school week'.

Could you please explain its structure to me?

I subject

will join verb

the definite article

back to school adjectival phrase (beetter written with hyphens)

week. object

Meaning and grammatical structure are two different things. eg The sentence 'The mountain cooked the table' has a simple and grammatically correct structure, but the meaning is nonsense.

Best wishes, Clive

Re: You got the wrong number

Cool Breeze — Wed, 28 Mar 2007 16:30:58 GMT

Hi New

You remind me of Inchoateknowledge! I agree with you with regard to what would be more logical. The fact is, unfortunately for us foreigners, that logic and English very often have nothing to do with each other. Some expressions just exist because native speakers use them. The definite article is usually used before these words:

You've got the wrong number.
You've got the right number.
This is the same number.
This is the only number.

(Not always, though: He is an only child.)
Cheers
CB

Re: why a and not the

Mister Micawber — Thu, 26 Oct 2006 08:22:22 GMT

Badge are available at a cost of 400 won. -- more polite to the customer than the; it suggests (untruthfully) that the price is not set in stone.

I would like to have a large coke. -- one of any large cokes; this is normal use of the indefinite article, Believer.

Come here and say a good-bye. -- Not the usual expression (which is 'say good-bye'); still, I suppose it is common enough. Say one of any good-byes you may have within you for future use.

Re: Indefinite article

milky — Tue, 03 Oct 2006 12:45:48 GMT

Magda wrote:
Hi,
could you tell whether my sentence requires the indefinite article?

"This ring has great sentimental value for me."

Thank you

I prefer it without because it refers to value. Is of value is the normal expressions.

on (the) TV

Pastsimple — Fri, 04 Aug 2006 23:03:38 GMT

Some time ago, I saw a textbook for beginners - to my surprise, it said that you could use the definite articles in sentences like "What's on the TV?"

To be honest, I've never used the article in this expression. E.g.:

I saw the president on TV yesterday.
You can see it on TV every Friday.
What's on TV tonight?

But I'd say There is a flowerpot on the TV. (meaning on top of the TV set).

Could you please decide who's right? Me or the textbook? I have a strange feeling that this might be the situation when either is possible.

Re: Can all be used here?

Cool Breeze — Thu, 01 Jun 2006 08:51:24 GMT

Except for most of beauty/courage, all your expressions are grammatically correct. However, as Nona the Brit said, you may have a hard time trying to find a situation in which to use some of them.

Most cases of most of + a noun without an article are wrong. Normally, you cannot say most of gold, most of water or most of cats. You need a pronoun or a definite article before the noun:

most of my cats
most of these cats
most of the water (that) you drank

There are exceptions. Many proper nouns (e.g. place names) can follow most of:

Most of Scotland was covered with snow.

Also, if a common noun doesn't normally take an article and is never used in the plural, most of may precede it:

Such a blast would destroy most of mankind/humankind.