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

Re: One of many problems faced by English learners is their own misconceptions.

Avangi — Mon, 17 Nov 2008 23:27:00 GMT

Jackson6612

Avangi
either "learners of the English language," or "English language learners."
Why is article the essential here? There is only one English language. e.g. I'm learning Chinese language these days. Is there any need to specify Chinese language using the? The use of the is justified in sentences as in ''I'm learning the Southern American English dialect nowadays. The article is required in all of these. I honestly have no idea why. My guess is that "language" is the object of the verb "to learn," and would require an article if it were used without "English" as a modifier. To qualify for standing without the article, a "subject of study" must be one of a few very well-established courses. "I'm majoring in Romance Languages at university." Here, Romance Languages is the recognized name of a well-established course of study, as is Chinese. In the case of a dialect, the indefinite article would be used if there were more than one. Avangi
<<One - - is their own misconceptions.>> IMO there should be number agreement here. Possibly, "One - - - is dealing with their own misconceptions."
Yes, there should be number agreement between verb and object. If I followed your suggestion then the sentence would read: One of many problems faced by learners of the English language is that they are dealing with their own misconceptions. Is that what you suggested? That would be fine. I was considering "that they are" to be optional, as the gerund "dealing" may serve by itself as predicate nominative following the being verb "is." Avangi
This is about "learners." You refer back five times with "they." At some point you might remind the reader who "they" are. Eg, "these learners," "the students," something else of your choosing.
Is choosing'' used as a present participle in the above context? I'd say functionally it's a gerund, serving as object of the preposition "of." The other option, "choice," would of course be a noun.
Avangi
<<During the learning process, they should stop taking the machinery of their native tongue for granted.>> As the final sentence of the first paragraph, this seems enigmatic. It's very well phrased, but the meaning is less than obvious (to me.) I feel like I want an additional sentence by way of (=as means of, as a type of) explanation, or clarification. Optionally, you could make your "machinery" image a little easier to connect up.
How can I make the machinery image a little easier to connect up? How did I know you were going to ask me that danged question?? During the learning process they should remind themselves that the machinery of their native tongue was a long time in [the] building and fine-tuning, and they must be willing to devote an equal effort to the new language. (I'm not sure I have your intention right.)
Avangi
In the second paragraph, at first blush (=when first thought of or considered) the antecedent (=a word or phrase which a pronoun refers back to) of "They" would seem to be "English speakers."
Yes, you are right. I will be more careful about such constructions in future.
Avangi
Have you verified that "idiomaticness" is a word? Or is it a "nonce (=occurring, used, or made only once or for a special occasion) word"?
It is a proper word according to the Merriam-Webster's dictionary.

Congratulations on your hard work. - A.

Edit. "Why is the article "the" essential here?"

Re: Questions on modifiers

CalifJim — Wed, 24 Sep 2008 19:22:57 GMT

Anonymous
If a definition of the word "float" starts off like "a piece of wood or other light material that stays ...," do you think the article "a" modifies the word "material"?

No. It can't. other forces an uncountable interpretation on material, so the indefinite article a can't occur there.

_____

"another (number)" means "(number) more" or "(number) additional".

another three = three more = three additional

other is not used in this idiom.

We need another three chairs.

Henry bought another five books today.

Re: Article - where do they go?

Clive — Fri, 19 Sep 2008 04:07:21 GMT

Hi,

Please look at this and tell me if the indefinite article 'a' goes with the third and fourth underlined parts. Is there possible confusion? If yes, how would you resolve it in term of grammar and the sentence structure? Would you say ther article 'a' does not go with any other words except the number one word?

Everything that goes into making a programme, lighting, staff and rent is now being reviewed.

The last three words appear to be used in a non-countable sense, so I would take the 'a' to relate only to 'programme'.

In addition, the verb 'make' does not seem to me to be a good choice for use with the other three nouns. We don't usually say, for example, that we 'make staff'.
I'd prefer to add other verbs, to clarify whatever is the intended meaning. eg

Everything that goes into making a programme, creating lighting, recruiting staff and paying for rent is now being reviewed.

Best wishes, Clive

Article - where do they go?

Anonymous — Fri, 19 Sep 2008 01:26:46 GMT

Re: Because when things are discussed in writing there is ample of time

yizhivika — Thu, 04 Sep 2008 17:26:43 GMT

Hi Jackson6612,

admission can be of many kinds such as admission to a university, college, flying school etc. So, shouldn't the be used in front of admission? Perhaps, it shouldn't be because Jack would know what admission Jane was talking about, otherwise he would have asked What admission?.

No, in this phrase you should omit 'the'; 'apply for admission' is a standard English phrase, that can be used in many contexts (as you've noted above), but a native English speaker wouldn't use the definite article here.

Is there really a need to use with? Often it is said I will e-mail you the pictures, I will e-mail you the number.

No, there isn't; it's optional. For me, it is simply a matter of personal preference. In fact, here, you could also say "I will email you details of the process", or "I will email you with details of the process".

I meant to say unless you have rehearsed everything beforehand or have written a note. If I'm going to speak at some occasion I can rehearse or memorize my lines or can put them down on the paper.

The phrase "unless you have rehearsed everything beforehand or have written a note." is perfectly good English, although I'd be more likely to say ".....written (some) notes." It's just that it wasn't clear from your original text, what you were meaning to say here. I simply misinterpreted it.:-)

Re: corrections 7

YoungCalifornian — Tue, 19 Aug 2008 21:22:21 GMT

(a) A librarian works in / at the library. / A librarian is in charge of a library.

All three are correct, but have slightly different meanings. Also, the switch between indefinite and definite articles in your first two examples sounds odd.

(b) A grasshopper looks / looks like a praying mantis.

I don't understand the distinction you're trying to draw here. A grasshopper looks like a praying mantis is correct.

(c) A boy is climbing / climbing up the ladder.

Again, I don't understand the distinction you're trying to draw here. A boy is climbing up the ladder is correct.

(d) The water lily plants / water lily float on the pond.
The water lily plants are floating in the pond.

The first example is correct as it is, although people usually call them "water lilies" instead of "water lily plants." The second example is incorrect because the conjugation of the verb "float" does not match the noun. It has to be either the water lilies float... or the water lily floats... depending on the number of water lilies you're referring to. The third example is correct. In this context, either the preposition "on" or "in" can be used depending on your meaning. Using "on" emphasizes that the lilies are on top of the water (think of a vertical plane). Using "in" emphasizes that the lilies are in the middle of the pond (think of a horizontal plane).

e) He is picking up the book on the floor.
He is picking the book up on / from the floor.

I would avoid using the preposition "on" in this context. It is technically correct if you want to emphasize "the book on the floor" as the entire subject. However most people would assume that "on" complements the verb "to pick up". In that case, only "from" would be the correct preposition. Either He is picking up the book from the floor or He is picking the book up from the floor sounds best.

(f) This is a photograph of my family.

This sentence is fine.

(g) The boy pointed to /at the toy he wanted.

Either preposition is correct, but using "to" emphasizes the act of pointing itself a bit more.

(h) She is putting the dirty clothes in / into the washing machine.

Technically "into" is more correct since the laundry will be wholly inside the washing machine, but native speakers will often substitute "in" for "into" in this context.

Re: proofreading of funny article

Skrej — Sat, 05 Jul 2008 21:39:08 GMT

changeling
Hi everybody!

I was translating a kind funny recipe. Could you, please, check the following passages? Does it sound good? Do I need any improvement?

You will need eggs to make this apple pie. If you've run out of them, get dressed and rush out to the store. And get iodine, cleansers, soap, bandage and sticking plaster, too. On your way back, grab some flour, apples and sugar. So, you come back home and go to your kitchen right away. While unloading your purchases you will surely drop a few of eggs on the floor. Donât worry about that, just beat remaining 5 (put the number first - 5 remaining eggs) eggs into a bowl. C l (This is a typo, I think - delete it) Clean the kitchen floor, or else it will be slippery. Now follow directions carefully. Take your mixer and start beating eggs. Your mixer wonât work? Just try to switch it on. It did no difference? (use made, instead of did - It made no difference?) You probably have to place the blades. (Say 'insert' instead of 'place', or say "put the blades in" instead of place the blades. Also, you might want to say 'beaters' instead of blades) So now you can beat the eggs. When you finish splashing beaten eggs all over the place you will want to have a shower. Wash yourself very well and get the yolk out of your nose. And finally, wash your clothes.

You have three (Earlier you said 5 eggs in the bowl, now 3 - is this intentional? Does this mean the person splashed out 2 eggs?) beaten yolks in the bowl and that's enough to make our apple pie. Now find old newspapers and magazines and paste (I'd use 'cover' instead of paste) the entire kitchen with them. Cover your furniture with some waste blanket (Subject/verb agreement error here - either say 'some waste blankets' or 'a waste blanket) if you don't plan to buy new furniture. Take (Missing a definite article 'the' here) flour package and put about a cup of flour into the bowl. Gather the flour you spilt on a table (forget about the flour scattered on the floor) and put it back to the package. Make sure youâve pasted (Again, I'd use 'covered' instead of pasted) all the walls and the ceiling in the kitchen properly. Now blend the eggs with the flour.

You need a bath again. Wash all that beaten mixture (Simpler just to use the word 'batter' here instead of 'beaten mixture) off. Take a sharp knife. Well, that's where you need iodine, bandage (either 'a bandage' or 'bandages) and sticking plaster. Peel five apples. Apply iodine to your cuts and bandage your fingers. Stick (Use 'apply' here instead of 'stick' ) the plaster. Now, cut (Again, you're missing the definite article 'the' here) apples. Keep in mind, though, we need two apples for our pie, so feel free to eat the rest of them while cooking. (Consider rewording this sentence slightly. It's gramatically ok, but a bit confusing. I'd say use either one of these two options: (1) Keep in mind, though, we need two apples for our pie, so don't eat all of them. or (2) Keep in mind, we only need 2 apples for our pie, so feel free to eat the rest of them while cooking.) Pick up all apple pieces you dropped on the floor and wash them in running water. Add apples and sugar to the dough. Beat the ingredients. Clean up all those nasty spots on the fridge and windows, or else they will dry up which will make cleaning much harder.

Pour what's left in the bowl in a frying pan (A frying pan is for frying, but you're putting the pan in the oven to bake. I think you mean baking pan.) Forgot to coat your frying pan (baking pan?) with oil? That's ok, just pour the mixture back in the bowl. Now wash the frying pan, (baking pan?) towel it dry and coat with vegetable oil. Wash your hands and again pour the dough in the frying pan. (baking pan?) Place in the oven. If your pie still looks pretty much the same after an hour of baking, check if you turned the heat on. So now the heat is on and you can take a rest. As you wake up suddenly, open all windows, doors and your oven. Bring (Use 'give' or 'make' instead of 'bring'.) your apologies to your neighbors and convince them that there was no fire. Now that you've recovered from all that shock, call your darling and say you gonna make something special for the dinner. Make (Use 'go to' or 'head to/for' instead of 'make') for the store again and buy a cake and a bottle of wine, or even something stiffer. Unpack the cake and put it on the frying pan (Again, use 'baking pan' but you'll need to use the preposition 'in' instead of 'on. - Unpack the cake and put in the baking pan). Greet your darling!

Hi Changeling,

You did a pretty good job with your funny recipe, but I commented on a few minor errors. Feel free to ask for further clarification if my comments don't make sense.

Hope this helps!

Re: A sequel to an article before a gerund question

Anonymous — Thu, 03 Jul 2008 22:25:48 GMT

Hi,

I think I have seen more than enough cases where what people call a verbal noun has the indefinite article 'a' in front of it and at the very least, the sheer number (should it be - sheer numbrs??) of it warrants some good explanations from experts in this forum. I think I can laid out a similar framework of argument for a quoted content too.

These days, students from where I use to live don't study hard. A lot of people seem to feel "sit in your chair and do nothing for eight hours" should be replaced with a quality "sit-in-your-chair-and-do-some-work hours." -- I think I made into a type. I was trying to make it an instance of it though. Do you think all the hyphens in quote in allowed? I think Mr. M said we should use either a hyphen or quotation marks, but usually not both.

I must say, the indefinite article "a" doesn't seem to go well with "hours" in the quotes but see nothing wrong with it, IMO.

Re: To us the Chinese,

26TMNTJG2PG — Sun, 22 Jun 2008 09:30:03 GMT

When a Chinese is asked the question, "What nationality do you belong to?"
The person will reply, "I am a Chinese" Here an indefinite article is used.
In any communication, whey you say, "To us", more than one person is referred to, and you cannot use an indefinite article which is signifying one in number.
As such, you drop the article.
The use of the in the other sentence is the reference is to a specific and unique people.

Article and one

Anonymous — Thu, 19 Jun 2008 06:47:45 GMT

Hi,

Could I be able to put the indefinite article before the number "one" or "two", so on?

He has one pen in his hand. -- sounds good.
He also has the one pen he had yesterday today with him. -- sounds good too.

Could we use phrases like "a one/two/three pen/pens"?