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raewon
Joined: 16 Jun 2009
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 Posted: Sun Jul 10, 2011 6:57 pm Post subject: grammar question - articles |
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I have two stupid article related questions. Are both sentences below correct? Do they have the exact same meaning?
They do it at an important ceremony or traditional meeting.
They do it at an important ceremony or a traditional meeting.
Thank you. |
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Gorf
Joined: 25 Jun 2011
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| Posted: Sun Jul 10, 2011 9:00 pm Post subject: |
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| They're both correct but the "an" followed by the "or" makes the "a" redundant. |
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waseige1
Joined: 09 Oct 2008
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| Posted: Sun Jul 10, 2011 9:26 pm Post subject: |
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| Gorf wrote: |
| They're both correct but the "an" followed by the "or" makes the "a" redundant. |
I might propose this as a way to think about it.
(I like running) and (I like walking).
I like (running and walking).
They do it at an (important ceremony or traditional meeting. )
They do it at (an important ceremony) or (a traditional meeting.) |
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jizza
Joined: 24 Aug 2009
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| Posted: Sun Jul 10, 2011 9:44 pm Post subject: |
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They are both correct.
Also, this is just general advice to teachers:
Sometimes it's just not worth the time to nitpick the details, like those 2 sentences for instance. The teacher should definitely know his grammar, but it's all about imparting the essentials to students. Less is more - Keep it simple. |
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The Cosmic Hum
Joined: 09 May 2003
Location: Sonic Space
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| Posted: Mon Jul 11, 2011 3:32 am Post subject: Re: grammar question - articles |
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| raewon wrote: |
I have two stupid article related questions. Are both sentences below correct? Do they have the exact same meaning?
They do it at an important ceremony or traditional meeting.
They do it at an important ceremony or a traditional meeting.
Thank you. |
They are both correct.
They can have the exact same meaning�but the emphasis is changed�focus of attention.
The process at work here is ellipsis.
You have given the two most end-reduced examples of the fully formed compound sentence.
They do it at an important ceremony, or they do it at a traditional meeting. (compound sentence)
They do it at an important ceremony or do it at a traditional meeting. (subject reduction) (simple sentence)
They do it at an important ceremony or at a traditional meeting. (subject/verb/object reduction) � (ss)
They do it at an important ceremony or a traditional meeting. (subject/verb/object/preposition reduction) � (ss)
They do it at an important ceremony or traditional meeting. (subject/verb/object/preposition/article reduction) � (ss)
They are all equally grammatically correct.
Ellipsis is a popular grammatical technique, especially in verbal communication.
It is well worth the time to teach this technique to your students. |
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