Articles, or not?

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metal56
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Articles, or not?

Post by metal56 » Fri Dec 15, 2006 1:43 am

Which would you generally find yourself using?

Elephants can be trained to carry heavy trees.
The Elephant can be trained to carry heavy trees.
An Elephant can be trained to carry heavy trees.

Jimbobob
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Post by Jimbobob » Fri Dec 15, 2006 3:26 am

Elephants can be trained to carry heavy trees


Unless I was talking about a specific elephant, say I was a member of a circus, and we had and elephant, and were talking about new tricks, I would say

The Elephant can be trained to carry heavy trees.


I only really hear articles used when describing a group like your examples on Discovery Channel type shows

"The elephant is a fascinating animal, that can be trained to carry heavy trees......."

fluffyhamster
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Post by fluffyhamster » Fri Dec 15, 2006 4:48 am

All three are of course possible, but I'd assume that I have a preference for the plural, because a) it's one less word (even though there's the addition of the -s) and b) it dovetails neatly with stuff like 'I like dogs' (teaching doubtless affects my usage somewhat). Anyway, learners will one day need to get their heads around the fact that 'the' does not always mean 'Which one?!' (when, as Jimbobob says, watching nature documentaries, for example).

fluffyhamster
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Post by fluffyhamster » Fri Dec 15, 2006 6:30 am

Came across an interesting example in my electronic OALDCE6 (I was doing an 'as&as' search for stuff better than 'This pen is a long as this one' :roll: ):

The cheetah is generally credited as the world's fastest animal.

From a context of "cheetah ability" (one of their actual natural abilities) I Googled up these:

"a cheetah can" 652
"the cheetah can" 622
"cheetahs can" 10,500 (89.18%)

Which looks roughly equivalent to:

"an elephant can" 39,500
"the elephant can" 27,600
"elephants can" 299,000 (81.67%)

That's a lot of plurals, then slightly more indefinite than definite articles, which sort of chimes with my intuitive preferences.
Last edited by fluffyhamster on Fri Dec 15, 2006 7:17 am, edited 1 time in total.

metal56
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Post by metal56 » Fri Dec 15, 2006 7:16 am

This is a comment about the use of an article in such a situation:

In all the cases where "a" and "the" can be used, "a" is more informal than "the", which is formal and therefore a little precious and old-fashioned to young people. "The" is mainly confined to statements of a scientific kind, especially if the lecturer is in the upper-age bracket."

Aspects of Modern English Usage for Advanced Students, by Paul Lambotte

I love the bit about "upper-age bracket". ;-)
Last edited by metal56 on Fri Dec 15, 2006 7:28 am, edited 3 times in total.

fluffyhamster
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Post by fluffyhamster » Fri Dec 15, 2006 7:20 am

metal56 wrote:In all the cases where "the" and "a" can be used, "a" is more formal than "the", which is formal...
The original text probably says 'more informal', right? :o :)

metal56
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Post by metal56 » Fri Dec 15, 2006 7:22 am

for stuff better than 'This pen is a long as this one'
That one could be made more exciting and stimulate (no pun intended) conversation in class by adding an "is" on the end of one of those words.

:twisted:

metal56
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Post by metal56 » Fri Dec 15, 2006 7:24 am

"a cheetah can" 652
"the cheetah can" 622
"cheetahs can" 10,500 (89.18%)

Which looks roughly equivalent to:

"an elephant can" 39,500
"the elephant can" 27,600
"elephants can" 299,000 (81.67%)

That's a lot of plurals, then slightly more indefinite than definite articles, which sort of chimes with my intuitive preferences.
Exactly the same conclusion/s as the one/s found in the book I mentioned above.
Last edited by metal56 on Fri Dec 15, 2006 7:37 am, edited 1 time in total.

metal56
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Post by metal56 » Fri Dec 15, 2006 7:26 am

fluffyhamster wrote:
metal56 wrote:In all the cases where "the" and "a" can be used, "a" is more formal than "the", which is formal...
The original text probably says 'more informal', right? :o :)
Yes, you're right. I shouldn't balance my little daughter on my knee whilst writing posts.

Well spotted.

fluffyhamster
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Post by fluffyhamster » Fri Dec 15, 2006 7:32 am

metal56 wrote:
for stuff better than 'This pen is a long as this one'
That one could be made more exciting and stimulate (no pun intended) conversation in class by adding an "is" on the end of one of those words.

:twisted:
I'll need to remember to mention this to my Japanese colleagues the next time they're getting their bulging package of pens ready! :lol:

Talking of (Swedish) "pens", the "possum" story in Augusten Burroughs' 'Magical Thinking' really had me chuckling. :P

metal56
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Post by metal56 » Fri Dec 15, 2006 7:50 am

I'll need to remember to mention this to my Japanese colleagues the next time they're getting their bulging package of pens ready!
Some students in my classes have bulging packages, others are less well-off. For me, with a pen, it's not the size that counts. :lol:

fluffyhamster
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Post by fluffyhamster » Fri Dec 15, 2006 8:09 am

I think it's the size of the balls that are important. :!:

fluffyhamster
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Post by fluffyhamster » Fri Dec 15, 2006 8:13 am

I should perhaps clarify what I meant in my previous post. :D

I've got a new Uni-ball Signo red pen here, and the ball(point) is 1.3 mm or something ginormous like that; and that, coupled with the pretty runny ink, means that it sheds half a refill just marking a class or two's homework.

fluffyhamster
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Post by fluffyhamster » Sat Dec 04, 2010 2:43 am

Which of the following examples would you mark as ? (questionable), and which as * (completely unacceptable)? (Those that are completely acceptable can obviously be left unmarked!).

1a: Dinosaurs are extinct.
1b: A dinosaur is extinct.
1c: The dinosaur is extinct.

2a: Zebras have stripes.
2b: A zebra has stripes.
2c: The zebra has stripes.

3a: Tigers are rare.
3b: A tiger is rare.
3c: The tiger is rare.

4a: Unicorns do not exist.
4b: A unicorn does not exist.
4c: The unicorn does not exist.

5a: Right-angled triangles have a hypotenuse.
5b: A right-angled triangle has a hypotenuse.
5c: The right-angled triangle has a hypotenuse.

Heath
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Post by Heath » Tue Dec 14, 2010 2:53 am

I think I might choose 'an'.

But I'd do it because I don't want to convey any relevance to me, I think.
It feels like:
Elephants can be trained... = That's a useful piece of info.
An elephant can be trained... = Hey, isn't this a funny piece of trivia.

Then again...

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