Using English Articles (#6), by more English
Using English Articles (#6)
Because the English articles (a, an, the) are often verychallenging for learners of the language, the next severalHints will provide guidelines on their usage.
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The Definite Article The
We have seen that the definite article the is used whennouns are specifically identified. Nouns can be specificallyidentified in several different ways. One common wayis by using an adjective clause after the noun. In manycases, the adjective clause makes the noun specific, so theis used before it.
Examples:
Do you know the man who's talking to Julia?
(Only one man is talking to Julia.)
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Do you know the man who(m) Julia is talking to?
(Julia is talking to only one man.)
I'm not sure that I like the soup that Fred made.
(Fred made only one kind of soup.)
The person whose name is chosen will win a prize.
(Only one person's name will be chosen,so only one person will win a prize.)
The software that you bought doesn't work.
(You bought some software and itdoesn't work.)
Hawai'i is the only U.S. state that was once a kingdom.
(No other U.S. states were once kingdoms;only Hawai'i was.)
That's the hospital where he was born.
(He was born in only one hospital: that one.)
That's the hospital in which he was born.
What do you think of the car that Carla bought?
(Carla bought only one car.)
The car that Carla bought is a piece of junk!
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Special Notes:
1.
It's also possible to use non-specific nounsin sentences like those above:
I know a man who works with Julia.
(More than one man works with Julia.The sentence doesn't make it clear whichman is being referred to.)
I met a man who(m) Julia works with.
(Julia works with more than one man.The sentence doesn't make it clear whichman is being referred to.)
Some of the software that you bought doesn't work.
(You bought software. Some of it worksand some of it doesn't work. The sentencedoesn't make it clear which softwaredoesn't work.)
He lives in a state that shares borders with Arizona.
(Several states share borders with Arizona.The sentence doesn't make it clear whichstate is being referred to.)
He was born in a hospital in Chicago, Illinois.
(Chicago has many hospitals. The sentencedoesn't make it clear which hospital is beingreferred to.)
2.
Some adjective clauses may be "abbreviated"by deleting a relative pronoun + BE or bydeleting an object relative pronoun:
Do you know the man talking to Julia?Do you know the man Julia is talking to?I'm not sure that I like the soup Fred made.What do you think of the car Carla bought?The car Carla bought is a piece of junk!I met a man Julia works with.Some of the software you bought doesn't work.
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