Difference between revisions of "A"
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| − | <span style="color:maroon;">a</span> is called an indefinite article or indefinite determiner | + | <span style="color:maroon;">a</span> is called an indefinite article or indefinite determiner<sup>1</sup> because in a noun phrase like: "a solution", no definite solution is necessarily referred to: |
I'm sure we'll be able to find <u>a solution</u>. I have no idea what it will look like, but we'll find <u>one</u>. | I'm sure we'll be able to find <u>a solution</u>. I have no idea what it will look like, but we'll find <u>one</u>. | ||
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| − | In modern grammar, articles are said to "determine" nouns, along with other words once considered to be adjectives, but now are considered to be determiners (possessives for example: your, her, our, his, their, my; quantifiers: any, many, no, some...). | + | <sup>1</sup>In modern grammar, articles are said to "determine" nouns, along with other words once considered to be adjectives, but now are considered to be determiners (possessives for example: your, her, our, his, their, my; quantifiers: any, many, no, some...). |
=indefinite determiner= | =indefinite determiner= | ||
[[Category: 100-en]] | [[Category: 100-en]] | ||
Revision as of 05:27, 2 February 2013
Contents
history
an > a
an was the Old English word for "one".
phonology
- a [ə] is used before a consonant sound (a quarter note, a half note, a whole note, a holy otter)
- a [ə] is also used before glides (semi-vowels) like /w/ and /j/ (a week, a one-day layover, a year, a uniform, a use [ju:s]
- an [ən, æn] is used before a vowel sound (an 8th note, an old note, an utter silence, another sound )
- Curious dialectal phenomenon: a whole other story often becomes: a whole 'nother story. (in North Central American)
expressions
- a lot = beaucoup, a lot of = beaucoup de
- A funny article: Alot is better than you at everything
indefinite article
a is called an indefinite article or indefinite determiner1 because in a noun phrase like: "a solution", no definite solution is necessarily referred to:
I'm sure we'll be able to find a solution. I have no idea what it will look like, but we'll find one.
syntax
a or an can precede a singular common noun (which itself can be preceded by adjectives)
1In modern grammar, articles are said to "determine" nouns, along with other words once considered to be adjectives, but now are considered to be determiners (possessives for example: your, her, our, his, their, my; quantifiers: any, many, no, some...).
