Difference between revisions of "A"

From Creolista!
Jump to: navigation, search
(phonology)
(phonology)
Line 5: Line 5:
 
=phonology=
 
=phonology=
 
<ul>
 
<ul>
<li><i>a</i> <span style="color:green;">ə</span> is used before a consonant sound (a quarter note, a half note, a whole note, a holy otter), and before glides (semi-vowels) like /<span style="color:green;">w</span>/ and /<span style="color:green;">j</span>/ (a week, a one-day layover, a year, a uniform, a use [<span style="color:green;">ju:s</span>]</li>
+
<li><i>a</i> <span style="color:green;">ə</span> is used before a consonant sound (a quarter note, a half note, a whole note, a holy otter)</li>
 +
<li><i>a</i> <span style="color:green;">ə</span> is also used before glides (semi-vowels) like /<span style="color:green;">w</span>/ and /<span style="color:green;">j</span>/ (a week, a one-day layover, a year, a uniform, a use [<span style="color:green;">ju:s</span>]</li>
 
<li><i>an</i> <span style="color:green;">ə</span> is used before a vowel sound (an 8th note, an old note, an utter silence, <u>an</u>other sound )</li>
 
<li><i>an</i> <span style="color:green;">ə</span> is used before a vowel sound (an 8th note, an old note, an utter silence, <u>an</u>other sound )</li>
 
<li>Curious dialectal phenomenon:  <span style="color:#400040;">a whole other story</span>  often becomes:  <span style="color:#400040;">a whole 'nother story</span>.  (in North Central American)</li>
 
<li>Curious dialectal phenomenon:  <span style="color:#400040;">a whole other story</span>  often becomes:  <span style="color:#400040;">a whole 'nother story</span>.  (in North Central American)</li>

Revision as of 04:23, 2 February 2013

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 ə 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

indefinite article

a 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 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)







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