..hey guys, especially you from native english language background, I would like to ask you, if you dont mind to explain to me how to use properly 'THE'..I mean, how to know where to put this thing since there is no exact meaning...I was trying to find some books, but not many here in Japan..I know its off topic, but I hope moderators will not delete this until someone be kind and explain to me...thanks in advance..
Famous 'THE'
Miscellaneous Forums/General Discussion/Famous 'THE' http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The
It's one of those stupid things that even I don't know how to explain exactly, so hopefully that wiki link will help.
It's one of those stupid things that even I don't know how to explain exactly, so hopefully that wiki link will help.
Basically "THE" means only that something is unique in the whole macrocosmos. If there is a replica or duplicate of the exactly same thing somewhere, then you use "A".
my definition would be "it"
That is a tough one. Generally it is used to distinguish what thing we are talking about.
The cat walked away.
instead of
cat walked away.
or
What did he do to the cat
instead of
What did he do to cat?
If you had a specific cat named fritz, then there is no need for the "the"
Fritz walked across the street.
this is since we already know who fritz is...
Here is a good definition.
http://www.bartleby.com/61/47/T0144700.html
The cat walked away.
instead of
cat walked away.
or
What did he do to the cat
instead of
What did he do to cat?
If you had a specific cat named fritz, then there is no need for the "the"
Fritz walked across the street.
this is since we already know who fritz is...
Here is a good definition.
http://www.bartleby.com/61/47/T0144700.html
Wikipedia is your friend...
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/English_grammar
but this is a good read, too:
www.wsu.edu/~brians/errors/
Barney
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/English_grammar
but this is a good read, too:
www.wsu.edu/~brians/errors/
Barney
Basically "THE" means only that something is unique in the whole macrocosmos.
Well that's not right. You may wish to point out a particular instance of an object regardless of its 'uniqueness' e.g. "The boat rose with the tide'
@MadJack: It's exactly correct, if you say "The boat" you mean exactly that boat (with all it's wormholes and rust), which doesn't exist anywhere else in the whole macrocosmos in it's unique identity.
The problem with Wiki's and grammars is that people who have never written a 3D game with Blitz3D have basically no clue about logic, sense and entities. So I wouldn't trust them.
The problem with Wiki's and grammars is that people who have never written a 3D game with Blitz3D have basically no clue about logic, sense and entities. So I wouldn't trust them.
Ok - so maybe rather than talking about uniqueness (and having a discussion about Plato's forms), you're talking about a specific instance of a possibly common object - such as a boat.
EDIT - My english isn't that good but this should be a good example, unless it's wrong :-)
I went to the coast in cornwall this week and while sitting on A beach i could see A boat bobbing in the waves - no particular beach or boat.
Rumours of A great white shark were rife, i had to see for myself so i wandered down THE beach but didn't manage to spot THE shark - first no particular gw shark is mentioned, the beach from the first paragraph is the beach we are on and then we are pointing to the gw shark mentioned earlier.
I went to the coast in cornwall this week and while sitting on A beach i could see A boat bobbing in the waves - no particular beach or boat.
Rumours of A great white shark were rife, i had to see for myself so i wandered down THE beach but didn't manage to spot THE shark - first no particular gw shark is mentioned, the beach from the first paragraph is the beach we are on and then we are pointing to the gw shark mentioned earlier.
My english is ain't that good
hehe :) How did i miss that mistake. I'm gonna fix it to save face.
Hello.
The - Definite Article
A - Indefinite Article
Goodbye.
The - Definite Article
A - Indefinite Article
Goodbye.
@SoggyP so that makes my examples right then?
Hello.
Yep, top marks.
Goodbye.
Yep, top marks.
Goodbye.
Basically "THE" means only that something is unique in the whole macrocosmos. If there is a replica or duplicate of the exactly same thing somewhere, then you use "A".
The biggest problem with this explanation is that you went and referred to a duplicate of something as 'the'.
Ok, I'll have a go. This is my own explanation.
"The" is one of those common words used to build sentences that are easier to understand. It is used before nouns to define in what way or context you are refering to it. It is like "This" or "That" only more general.
"The" is one of those common words used to build sentences that are easier to understand. It is used before nouns to define in what way or context you are refering to it. It is like "This" or "That" only more general.
The biggest problem with this explanation is that you went and referred to a duplicate of something as 'the'.
No, I said replicas and duplicates are referred with "A".
Hey Naughty Alien, your grasp on english is very good. Please don't take offence at my attempts to insert 'the' into your initial post, and if you don't mind me saying your grasp on the english topic is already commendable. excuse my typos I'm ...... erm ...
..hey guys, especially you from native english (is scottish acceptable?) language background, I would like to ask you, if you dont mind to explain to me how to use properly the..I mean, how to know where to put this thing since there is no exact meaning...I was trying to find some books on the subject, but not many here in Japan (or britain for that matter)..I know its off topic, but I hope moderators will not delete this until someone be kind and explain to me THE places where I should use that daft three letter word....thanks in advance..
The place to go in August in Britain is the Edinburgh festival. Not only are you presented with potentially one of the most diverse arrays of drama in britain, but you have the benefit of some fantastic scenery no less than 50 or so miles north.
Hopefully, you will enjoy the references I have given you. Home is where the heart is, that is THE best place to be.
Some folk may say home is where you lay your head. The people that say that need to learn where the heart is.
regards, BP.
..hey guys, especially you from native english (is scottish acceptable?) language background, I would like to ask you, if you dont mind to explain to me how to use properly the..I mean, how to know where to put this thing since there is no exact meaning...I was trying to find some books on the subject, but not many here in Japan (or britain for that matter)..I know its off topic, but I hope moderators will not delete this until someone be kind and explain to me THE places where I should use that daft three letter word....thanks in advance..
The place to go in August in Britain is the Edinburgh festival. Not only are you presented with potentially one of the most diverse arrays of drama in britain, but you have the benefit of some fantastic scenery no less than 50 or so miles north.
Hopefully, you will enjoy the references I have given you. Home is where the heart is, that is THE best place to be.
Some folk may say home is where you lay your head. The people that say that need to learn where the heart is.
regards, BP.
What if someone slit you open and wrapped up your heart in your pillow?
No, I said replicas and duplicates are referred with "A".
duplicate of the exactly same thing
"the" It's used to indicate that the following noun has already been defined, so reader/listener and writer/speaker know that they are talking about an specific person/animal/object.
"... a boy walked down the street. The boy went into a shop"
Here there is only one boy. The same boy walks down the street and then goes into the shop.
"... a boy walked down the street. A boy went into a shop"
Here there are two boys one walks down the street the other goes into the shop.
NOTE: Notice that in the sample tenses I use "a shop" while in the explanation I use "the shop". This is because in the sample sentence we aren't talking about a specific shop. But in the explanation you and me know which shop he goes in.
I hope this helps.
"... a boy walked down the street. The boy went into a shop"
Here there is only one boy. The same boy walks down the street and then goes into the shop.
"... a boy walked down the street. A boy went into a shop"
Here there are two boys one walks down the street the other goes into the shop.
NOTE: Notice that in the sample tenses I use "a shop" while in the explanation I use "the shop". This is because in the sample sentence we aren't talking about a specific shop. But in the explanation you and me know which shop he goes in.
I hope this helps.
Hi there,
There's another subtle way of using THE to indicate a superlative example of something such as:
"...he was THE carpenter." would mean that he was so good at carpentry that if you wanted the best carpentry done he'd be the carpenter to do it!
regards.
There's another subtle way of using THE to indicate a superlative example of something such as:
"...he was THE carpenter." would mean that he was so good at carpentry that if you wanted the best carpentry done he'd be the carpenter to do it!
regards.