Some problems with "the"s in English

Open Forum
1

First of all, I should mention that I’ve some problems using the definite article “the”. So, sorry about mistakes.
I think English is an irrational language. There are too many exceptions in this language. But I am always trying to find logical connection between grammar rules.
As we know, the article “the” is using:
When we are thinking of one particular thing;
when there is only one of something;
and many other exceptional situations.

THE SEA - as we know, there is no one big sea on the earth. What is this mentality and where does it come from? Maybe, simply didn’t ancient people know about many seas?

go to THE CINEMA( and THE THEATRE too) - what about this one? Maybe, when cinemas began to appear in the world, every city has only one cinema?

and THE ARMY(I am in the army.), THE ENVIRONMENT, in ( ) space, and so on.

These were what I can remember. And I don’t mind to blame English for such irrationality. :slight_smile: That is an interesting and very enjoyable language. Thanks.

2

I’m sorry, but I think this could be related to your mother tongue and how English appears to you. I’m not saying English cannot be irrational, but “the” is probably the most straight-forward word in that language. I don’t see any irrationality in it. This word is an article, normally doesn’t define anything, just introduces nouns.

3

“I think English is an irrational language.”

Wow! Thanks! Now I can explain my behavior. It’s due to my language.

4

Seriously,
“the” is something that gives a lot of ESL/EFL students headaches.

You think you can write in English, speak without an accent and then you realize you haven’t arrived at the station yet, because there is still that little word to master-the last stop/step before mastery.

You should feel good, though. That means that you’ve come a long way.

5

Other than certain fixed expressions like “the sea” etc the best way to check if “the” is correct is to ask yourself if both you an your interlocutor BOTH have a concrete image of what it is. Practically speaking, when you introduce a new concrete noun, it is usually “a”; subsequently “the”.

6

I knew that dooo would save the day and he’s right-but dang you dooo! Now we’ll be inundated with secret agents speaking perfect English!

7

Every language is irrational, and if we do not learn to love irrationality we cannot become good language learners in my view. один год, два года, восим лет, is not irrational? No plurals in certain Asian languages is not irrational? Gender is not irrational? "Are you not going? “No I am not going ( in many European languages) " Yes, I am not going” ( in many Asian languages). I can go on and on.

the sea, the lake, the river…what is the problem? Just learn to accept languages the way they are, go light on the theories and explanations and you will soon get used to these languages. The more you seek to explain, the more you will find the language irrational and resist it.

8

Steve, well spoken (or written). That encourages me to carry on my English studies. It is as it is and I’m not the one who’ll change anything.

9

Falcao, I agree.

Raqui, irrational behaviors sometimes may be vital. :slight_smile: Try to mix an irrationality with a rationality :slight_smile:

Steve, well done, as always. You have very positive attitude(I know from your podcasts) and everyone can learn from you. I accept English in every way like Russian.

10

Should “Tutors of the LingQ, unite!” have read, for example, "Tutors of the LingQ community, unite! "?
After I posted the message in another thread, I thought I should have used the expression “the LingQ COMMUNITY” or “LingQ.” What do you think, all tutors of LingQ (or all THE tutors of LingQ)?

11

Should “Tutors of the LingQ, unite!” have read, for example, "Tutors of the LingQ community, unite! "?
After I posted the message in another thread, I thought I should have used the expression “the LingQ COMMUNITY” or “LingQ.” What do you think, all tutors of LingQ (or all THE tutors of LingQ)?

12

According to the list on my “My Activities” page, I posted only one message, but . . .

13

Should I want to incite the LingQ tutor community to rebel, I’d write “Tutors of LingQ, unite!” or, indeed, “Tutors of the LingQ community, unite!”, but as there is no need for such a call, you can use it as another example of how to use the the.

14

Yes, it is now just an example sentence.

15

Well, very roughly (and I mean very, very roughly), articles are adjectives. Unlike regular adjectives, however, which can be omitted, articles must always come with a noun (either before, as a separate word, or after, as a suffix, in some languages). This includes zero articles, in phrases like, “[-] People need [-] food to survive.” Here, the “[-]” indicates the zero article.

Now, in most languages that use articles (including English), two types of articles exist: indefinite and definite. The English indefinite article an (or a) derives from the meaning of “one.” In fact, the words “an” and “one” stem from the same root, but we tend to drop the -n before consonants. The definite article the derives from the demonstrative that. So, your assumption that “the” implies uniqueness is a little bit off. It, in fact, implies specificity, which may or may not imply uniqueness.

Give me an apple = give me one apple (any apple).
Give me the apple = give me that apple (the apple you and I both know about, a particular apple).

The second example only implies that both the speaker and the addressee know which apple is involved. Whether it’s a unique apple (the only apple in the universe) is irrelevant.

“I think English is an irrational language. . . . But I am always trying to find logical connection between grammar rules.”

Well, let me tell you where you mistake is. Grammar rules do not determine a language; they describe it. Grammarians study languages and try to systematize their features in a meaningful, structured manner. The reason you see English is an irrational language is because you’re looking at it from the wrong end, so to speak. It’s not that English neglects the rules set for it by grammarians and tries to misbehave. It’s just that you don’t know every rule of the English language and try to make it fit the few that you do know.

If you don’t know the rules of, say, basketball, you’ll think that it’s a very “irrational” game. For example, you may think that there are too many players and too few balls, or that simply carrying the ball in the hands is much easier than bouncing it, or that by lowering the height of the hoop will facilitate easier scoring.

16

Astamoore, thank you very much for the linguistic explanation. It was helpful.

Don’t dwell on the word of “irrational”. This word does not defining as an offense.

17

"It’s just that you don’t know every rule of the English language and try to make it fit the few that you do know. "

Astamoore, do you know a valid rule in a practical sense? I mean beyond the etymology of “the” and the already stated (by me) criteria of “specificity” , which is in itself ironically vague.

18

To me this issue is not whether there are rules. There have to be rules or patterns of usage, or else native speakers would not be able to speak according a common usage pattern. The problem is that the rules are often, so many, with so many exceptions ( which again are rules) , that learning these rules, and trying to remember them, and then trying to apply them while using the language, is, to me, a fruitless task. The brain will gradually form its own rules. These rules will become more and more accurate over time, as long as we remain attentive.

19

…is not defining. sorry.

20

“There have to be rules or patterns of usage, or else native speakers would not be able to speak according a common usage pattern.”

I think this is true. We have to assume there are valid rules.

"THe problem is the rules are often, so many, with so many exceptions ( which again are rules) "

Here I disagree… the problem is that the valid rules, which shouldn’t have significant exceptions, are either not really known, or are so complex as to be useless for language learners.

Maybe I am splitting hairs.