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Articles 3: Generalisations, Abstractions and Shared Knowledge

By the end: I can choose article patterns that preserve whether a noun refers to a class, a particular instance, an abstract activity or contextually identifiable information.

Created by Denis M., British English teacher.

I’m studying:

Try the activities, then check your answers.

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Before you start

Compare Experience can change a reader with The experience changed this reader. What shift in reference does the article signal?

Useful background: Articles 1 and 2; countability; generic reference and noun phrases.

Generalisations have more than one grammatical shape

Plural nouns without an article often support a generalisation. An indefinite singular can present a representative member. A definite singular can refer to a species, invention or class in certain conventional contexts, but these patterns are not interchangeable with every noun or predicate.

Readers bring different expectations to a story.

A careful reader notices how the viewpoint changes.

The lace-collar woman reads a book and considers ideas arising from experience, while her colleague listens thoughtfully. One open book and one plain keepsake photograph in a small frame can evoke past experience without inventing a specific life event. No text or biography claims. — Experience can change a reader.The uncountable noun has no article here.

Distinguish abstraction from a particular instance

An uncountable abstract noun can discuss a concept or activity generally. The can identify a particular instance or a contextually delimited version of it. A countable reinterpretation needs an appropriate lexical meaning, not just an added article.

Revision takes time.

The revision of the final paragraph took most of the morning.

Shared knowledge is broader than previous mention

The can identify something inferable from a shared setting even on first mention, provided the listener can reasonably identify it. First mention does not automatically require a/an, and later mention does not always require the if a different instance is introduced.

We entered the studio and checked the lighting.

I need a guide, but not necessarily the guide you used.

Identify the lighting through the studio

Mentioned setting: the studioAssociated feature: its lightingContextual reference: the lighting

First explicit mention can still be definiteWe entered the studio and checked the lighting.

The studio supplies a context in which the intended lighting is identifiable.

Definite reference can use a connection with an established setting. The rule is not simply a for every first mention and the for every second mention; ask whether the listener can identify the intended referent.

The same woman reflects on one particular experience connected to the plain keepsake photograph, then returns to her book with a changed thoughtful expression. The photograph remains visually indistinct and the exact experience is supplied only by the lesson context, not an invented event. — The experience changed this reader.The definite article identifies a contextually specific instance.

Guided practice

Say or write your answer first. Compare the meaning and form; the model is one possible answer.

1. Contrast Readers need context with The readers need context when a particular workshop group has been identified.