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I'm sure there are Chinese words that can serve the same purpose. The point is that they aren't mandatory. So, to an English learner coming from these languag
by yongjik 8y ago
I'm sure there are Chinese words that can serve the same purpose. The point is that they aren't mandatory.
So, to an English learner coming from these languages, a sentence like "I was cleaning attic and found book" is perfectly understandable. Exactly what attic and what book we're talking about should be apparent from context.
On the other hand, in actual English, "I was cleaning the attic and found a book" portrays a different picture from "I was cleaning an attic and found the book." Use one when the other is warranted, and it sounds weird and confusing.
- nerdponx 8y agoInterestingly, Latin also lacked both "a" and "the", whereas their equivalents appear in Romance languages more than in English.
- zapzupnz 8y agoA consequence of the Romance languages simplifying/removing declensions, I suspect.
- burfog 8y agoBut then we have "I was cleaning house and found Kevin." too. Both "a Kevin" and "the Kevin" would feel weird, especially "the Kevin". One might do it on purpose as a sort of joke, implying that Kevin is an ordinary inanimate object. More oddness is that "cleaning up" doesn't involve an "up".
- Declanomous 8y ago"You'll never guess who I saw?" "Who?" "Elvis" "Elvis? The Elvis or a Elvis?" "The Elvis" The doesn't imply someone is inanimate, it just means that they are a specific one.