HI, ladies!!
Recently the weather in Nagoya has been warmer than usual, as if spring has already come. It is really comfortable for me, but there are fears for effects of the climate change, as Cosmos mentioned…
Plum, I’d like to get how to use the article correctly, but it’s always difficult.
Yesterday I could look back to the happy time for a while, because on TV I watched a come back concert played by “the police”, the noted rock band in the 80s. Favorite music has directly linked with one’s memories, hasn’t it? Beyond their 20 years’ interval, they have come back with gorgeous, matured appearance and powerful voice, which reminded me vividly of how things had been at the time. I enjoyed their evergreen songs.
So, see you next. Have a good weekend, Bye!
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Hi, ladies!!!
It’s Friday, February 6, 2009, today. Another beautiful day here in Sydney.
Alice, thank you for your interesting feedback. Cherry, thanks for mentioning that you are interested in how to use the articles.
Let’s review the sentence I listed yesterday:
The is required when the noun it refers to represents something in the abstract:
The United States has encouraged the use of the private automobile as opposed to the use of public transit.
the use/the private automobile
the use
The above phrases from the sentence are stated as samples of abstract the.
As for “the use of the private automobile”, there would be two more phrase options, I think:
the use of private automobiles
uses of private automobiles
(The phrase “uses of N(plural form)” can be found on the net.)
The reason why there are three options is that the noun “automobile” is countable and the plural form of the noun “use” can be possible.
On the other hand, there would be one possible phrase in terms of “the use of public transit”, because the noun “transit” is uncountable:
uses of public transit
However, the best options would be the ones in the sentence listed above, because the sentence with those phrases looks concise and clear.
My understanding is this type of “the” is “formal the”. But the author of the web article remarks it is “abstract the”, which sounds very intriguing to me.
I don’t know whether or not I could get myself understood. But this type of “the” is often seen in written English. I like written English as well as spoken English. How about you, my precious friends?
Tomorrow morning, all of us are going to the restaurant in Centennial Parklands to have branch. We heard a lot about the restaurant, but we have never tried it. Some friends of my daughter’s have said that they serve high quality meals but the prices are too high. Is it true? We can make sure whether or not it is true tomorrow morning. Oh, how exciting!!!
It’s getting late here in Sydney, my dear friends. I will talk to you tomorrow again. Bye for now. Goodnight to you all…
Hi, my dear friends!
Whenever I read your story of the life in Sydney, sharing times with cute baby and her daughter’s family, Plum, I feel it would be one scene from a cinema screen. Beach, sunny blue sky, a gorgeous restaurant, and beautiful family, all is fascinating me, but the most inspiring me is that Plum always thinks about English expression and articles. Amazing! It is too difficult for me to understand the grammatical account, however, at least, it is very intriguing.
On the other hands, in spite of closing deadline, I haven’t concentrated on my essay yet.
Masako Ogawa, the heroin of my essay, whose career as a doctor for lepers was very short, only seven years, but she burned herself out and died young at age 41. Her motto as a guiding word in her life was ” When I stand on threshold between LOVE and JUSTICE, I’ll choose the way with LOVE without hesitation.”
This is the first time when I wrote about Masako Ogawa. I’ like to introduce more about her little by little.
See you soon, my precious friends. Have a nice weekend!
Hi, ladies!!!
It's Saturday, February 7, 2009, today. There was a warning, though informally, announced in the evening news aired yesterday that we should stay out of the sun today because the temperature would rise pretty high and that we would be easily damaged by the sunlight. Thus we expected there would be few holiday makers in Centennial Parklands as we were heading for the park but we were wrong.
There were quite a few visitors in the park, but at the restaurant we could get an excellent table on the open-air terrace for our branch, and so we were very happy about it. The sunlight was quite strong but there was a fairly strong wind blowing and our table was, of course, in the shade. We sat back relaxed and had wonderful meals and drinks. I did not pay for the meals and so I don’t know the prices, but when you come to Sydney, please have branch at this restaurant. They serve trendy and healthy meals. The view is superb!!!
Cosmos, thank you for letting us know about Masako Ogawa, a doctor for Hansen’s disease patients. It is very intriguing to compare her with another female doctor for sufferers of the same tragic sickness, Mieko Kamiya, about whom Rose is writing in her first essay. I am looking forward to reading your essay, Cosmos.
Here is an interesting self-test on the articles that I got from a certain web site, the name of which I have forgot, sorry. The answers are listed below the questions. Please try this test when you have some free time. There is a detailed explanation provided to each answer so that we could learn a lot about the articles. I hope all of you will get 100 percent correct answer results.
Exercise
Instructions: Fill in each blank with the appropriate article. If no article is required, put a "0" in the blank. The nouns that the articles go with are in italics.
1. _______(a) Decline and Fall of ______(b) Roman Empire
2. ________(a) complexity of _______(b) problem of ______(c) decline and fall of the Roman Empire is made evident by _______(d) wide variety of causes that are emphasized in varying degrees by _______ (e) different authors.
3. Fortunately, ________(a) concise formulation of Edward Gibbon serves as _________(b) widely accepted basis for _______(c) modern discussion of _________(d) problem.
4. According to Gibbon, _________(a) empire reached its peak during _______(b) administration of ________(c) two Antonines.
5. After that, however, ________(a) extent of ________(b) Roman conquest became too great to be managed by _______(c) Roman government, and _______(d) decline began.
6. ______(a) military government was weakened and finally dissolved as ______(b) barbarians were allowed to constitute ______(c) ever-growing percentage of ______(d) Roman legions.
7. ______(a) victorious legions began to dominate and corrupt _______(b) government, weakening it at ______(c) time when it most needed ______(d) strength to overcome _______(e) other problems.
________________________________________
Answers and Explanations to the Exercises
NOTE: The explanations refer to reasons given in the section on "Five Sources of Definiteness."
1. a) The -- singular; definite because of reason 4 (following modification: of the Roman Empire).
b) the -- singular; definite because of the preceding adjective: Roman. This is not one of the five principal sources of definiteness, but in this case, "Roman empire" is very specific (especially since "Roman" is derived from the proper noun, "Rome"), and the reader would be expected to know that there was only one empire that is known as the Roman empire in English.
2. a) The -- singular; definite because of reason 4 (following modification: of the problem...).
b) the -- singular; definite because of reason 4 (following modification: of the decline and fall of the Roman Empire).
c) the -- singular; definite because of reason 4 (following modfication: of the Roman Empire).
d) the or a -- singular; could be either definite or indefinite. Even though a long string of modifiers follows the noun, the reader still might not be familiar with the variety of causes that the writer is referring to.
e) 0 -- plural; indefinite because the reader has no way of knowing which different authors the writer is referring to.
3. a) the -- singular; definite because of reason 4 (following modification: of Edward Gibbon).
b) a -- singular; indefinite because there could be more than one widely accepted basis for modern discussion of the problem (the modification is not sufficient to make the noun unique).
c) 0 -- uncountable; indefinite. can be either countable or uncountable; here it is being used in the abstract, uncountable sense. It is indefinite because there could be more than one modern discussion of the problem (the modification is not sufficient to make the noun unique).
d) the -- singular; definite because of reason 1 (previously mentioned).
4. a) the -- singular; definite because of reason 1 (previously mentioned).
b) the -- singular; definite because of reason 4 (following modification: of the two Antonines).
c) the or 0 -- plural; could be either definite or indefinite. The writer's use of the indicates that there were two and only two Antonine emperors. Use of 0 would indicate that there were more than two Antonine emperors.
5. a) the -- singular; definite because of reason 4 (following modification: of the Roman conquest).
b) the -- Conquest in this context is uncountable, meaning "the area or territory which was conquered." Because the preceding adjective, Roman, is derived from a proper name (Rome), it makes the following noun unique in this context.
c) the -- singular; definite. As in 5b, the preceding adjective, Roman, makes it clear which government is referred to in this context. However, note that in another context, it might be necessary to add a following modification in order to make the noun definite (e.g., "the Roman government of the third century A.D.")
d) the -- singular; definite because of reason 1 (previously mentioned).
6. a) The -- singular; definite because of reasons 1 and 5 (Roman government was previously mentioned, and it is clear from the context that military government is also referring to the Roman government).
b) 0 -- plural; indefinite (not previously mentioned, nor is there any other source of definiteness).
c) an -- singular; indefinite. There could be more than one group, other than the barbarians, who constituted ever-growing percentages of the Roman legions; thus, modification is not sufficient to make the noun definite.
d) the -- plural; definite. As in 5b and 5c, the preceding adjective, Roman, is sufficient to make it clear which legions are being referred to in this context. In another context, additional modification might be required to make the noun definite (e.g., "the Roman legions that invaded Britian in 6 B.C.")
7. a) 0 -- plural; probably indefinite. The author is not necessarily referring to any particular group of victorious legions; moreover, even though legions have been mentioned before, victorious legions have not; thus, the criterion of previous mention does not apply.
b) the -- singular; definite because of reason 1 (previously mentioned).
c) a or the -- singular; If we interpret when it most needed... as modifying time, then time is definite because of reason 4. However, most native speakers interpret both at a time and when it most needed... as adverbial modifiers modifying weakening, so the the noun would be interpreted as being indefinite.
d) the or 0 -- Strength can be either uncountable (the abstract quality of strength) or singular (a particular instance of that abstract quality). So it is either singular and definite because of reason 4 (following modification: to overcome other problems), or uncountable and indefinite. Both would be equally acceptable, so it just depends on how the writer is thinking.
e) 0 -- plural; indefinite (other problems have not been mentioned previously, and there is no other source of definiteness).
Hello, Cherry and my precious friends.
It’s Sunday. It’s warm for the early February.
Plum,I tried the test of articles. To my sorry, I had several mistakes, which made me disappointed. The test reminded me of 100 article tests each of us made earnestly for the correct use of article several years ago.
Yesterday night we had a ‘Hiroshimayaki’ party at my house. My son, Yoshio made big, gorgeous ‘Hiroshimayaki’ for seven members of our family including my daughter’s family.
He made a total of three jumbo Hiroshima-yaki using lots of finely stripped cabbages, green onions and other ingredients such as chopped red pickled ginger and powdered green laver.
He baked them very professionally and skillfully, so we all admired his cooking. Okonomiyaki was delicious but it took some time to be ready to eat, so while waiting for it, Yuko proudly showed a number of pictures of Taiga she took at the hospital to her sister-in-law, Hiroko and Kyoko. While they had enlivening conversation, Yoshio told me that they appeared just like three real sisters by blood.
It is a great relief for me that Yushio and Yuko behaved naturally as if nothing had happened to them.
Almost every day we have dinner with Yoshio and Yuko who still needs enough care after childbirth.
She goes to NICU in hospital to bring her breast milk. I drive her to and fro between her house and the hospital.
I’m now struggling how to compose my essay without redundancy but possessing necessary information and analytical view points.
We had the third essay check meeting last Monday. Full members got together but three of us haven’t finished yet except Magnolia.
Our last meeting will be held February 16. Until then, we have to complete our task.
One problem I’m facing is that I could not focus on points I’d like to mention most. It is more likey that my writing strayed from the main points to the side issue. However these small things appear to be necessary to explain the major subjects.
It is likely to be trapped with a kind of dilemma.
I’ll get back to my work. Good-by, my precious friends. Don’t work too hard.
Hi, ladies!!!
It’s Sunday, February 8, 2009, today. Another pleasant day here in Sydney.
We just got a lady visitor, who was a friend of Yoji’s, from Japan. She is attending a conference on translation held in Sydney next weekend.
A translation conference (I don’t know who or what organizes this conference) is annually held at various places around the globe, and two years ago a conference was held at Bath in England, and I believe Ms. K. F. and the famous mystery fiction translator Y. Y. participated in that one and Ms. K. F. made a paper presentation. You already know what she talked about at the conference because her essay, to which the paper was converted, is collected in Essays 2008.
Have you tried the self-test on the definite article and the indefinite articles I listed yesterday? What were your results?
I like the following sentence test.
3. Fortunately, ________(a) concise formulation of Edward Gibbon serves as _________(b) widely accepted basis for _______(c) modern discussion of _________(d) problem.
The reason why I like it is that there is an interesting article, “0 article”, placed in (c).
Here are the answers to the questions in this sentence.
a) the -- singular; definite because of reason 4 (following modification: of Edward Gibbon).
b) a -- singular; indefinite because there could be more than one widely accepted basis for modern discussion of the problem (the modification is not sufficient to make the noun unique).
c) 0 -- uncountable; indefinite. can be either countable or uncountable; here it is being used in the abstract, uncountable sense. It is indefinite because there could be more than one modern discussion of the problem (the modification is not sufficient to make the noun unique).
d) the -- singular; definite because of reason 1 (previously mentioned).
According to the explanation, the word “discussion” is indefinite because there could be more than one modern discussion of the problem. But the word “discussion” is being used in the abstract, uncountable sense. Also, the modification is not sufficient to make the noun unique. Therefore, there is no article put in front of the word “discussion”.
Do you like this explanation?
I think it is very interesting.
Now, we are going to have dinner together. Bye for now, my precious friends.
Hi Cherry and friends,
Thank you, Plum and Cherry, for giving me warm words about my mother-in-law last week. I’m feeling a little bit better now.
This evening, I was very surprised at the news that there was the worst bushfires in the State of Victoria, Australia, where 84 people were killed and many lies inured and about 750 houses were burned down, the police said at the 9:00pm news. Firefighters are still working hard, but it is very difficult and dangerous because of its fury fire and wind. Many towns are still under the thread.
Police are investigating the cause of the fire from both side of a natural calamity and arson. The heat wave hit the southern Australia and the temperature was marked the highest 46.4 in Melbourne, they said. This is just shocking. I’m very sorry for those who lost their loved ones and everything they possessed. I can’t find any words for them. It is too sad and tragic.
On the other hand, the northern part of Australia had a big damage from flood. The weather is too strange, isn't it?
I believe that Sydney where Plum is now staying is safe and everything is fine.
My research has not been progressing so much yet. I’m stuck. I’m still collecting the evidence which proves Kamiya’s work as a psychiatrist at Nagashima Aiseien was incredibly helpful for the patients who were suffering from the Hansen’s disease. I found the note which was written by the other psychiatrist who also worked at Nagashima Aiseien. I’m thinking if I can introduce it in my essay. By the way, Cosmos, who are writing about Masako Ogawa and wrote about the Hansen’s disease before, has a lot of information and knowledge about the disease and its history. I’m very excited to read her essay.
I will stop here today. Good night, my precious friends.
Dear Cherry and friends,
Good evening.
Rose, I was relieved that you feel better now.
Sunflower, seemingly, your family tie is getting tougher, which probably heals the heart of your son and daughter-in-law.
I also tried the article test. I like the explanation such as “this modification is not sufficient to make this noun unique.” As you say, Plum, it is interesting. Well, this was not in my “article” strategies.
Our essay “team” held the second session last Friday. We all made SOME progress. We firmly promised to finish the first draft by the next session.
By the way, when I was standing while waiting for Gloriosa on Friday morning, a very odd thing happened. It still makes me wonder what it was. I was on the second floor of the terminal building looking outside so that I can see her coming. I was reading a book where I could see outside from a window. At the next window, a man was looking outside. I probably wondered what this guy was doing, but just a brief thought. Several minutes later, he approached me and tried to ask me something. I guessed that he belongs to a kind of a religious sect and was trying to take me in. But the next words surprised me. He said, “Excuse me. Well, it is embarrassing for me to tell you.” After hesitating a while, he continued. “I was a temporary worker and lost a job recently. I have eaten nothing for three days. I’m hungry. If you give me 300 yen, I can buy rice balls or something.” I couldn’t believe that at once. But if it is true and I declined his plea, I would become a murderer. So I opened my purse for small change. I only had 200 yen. So I gave him it and a bottle of hot tea that I had just got Kiosk and a rice ball which I brought from my home and luckily was still warm. He thanked me, bowed deeply and left.
Am I in a wealthy country Japan?
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