What word appears most
often in English? It's "the,"
also known as the definite article. Its partner, the
indefinite article "a", is also among the top 10
most frequent words in English.
According to Professor Elka Todeva of the SIT
Graduate Institute in Brattleboro, Vermont, "a" and "the" are also some of the
most difficult words for learners to figure out how to use without some
assistance.
appears most
often: aparece con mayor frecuencia; also known as: también conocido
como; its partner: su socio; also among: también entre;
according to: de acuerdo (a la); learners: alumnos, estudiantes;
to figure out: para entender, descifrar; without some assistance: sin
alguna ayuda;
A, an and the are called articles. Why are these small words so hard to
learn? More than 200 languages do not have articles. Other languages have
articles but use them differently than English does. As a result, figuring out
the logic of English articles can be challenging.
are called: se
denominan; so hard to learn: tan difíciles de aprender; differently
than English does: en forma diferente a la de inglés; as a result: en
consecuencia; the logic: la lógica; challenging: desafiante;
Professor Todeva says
English article usage falls into certain patterns. A basic understanding of
common patterns can make learning articles easier.
Fairy tales capture one such powerful pattern, which Elka Todeva calls the
a/the switch. The a/the switch
occurs between the first and second mention. It is a shift from new to already
familiar information. Listen
for the articles as she reads an example. Pay attention to the way "a"
turns into "the" with the second mention of the old man and the old
woman.
article usage:
el uso de los artículos; falls into certain patterns: se incluye dentro
de ciertas estructuras; fairy tales: los cuentos de hadas; capture:
toman, recogen;
one such powerful pattern: una auténtica y poderosa estructura
gramatical; the a/the switch: la conexión a/the; a shift from new to
already familiar information: un cambio de nueva información a otra ya
familiar o conocida; to the way "a" turns into "the": a la forma en que
"a" se convierte en "the";
"Once upon a time,
there was an old man and an old woman who lived in a little cottage in a vast
open field. The old woman and the old man were very hungry, so the old woman
decided to bake a gingerbread man".
once upon
a time: hace mucho tiempo, érase una vez; a little cottage: una
pequeña cabaña; in a vast open field: en un extenso campo abierto;
were very hungry: tenían mucho apetito; to bake a gingerbread man:
hornear una galleta de jengibre;
Before we explore this
pattern and fairy tales further, let us look at some basic rules for article
usage.
before we
explore ... further: antes de seguir analizando; let us look at:
veamos;
1. INDEFINITE ARTICLES
"A" and "an" are
indefinite articles used before non-specific members
of a group or category of nouns. The article "a" appears before singular nouns
starting with a consonant sound. For example, "I ate a banana." The
article "an" comes before singular nouns beginning with a vowel sound. For
example, "Give me an apple".
consonant
sound: sonido consonante; vowel sound: sonido vocálico;
2. DEFINITE ARTICLE
"The" is called a
definite article. "The" appears before nouns
which are specific members of a category as in, "I want to see the
movie George Clooney just made." Also use "the" with previously
mentioned nouns. For example, "We went to a movie last night. The
movie was called Spy." Use "the" with unique things like the sun,
the moon, the front door, and the tallest man in the world.
just made:
acaba de filmar; spy: espía; the tallest man in the world: el
hombre más alto del mundo;
3. THE ZERO ARTICLE
In some situations, there
is no article before a noun. Grammarians call this the "zero article." The zero
article appears before proper nouns, names like Picasso and John
Lennon. It also goes with names of places and institutions which consist of
a proper name and another noun, as in Michigan State University. There
is also no article before the names of days, months, seasons and holidays. There
is no article before geographical names like Europe, Italy, Tokyo,
and Lake Superior.
grammarians:
los especialistas en gramática; call this the "zero article": lo
denominan "artículo cero"; days, months, seasons and holidays: días,
meses, estaciones (climáticas) y feriados;
The "zero article" applies
to names of languages and nationalities, as with Chinese or English.
For example, "Spanish is spoken in Spain." But if you are describing the people
of that country, use the definite article. "The Spanish are known for
being friendly". The zero article also goes with names of sports and academic
subjects.
applies to: se
aplica a; are known for being friendly: son reconocidos por ser
amistosos; academic subjects: materias académicas;
4. THE "A/THE
SWITCH"
Professor Todeva is both a
learner and teacher of English. She says the human brain loves patterns and
finding logic behind things. She encourages teachers and learners to explore
grammatical patterns in fun, engaging ways. She calls this "grammaring." Let's
look at some common patterns in article usage. Professor Todeva takes us back to
fairy tales, or traditional stories, to demonstrate how the switch from "a" to "the"
works.
the
human brain loves: al cerebro humano le encantan; patterns and
finding logic behind things: las estructuras y encontrar lógica detrás de
las cosas; encourages: anima a, alienta a; in fun, engaging ways:
de maneras entretenidas e interesantes; grammaring: inmersión gramatical; how the switch from "a" to "the"
works: cómo funciona el cambio de "a" a "the";
"This particular
pattern is very beautifully illustrated in most English fairy tales and in many
jokes as well. Most fairy tales in English start with 'Once upon a time' … there
is suspense, there is sweet anticipation, we are not sure what the story is
about yet; we expect something exciting and something new, thus the use of the
indefinite article at the beginning of most fairy tales as in the following
piece from The Gingerbread Man: "Once upon a time, there was an
old man and an old woman who lived in a little cottage - first mention - in a
vast open field".
suspense: suspenso,
incertidumbre; what the story is about yet: de qué trata la historia aún;
thus: por ello; first mention: primera vez que se menciona;
Here, the story teller
uses the indefinite articles because the characters are new to the listener or
reader. When the information becomes familiar, the story teller uses the
definite article, "the": "The old woman and the old man were
very hungry, so the old woman decided to bake a gingerbread
man".
story teller:
cuentista, narrador/a; characters:
personajes; becomes
familiar: resulta familiar o conocida; to bake a gingerbread man:
hornear una galleta de jengibre;
5. GENERAL STATEMENTS
Another important pattern
involves general statements. General statements refer to all, or many members of
a group. For example, "Politicians only care about money". You will often see
general statements on bumper stickers. These are small labels on the back of
cars that express the owner's feelings or opinions. You might see bumper
stickers that say, "Well-behaved women rarely make history" or "Teachers touch
the future". Notice that general statements use the zero article.
involves general statements:
incorpora comentarios generales (que se refieren a todos); politicians only
care about money: a los políticos sólo les interesa el dinero (no se usa el
artículo "the" porque se habla de los políticos en general, es decir, todos);
bumper stickers: pegatinas en el parachoques trasero de un coche que suelen
llevar un eslogan político, publicidad o broma; labels: etiquetas;
well-behaved women rarely make history: las
mujeres bien educadas rara vez hacen historia; teachers touch the future:
los maestros tienen el futuro en sus manos (literal: los maestros tocan el
futuro);
Here's another general
statement that you will probably agree with: "Articles are challenging for
English learners." Look for a future Everyday Grammar with more tips for using
articles. Take Professor Todeva's advice and let your brain pay attention to
some of the patterns that we just explored. Happy learning and "grammaring" with
the English language! I'm Jonathan Evans. And
I'm Jill Robbins.
articles are challenging: los
artículos son desafiantes (no se usa el artículo "the" porque se habla de todos
los artículos); take PT's advice: sigue el consejo de PT. |