An essay on the leaves.
Jan 22nd 2011 06:18
Hi everybody. Today I'd like to write about a problem that every English student meets on his/her way. The articles.... Or better, the correct use of the articles.
I know how to use them and when or why I should use "the" instead of "a/an" or instead of none but I'm still making a lot of mistakes. Anyway, I'm not here to inquire which are the rules or how they work.
I'd like to ask you if this sentence is correct or not.
"Today I've finished another book /o/ Now I'll finish off (not today, I'm too tired) the essay on THE leaves I've started this week :D".
I'm wondering whether that sentence requires "THE leaves" or not.
However, the next sentence sounds a bit more strange to me:
"Today I've finished another book. /o/ Now I'll finish off (not today, I'm too tired) the essay on the leaves :D".
Is "the essay on THE leaves" correct?
Because using no articles in that sentence sounds far more strange to me. The same goes for "a/an". I'm not an English native so I could just guess if it's correct or not.
Thank you for reading.
Michele
If you're kind enough to write why they are wrong I'll be grateful. I don't need the rule, I'd like to know what do you feel when you think about that kind of things: I'm going to print the photo of the baby we meet at your school / I'm going to print the photo of ?the? baby.
My interpretation is that as I used "the" I should specify what I'm talking about till the end. Omitting the second "the" the sentence lacks of details. I've been taught that USUALLY "the" is used when you mean something specific, something that is obvious from the context, something that is unique or something everybody knows (surfing THE net, etc). I think you got my question and my interpretation :P
I know how to use them and when or why I should use "the" instead of "a/an" or instead of none but I'm still making a lot of mistakes. Anyway, I'm not here to inquire which are the rules or how they work.
I'd like to ask you if this sentence is correct or not.
"Today I've finished another book /o/ Now I'll finish off (not today, I'm too tired) the essay on THE leaves I've started this week :D".
I'm wondering whether that sentence requires "THE leaves" or not.
However, the next sentence sounds a bit more strange to me:
"Today I've finished another book. /o/ Now I'll finish off (not today, I'm too tired) the essay on the leaves :D".
Is "the essay on THE leaves" correct?
Because using no articles in that sentence sounds far more strange to me. The same goes for "a/an". I'm not an English native so I could just guess if it's correct or not.
Thank you for reading.
Michele
If you're kind enough to write why they are wrong I'll be grateful. I don't need the rule, I'd like to know what do you feel when you think about that kind of things: I'm going to print the photo of the baby we meet at your school / I'm going to print the photo of ?the? baby.
My interpretation is that as I used "the" I should specify what I'm talking about till the end. Omitting the second "the" the sentence lacks of details. I've been taught that USUALLY "the" is used when you mean something specific, something that is obvious from the context, something that is unique or something everybody knows (surfing THE net, etc). I think you got my question and my interpretation :P
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Today I'd like to write about a problem that every English student meets on his/her way.
The Articles....
Or better, the correct use of the articles.
I know how to use them and also when or why I should use "the" instead of "a/an" or when to use no article instead of none but however I'm still making a lot of mistakes.
Anyway, I'm not here to inquire about which are the rules or how they work.
"Today I've finished another book /o/ Now Soon I'm going to finish off (not today, I'm too tired) the essay on THE leaves which I've started this week :D".
Omitting the second "the" the sentence lacks of details.
"Finish the essay on the leaves" means that you have spoken about/learnt about a specific group of leaves. It could mean "the leaves that were in the poem" or "the leaves which are outside my classroom" but you know which leaves they are.
Finish the essay on leaves: means that you are writing a general essay about leaves. You could be writing a biology report on leaves, none specified.
Take for example:
My friend told me about THE birds
My friend told me about birds.
Big difference in meaning :)