2017-11-07 Grammar: specific and nonspecific

Greg Malivuk
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http://www.pastebin.com/u/gmalivuk - notes from all classes
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Homework: exercise 4 - Try to write one generic and one particular statement with each noun.
2 People prefer a new car to an old car. A new car is not necessary to maintain in the first year.
  Bob bought a new car.
3 It is important for everyone to understand the English language.
  The English language used by Shakespeare is quite different from modern English.
4 Transportation is very useful. Transportation is cheaper in big cities.
  I need to find transportation to the airport.
5 Tea has a lot of benefits for your health. British people drink tea every day.
  I bought tea from Japan. Tea spilled on your book.
6 A new store needs salespeople.
  There are salespeople in front of the door.
7 Books give people a lot of knowledge.
  There are a lot of books on the shelf.
8 Hard work isn’t good for health.
  He has to do a lot of hard work at his job.
9 Chinese food is the most popular for Asian people.
  I ate Chinese food in Chinatown for lunch.
10 People realize they are in trouble too late. People can have trouble learning English.
   I’m having trouble with this grammar.
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Note: some nouns can’t really be particular, such as “motherhood”
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In particular statements, articles can tell us whether a noun is specific or nonspecific.
specific = both the speaker and the listener(s) know which one(s) the sentence is about
	I put the new phone in your car. (we both know which phone it is)
	I put the eggs in the fridge. (we both know which eggs)
nonspecific = at least one of the speaker or listener doesn’t know which one(s) it’s about
	I put a new phone in your car. (I know which phone, but you don’t.)
	I put some eggs in the fridge. / I put eggs in the fridge. (I know which eggs, you don’t.)
	I heard that you bought a new phone. (You know which phone, but I don’t.)
	I should get a new phone soon. (Neither of us knows which phone.)
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p. 319 exercise 5 - Who knows which thing these sentences are about?
1 listener doesn’t know, speaker may or may not know
2 speaker knows, but listener doesn’t
3 speaker knows, but listener doesn’t
4 both know
5 listener doesn’t know, speaker may or may not know
6 listener knows, but speaker doesn’t
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The speaker may have to guess whether the listener knows which one, and might guess wrong.
(If it’s wrong, the listener will probably ask, “Which one?” because they don’t already know.)
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Even if we haven’t talked about something before, I can use “the” if I’m talking about all the members of a group, or if there’s only one of those things.
The students in my class are very smart. = I’m talking about all the students.
Put it in the refrigerator. = I’m guessing you have just one refrigerator.
I need to go to the bank. = It’s the bank that I already use (even if you don’t know which one).
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Articles for geographic features depend on what kind of feature you’re talking about.
the Charles River, the Nile, the Thames, the Mississippi
Lake Michigan, Lake Baikal, Lake Victoria, Miner Lake
the Atlantic Ocean, the Mediterranean Sea, the Gulf of Mexico
Hudson Bay, Massachussets Bay, San Francisco Bay
Boston Harbor, Bar Harbor
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Most country names don’t include “the”, unless the name is plural (the Phillippines) or if it includes a common noun like “states” or “kingdom” (the United States, the United Kingdom)
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Homework: p. 320 exercise 7