英语论文网

非英文母语者常见写作错误：冠词省略与误用(The Omission or Misuse of Articles)

Today we are going to discuss a small, but frequent problem that ESL learners exhibit when writing in English: the omission or misuse of articles.
今天我们要讨论一个英语非母语学习者在写作时常见的小问题：冠词省略与误用。

First off, let’s do a quick review on articles. English has two articles:
首先，来做个快速检视。英文有两种冠词：

1)‘the’—the definite article 第一种是定冠词「那个(the)」。
2)‘a/an’—the indefinite article. 第二种是不定冠词「一个(a/an)」。

There is almost no easier way to make your English sound foreign or “non-native” than to misuse articles in speech or writing. Unfortunately, for many Chinese speakers, articles are not only often omitted, but at times mixed up, or used when they are not required.
当您在说英文或英语写作时出现冠词误用的情形，很容易不小心透露出您是外国人或是英语「非母语」人士。不幸的是，许多华人在使用上不仅经常将冠词省略，而且有时候混用或使用时机不正确。

So what is the difference between the definite article and indefinite article?
那么，定冠词与不定冠词之间的区别为何？

One simple definition would be: A definite article is used in front of specific nouns, while the indefinite article is used to modify general, non-specific nouns.
一个简单的定义是：定冠词用于特定名词之前，不定冠词则用于修饰普通、非特定名词。

So, for example, if I say “I want the book for Christmas” the definite article ‘the’ points to the fact that I want a very specific book.
所以，举例而言，如果我说「我想要那本圣诞节的书」，其中定冠词「the」意指我想要「那本」特定的书籍。

But if I say “I want a car for Christmas” the use of the indefinite article means that I am not asking for a specific car, in fact, any car will do.
但如果我说「我想要一台用于圣诞节的车」，此句使用不定冠词意味着，我没有要求某辆特定的车，而是任何一辆车都可以。

However, if the person I was talking to referred back to that same car, he would use the definite article since he would be talking about a very specific car (i.e. the car that I want for Christmas) and one that I had mentioned previously.
然而，若跟我对谈的这个人提到前句我所说的那台车，他需要使用定冠词，因为他是指一辆特定的车（亦即前述所指那辆我想要用于圣诞节的车）。

Therefore, we can also understand the use of the definite and indefinite article by looking at the overall context of the sentence(s). For example, the indefinite article is often used to introduce new information, or something that is unfamiliar to the listener/reader:
因此，我们也可以透过理解句子上下文的方式，来决定应使用定冠词或不定冠词。例如，不定冠词常用于介绍新的信息，或是一些听众或读者不熟悉的事物。

1)I saw a car yesterday. 昨天我看见一辆车。
2)Tomorrow a plumber is going to come over. 明天有一位水管工人会过来一趟。
(In both cases, the speaker or writer is introducing something new to the listener/reader.)
（在这两种情况下，说话者或是写作者都在介绍新的事物给听众或读者。）

Using the definite article, however, we are signaling that the listener/reader probably knows what we are referring to; either because it is common knowledge, or because it is something we have mentioned previously:
然而，当使用定冠词的时候，听众或读者或许知道我们所指涉的事物；因为那是一般常识，或是我们先前提过的事情。

1) I saw a car yesterday. It reminded me of the car that you said you wanted for your birthday.
昨天我看见一辆车。那使我回想起你说过你生日时想要的那辆车。
2) Tomorrow the plumber is going to come over.(Perhaps reminding the speaker of something that both parties were already aware of)
明天那位水管工人会过来一趟。（或许说话者与被提醒者都已经知道这件事。）

There are also dozens of rules regarding where you can or can not use the definite article. Confused yet? Don’t worry, articles and their use are confusing for even native speakers, but with a little practice you can