|
We have seen that the definite
article the is used when
nouns are
specifically identified. Nouns can be specifically
identified in several different ways. One common way
is by using an adjective clause after the noun. In many
cases, the
adjective clause makes the noun specific, so the
is used before
it.
Examples:
Do you know
the man who's talking to Julia?
(Only one man is talking to
Julia.)
*****
Do you know the
man who(m) Julia
is talking to?
(Julia is talking to only
one man.)
*****
I'm not sure that I like the
soup that Fred
made.
(Fred made only one kind of
soup.)
*****
The person
whose name is chosen will win a prize.
(Only one person's name will
be chosen,
so
only one person will win a prize.)
*****
The software that you bought doesn't
work.
(You bought some software
and it
doesn't
work.)
*****
Hawai'i is the
only U.S. state
that was once a kingdom.
(No other U.S. states were
once kingdoms;
only
Hawai'i was.)
*****
That's the hospital where he was born.
(He was born in only one hospital:
that one.)
*****
That's the hospital in which he was born.
(He was born in only one hospital:
that one.)
*****
What do you think of the car that Carla bought?
(Carla bought only one car.)
*****
The car that Carla bought is a piece
of junk!
(Carla bought only one car.)
_______________________________________________
Special Notes:
| 1. |
|
It's also possible to use
non-specific nouns
in sentences like those above:
I know a
man who works
with Julia.
(More than one man works with
Julia.
The sentence doesn't make it clear
which
man is being referred to.)
*****
I met a
man who(m) Julia
works with.
(Julia works with more than
one man.
The sentence doesn't make it clear
which
man is being referred to.)
*****
Some of the
software that you bought doesn't work.
(You bought software. Some
of it works
and some of it doesn't work. The sentence
doesn't make it clear
which software
doesn't work.)
*****
He lives in a state that shares borders with Arizona.
(Several states share borders
with Arizona.
The sentence doesn't make it clear
which
state is being referred to.)
*****
He was born in a hospital in Chicago, Illinois.
(Chicago has many hospitals.
The sentence
doesn't make it clear which hospital
is being
referred to.)
|
| |
|
|
| 2. |
|
Some adjective clauses may
be "abbreviated"
by deleting a relative pronoun + BE
or by
deleting an object relative pronoun:
Do you know the
man talking to
Julia?
Do you know the man Julia is talking to?
I'm
not sure that I like the soup Fred made.
What do you think of
the car Carla bought?
The car Carla bought is a piece of junk!
I
met a man Julia works with.
Some of the software you bought doesn't work.
|
|
