참여번역 : 어학사전

Definite and indefinite articles

40문장 100% 한국어 번역 4명 참여 출처 : 칸아카데미

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Definite and indefinite articles발음듣기

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[Voiceover] So we've covered the basic idea that divides the usage of "the" from a" and an".발음듣기

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"The" is the definite article, and a" or an" is the indefinite.발음듣기

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So when you're being non-specific in language, you would use the indefinite article as in, "May I have an orange?"발음듣기

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Cause it doesn't matter which orange you're asking for, you don't care, it's any orange, as opposed to if you wanted the orange.발음듣기

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This usage is much more specific, and it seems to indicate that there is only one orange.발음듣기

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You see the orange in particular that you want, you're identifying it, you're asking for it.발음듣기

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That's what this definite usage is.발음듣기

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Something that's interesting about the word "the" is that it can be used for both singular and plural nouns.발음듣기

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So it's both singular and plural.발음듣기

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So you could say "May I have the orange?"발음듣기

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You could also say "May I have the oranges?"발음듣기

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And "an" does not really allow this, it is only singular.발음듣기

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So you can't say "May I have an oranges?"발음듣기

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This is not standard.발음듣기

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What you'd probably say instead is "May I have some oranges?"발음듣기

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So this is not standard, does not work in standard American English.발음듣기

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The other thing about "a" or an" is that it's "a" or an".발음듣기

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The indefinite article changes depending on the vowel sound that comes after it.발음듣기

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So changes for vowel sounds.발음듣기

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Now what does that mean?발음듣기

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Well it means that if you know that word that you're going to say next like ah or ooh or eh or uh or ee, then you're gonna change it to "an".발음듣기

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So it's the difference between saying "A box," and "An apple."발음듣기

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What we don't say in standard American English is "a apple."발음듣기

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It's not as easy on the mouth, frankly, it takes a little bit more effort.발음듣기

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And any linguist will tell you that the way languages develop is that they were word laziness.발음듣기

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So we say "a box" but we say an apple."발음듣기

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Something a little weird though, you want to make sure that you're looking for vowel sounds not just for vowels.발음듣기

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Because some vowels, for example, the letter U don't always produce "ooh" sounds.발음듣기

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Sometimes if they're at the beginning of a word, like in word union, so if you say "a union," that produces a yuh" sound, and yuh" is technically a consonant sound.발음듣기

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That's not a vowel.발음듣기

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But there are certainly cases like "An underwater boat," where the letter U does produce an ooh" or an uh" sound, and that's a vowel.발음듣기

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So if you're gonna start the word with a vowel sound, what you wanna do is choose "an" instead of a" but just be careful of the letter U for example.발음듣기