Wednesday, December 26, 2018

The a/an/the article issue in different contextes



I would be happy to get some confirmation whether I understand the use of the articles correctly in my sentences:





  1. Case:




    • sentence: I heard you've got a beautiful house.

    • context: I haven't seen the house yet.


  2. Case:




    • sentence: You've got beautiful house. (no article at all)


    • context: I am now inside the house in question.


  3. Case:




    • sentence: I heard you have sold the beautiful house.

    • context: I've seen the house and the receiver of this sentence is the owner.





I am pretty sure about 1 and 3 but what about Case 2? Can I omit the article when I talk about a specific thing which is just in front of me?


Answer




I heard you've got a beautiful house.




This says that your house belongs to the set of houses that are beautiful. It is one of the members of that set, therefore indefinite article.




You've got a beautiful house.





This also says that your house belongs to the set of house that are beautiful.



The fact that you are standing in it at the time, rather than reporting what you heard, does not change what you are saying about the house. You are still saying that it is one of the set of houses that are beautiful, and thus "a beautiful house".


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