articles - Using "the" or "a" for an item already mentioned

I was reading a topic article in a English grammar book.

In an explanation, the following guideline was mentioned:

Use the to refer something that has already been mentioned.

While I was doing an exercise, I faced the following sentence.

3. Our teacher gave us ______ test today. It was ______ really hard test.

There were questions on there which I didn't even understand. But based on the explanation above, the answer in the first sentence should be a, and the answer in the second sentence should be the.

But when I saw the answer, there was a in first sentence and a in the second sentence also.

How is this possible? Based on the explanation, the answer in the second sentence should be the! Please explain.

word choice - Is "how much ever" correct here?

"How much ever you prepare, it is your attitude in the exam hall that matters"

From a previous question concerning the same phrase, I realize "how ever much" could be used.But I am asking this because of 2 reasons.

1. It does seem to make a little sense, that is
how much- doesn't it imply the level of preparation
and ever- for whatever period of time you might have prepared.
2. I have seen the phrase being used in a lot of sites.

Is there any chance for the phrase to be used by a native speaker of English ?

If I use how ever much, would it mean the same thing ?

differences - "An" average of vs. "The" average of

When nouns such as average, total, sum, etc., are modified by a prepositional phrase, how do you choose between the definite and indefinite articles? I cited sentences 1, 3, and 5 below from various sources on the Internet. As an English learner, I have always wondered what difference there is if the indefinite article is replaced by the definite article. Are sentences 2, 4, and 6 below correct or possible?

Here are example sentences:

1. He finished the season with a batting average of .357.



2. He finished the season with the batting average of .357.




3. That will use a total of about 3.3 million tons of lead.




4. That will use the total of about 3.3 million tons of lead.




5. What two prime numbers have a sum of 7?



6. What two prime numbers have the sum of 7?

I would appreciate your help much.

Answer

You have an (or a) average, maximum, minimum, or other group-based calculation of something, while you take (or calculate) the average, maximum, or minimum.

Thus your samples 1, 3, and 5 are correct, but not 2, 4, or 6.

(To clarify, as per the comments: In the example sentences, the average is a property that is already known, and it is being treated grammatically in the same way as a generic, indefinite possession and thus can take the indefinite article 'a'. If the average is an unknown number that needs to be determined, then you are taking or calculating it, and then it is a specific feature and should be referred to with the definite article 'the'.)

syntax - Word-type in this sentence

I'm trying to decode what word-type each word is in the following sentence, please correct me if I'm wrong.

The things you own end up owning you.

I have it decoded as follows:

The (det) things (noun) you (prep) own (verb) end (noun) up (adverb) owning (verb) you (prep).

Answer

You have many of them right. However, I believe the correct answer would be.

1. "The": Determiner (or unspecific article).


2. "things": plural noun.


3. "you': pronoun (or noun phrase), second person (plural or singular).


4. "own": verb, present tense.


5. "end up": a rare example of an English compound verb meaning "eventually become", or in this case: "eventually will result in them..."


6. "owning" verb, present progressive.


7. "you": pronoun (or noun phrase), second person (singular or plural).

"End up" is an interesting compound verb which is mostly used in informal speech and writing. Its actual meaning appears to be rather complex and depends somewhat on the sentence it is found in. See the link below:

http://thesaurus.com/browse/end+up

vocabulary - Vocabularies about order of the things

I want to know if what certain orders or positions in the orders are in English.

The following are my questions, assume that we have ten apples, I put my questions on these apples:

What is the name of the order when all apples are red? We say the apples are all red?

What is the name of the order when one apple (the first) is red, the next one is yellow, and then the third one is red and the forth one is yellow again and this continues to the last apple.

What is the name of the order when one is red, and the next two are yellow and the forth one is red and again the next two are yellow and ....

You see, I'm seeking for word/phrase to describe this orders.

My second concern is the position of the items in an order.

We say the first apple is red.
We say the last apple is red.
But, how do we say one apple to the end is red? I mean an apple before the last one?

Thanks

Answer

If by "order" you mean the arrangement or organization, you can try these terms directly or look them up in a thesaurus for some alternatives:

What is the name of the order when all apples are red? We say the apples are all red?

Uniform pattern The apples are uniformly red.

What is the name of the order when one apple (the first) is red, the next one is yellow, and then the third one is red and the forth one is yellow again and this continues to the last apple.

Alternating pattern The apples alternate between two colors - red and yellow.

What is the name of the order when one is red, and the next two are yellow and the forth one is red and again the next two are yellow and ....

Repeating pattern The apples have a pattern that repeats after every three.

We say the first apple is red.

First item is red.

We say the last apple is red.

Last Item is red, Ultimate item is red.

But, how do we say one apple to the end is red? I mean an apple before the last one?

Next-to-last item is red, Penultimate item is red.

grammaticality - "need to do" vs "need do"

Consider:

1. I need to do this.


2. I need do this.

My English grammar knowledge tells me that "need" doesn't have the same status as the modal verbs "may", "can", "should" and what not. Hence the second usage where two verbs appear consecutively is incorrect.

But yesterday, my native English speaking friends (Americans) told me that "I need compute this." is a perfectly grammatical sentence, and one is simply omitting the "to". How can this be? Is it a colloquial usage but grammatically incorrect, or is it grammatically correct? If it is grammatically correct, is it because "need" is a semi-modal verb?

EDIT: in particular, is it okay to use "need compute" in a scientific paper?

EDIT2: the exact phrase that raised the question was "The advantage of this representation is that we need only compute sums and products"

Answer

Your friend is correct. "I need compute ..." is ungrammatical, but "I need only compute ..." is fine, if a little bit old-fashioned and formal.

Modal verbs do not use a "to". That is, you say

I can do this.

The verb "need" is a funny case; it is only modal in the negative. In the positive, we already have an equivalent modal verb; namely, "I must". However, there are two possible meanings for the opposite of "I must do this": "I am forbidden to do this" and "I am not required to do this". These two different meanings are conveyed by the modal verbs "I must not" and "I need not".

Searching with Google books, it appears to have been this way at least since 1600 (although back then, there was a positive construction "I must needs", which has since for the most part fallen out of use). Thus, you get various grammatical constructions.

In the negative, you have:

I need not do this.
I do not need to do this.

In the positive, you have:

I must do this.
I need to do this.
*I must needs do this. (obsolete)

"I need do this" is incorrect.

Over the last few centuries, "I don't need to" has slowly been replacing "I need not", but "I need not do this" is still used reasonably frequently, and is grammatical. However, if "I need do this" was ever grammatical, it was in the long distant past.

Finally, in the past you could say

it is not the case that I need compute this,

since that is a negative use (and this is why your friend might not be wrong). Today, I believe most people would use "need to" here. But if your friend was using "need compute" in the negative, there is a good case to make for it being grammatical.

usage - Would you say 'yes, neither do I' / 'yes, me neither'?

My question does not have to do with the correctness/incorrectness of 'neither do I'/'me neither', but with the presence of the 'yes' (or 'yeah', which is how it most often 'comes out' for me) at the beginning.

If someone were to say:

I love chocolate.

I'd naturally answer (orally) one of the two:

Yeah, so do I. / Yeah, me too.

But if someone were to say:

I don't like driving.

Would it be normal to answer:

Yeah, neither do I. / Yeah, me neither.

Or with it be best to say:

No, neither do I. / No, me neither.

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I do not understand why my question was marked as a duplicate. My question is not about the personal pronoun (I or me) but about the adverbs (Yes/Yeah or No). I do state in the first paragraph that my question concerns "the presence of the 'yes' (...) at the beginning.", whereas the question I'm supposedly 'duplicating' is clearly focused on the personal pronoun.

I shall edit to make the words I'm concerned with in bold to see if that clarifies that I'm not interested in the pronouns.

Answer

The short answer is yes, it would be normal to respond with either statement.

As was mentioned already in the comments, the "yes/yeah" parts of your example sentences are simply agreeing with the original speaker. It would become awkward if they'd followed their statement with a question ("I don't like driving, do you?" "Yeah, me neither.") and sounds more like you'd formulated your response before they'd finished speaking, but as it stands it's not awkward and definitely not incorrect.

I know you didn't ask about the difference between responding with "me" or "I" but in formal speech they should both be "I" since you are the subject of your own statement. "Me too" and "me neither" are both fully accepted in conversational speech, though.

Having grown up in England and then moved to the States I will say that I have (on incredibly rare occasions) encountered people who are amused by my "formality" when I say "neither do I" but have never encountered the opposite with "me neither."

So, while both are fully acceptable statements in both the English speaking countries I have any experience with, the States appears to have a (very, very) slight leaning towards "me neither" in an informal setting.