세상을 바로 알고, 참되게 살고 싶다: 10월 2007

2007년 10월 19일 금요일

관사를 사용하는 방법

미국 퍼듀대학 writing lab에서 가져온 영문법 설명

1. Using Articles

What is an article? Basically, an article is an adjective. Like adjectives, articles modify nouns.

English has two articles: the and a/an. The is used to refer to specific or particular nouns; a/an is used to modify non-specific or non-particular nouns. We call the the definite article and a/an the indefinite article.

the = definite article

a/an = indefinite article

For example, if I say, "Let's read the book," I mean a specific book. If I say, "Let's read a book," I mean any book rather than a specific book.

Here's another way to explain it: The is used to refer to a specific or particular member of a group. For example, "I just saw the most popular movie of the year." There are many movies, but only one particular movie is the most popular. Therefore, we use the.

"A/an" is used to refer to a non-specific or non-particular member of the group. For example, "I would like to go see a movie." Here, we're not talking about a specific movie. We're talking about any movie. There are many movies, and I want to see any movie. I don't have a specific one in mind.

Let's look at each kind of article a little more closely.

Indefinite Articles: a and an

"A" and "an" signal that the noun modified is indefinite, referring to any member of a group. For example:

"My daughter really wants a dog for Christmas." This refers to any dog. We don't know which dog because we haven't found the dog yet.
"Somebody call a policeman!" This refers to any policeman. We don't need a specific policeman; we need any policeman who is available.
"When I was at the zoo, I saw an elephant!" Here, we're talking about a single, non-specific thing, in this case an elephant. There are probably several elephants at the zoo, but there's only one we're talking about here.

Remember, using a or an depends on the sound that begins the next word. So...

a + singular noun beginning with a consonant: a boy; a car; a bike; a zoo; a dog
an + singular noun beginning with a vowel: an elephant; an egg; an apple; an idiot; an orphan
a + singular noun beginning with a consonant sound: a user (sounds like 'yoo-zer,' i.e. begins with a consonant 'y' sound, so 'a' is used); a university; a unicycle

If the noun is modified by an adjective, the choice between a and an depends on the initial sound of the adjective that immediately follows the article:

a broken egg
an unusual problem
a European country (sounds like 'yer-o-pi-an,' i.e. begins with consonant 'y' sound)

Remember, too, that in English, the indefinite articles are used to indicate membership in a group:

I am a teacher. (I am a member of a large group known as teachers.)
Brian is an Irishman. (Brian is a member of the people known as Irish.)
Seiko is a practicing Buddhist. (Seiko is a member of the group of people known as Buddhists.)

Definite Article: the

The definite article is used before singular and plural nouns when the noun is specific or particular. The signals that the noun is definite, that it refers to a particular member of a group. For example:

"The dog that bit me ran away." Here, we're talking about a specific dog, the dog that bit me.

"I was happy to see the policeman who saved my cat!" Here, we're talking about a particular policeman. Even if we don't know the policeman's name, it's still a particular policeman because it is the one who saved the cat.

"I saw the elephant at the zoo." Here, we're talking about a specific noun. Probably there is only one elephant at the zoo.

Count and Noncount Nouns

The can be used with noncount nouns, or the article can be omitted entirely.

"I love to sail over the water" (some specific body of water) or "I love to sail over water" (any water).
"He spilled the milk all over the floor" (some specific milk, perhaps the milk you bought earlier that day) or "He spilled milk all over the floor" (any milk).

"A/an" can be used only with count nouns.

"I need a bottle of water."
"I need a new glass of milk."

Most of the time, you can't say, "She wants a water," unless you're implying, say, a bottle of water.

Geographical use of the

There are some specific rules for using the with geographical nouns.

Do not use the before:

names of most countries/territories: Italy, Mexico, Bolivia; however, the Netherlands, the Dominican Republic, the Philippines, the United States
names of cities, towns, or states: Seoul, Manitoba, Miami
names of streets: Washington Blvd., Main St.
names of lakes and bays: Lake Titicaca, Lake Erie except with a group of lakes like the Great Lakes
names of mountains: Mount Everest, Mount Fuji except with ranges of mountains like the Andes or the Rockies or unusual names like the Matterhorn
names of continents (Asia, Europe)
names of islands (Easter Island, Maui, Key West) except with island chains like the Aleutians, the Hebrides, or the Canary Islands

Do use the before:

names of rivers, oceans and seas: the Nile, the Pacific
points on the globe: the Equator, the North Pole
geographical areas: the Middle East, the West
deserts, forests, gulfs, and peninsulas: the Sahara, the Persian Gulf, the Black Forest, the Iberian Peninsula

Omission of Articles

Some common types of nouns that don't take an article are:

Names of languages and nationalities: Chinese, English, Spanish, Russian
Names of sports: volleyball, hockey, baseball
Names of academic subjects: mathematics, biology, history, computer science

2007년 10월 17일 수요일

인간복제에 관한 글을 읽다가

배아 세포를 실험하는 윤리적 문제에 관한 글을 읽다가 문득 아기가 어떻게 탄생되는지 궁금해졌다. 배아 세포 실험의 요체는 수정된지 14일 정도 되는 배아세포(embrio, 더 구체적으로는 zygoto라고 하는 것 같다.)를 사람으로 볼 것인가 하는 문제였다. 보통 자궁에 착상되려면 14일 정도 소요된다고 하며 50~80%의 배아세포는 자궁에 착상되지 않고 체외로 빠져나간다고 한다. 따라서 14일 미만의 배아세포를 사람이라고 간주해서 이를 슬퍼하는 사람은 지구상에 아무도 없다고 하는 것이 배아 세포 실험 찬성론자의 주장이다. 물론 그사람들이라고 해서 아무렇게나 배아세포를 사용하고자 하는 것은 아니고, 의학목적에만 국한해서 연구를 계속해야 한다는 입장이다. 물론 반대론자는 모든 배아세포는 사람이라고 주장하고 생명에 대한 인간의 개입을 경고하고 있다. 나는 어느 입장에 속하지 않다. 좀 찬성론자에 가깝다고 할까나... 어쨌든 전반적인 지식이 부족한듯하여 이리저리 살펴보다 youtube에서 나름대로 정리가 되어 있는 비디오를 찾았다. 생명의 신비는 이제부터 천천이 공부해야 겠다.