越簡單越要學的紮實!不定冠詞總複習-使用大解析! The logic of indefinite articles

不定冠詞的概念很簡單
它引入了可數名詞
而不像定冠詞一樣的具體
不定冠詞也只有兩個:”a” 與 “an”
學英文時大家都記得
“a”, “e”, “i”, “o”, “u” 開頭的字前面要用 “an”
可是還有很多的例外
不要忘記在掌握不定冠詞的用法中
聽力的訓練也是不可忽略的

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文法教學:冠詞:”a”, “an”, 還是 ”the” (Articles – ‘a’, ‘an’ and ‘the’ | English Grammar)

先參考一下正確與不正確的例句:

(O) Mary ate an apple and an orange.
瑪麗吃了一個蘋果和一個橘子。

(O) Mary always eats a piece of fruit in the afternoon.
瑪麗總是在下午吃一個水果。

(O) Mary ate the apple and the orange in the refrigerator.
瑪麗吃了放在冰箱裡的蘋果和橘子。

 

(X) Mary includes the apple in her daily diet.
瑪麗在她的每天飲食中包括了這個蘋果。

Correction:
Mary includes an apple in her daily diet.
更正:瑪麗在她的每天飲食中包括了一個蘋果。

 

(X) Joe stops at the corner Starbuck for the cup of coffee each morning.
每天早晨喬為了這被咖啡在拐角的星巴克的停留。

Correction:
Joe stops at the corner Starbucks for a cup of coffee each morning.
更正:每天早晨喬為了一杯咖啡在拐角的星巴克的停留。

 

(X) Brad and his friends like to try the different restaurant every weekend.
布萊德與他的朋友們喜歡每個週末嘗試這個不同的餐廳。

Correction:
Brad and his friends like to try a different restaurant every weekend.
更正:布拉德和他的朋友們喜歡每到週末嘗試一個不同的餐廳。

 

(X) Creative people are more productive in the quiet space.
創意性的人在這個安靜的空間更有效率。

Correction:
Creative people are more productive in a quiet space.
更正:創意性的人在一個安靜的空間更有效率。

 

(O) The family of four decided to go see a movie after they had dinner.
一家四口吃過晚飯後決定去看一部電影 。

(O) The family of four decided to go see the movie everyone is talking about.
一家四口吃過晚飯後決定去看大家都在討論的那部電影 。

(O) Norah is always studying or working, and she hasn’t had time to watch a movie, or have a cup of coffee with a friend for months.
諾拉總是在讀書或則或工作,而她幾個月都沒有時間去看一部電影或者與朋友喝一杯咖啡了。

(O) Norah hasn’t had time to go to the movies or visit the museums the entire semester.
諾拉整個學期都沒有時間去看電影或者參觀博物館了。

 

(X) After Norah finished her finals, she went to see the movie with her friends, and enjoyed the nice dinner l together.
諾拉完成了期末考以後,與朋友去看了這部電影,並一起享受了這頓美好的晚餐。

Correction:
After Norah finished her finals, she went to see a movie with her friends, and they enjoyed a nice meal together.
更正:諾拉完成了期末考以後,與朋友去看了一部電影,並一起享受了一頓美好的晚餐。

Common idiomatic examples that display nonspecific references
通用俚語的示範不具體的例子:

An apple a day keeps the doctor away.
一天一蘋果,醫生遠離我。

She is like a cat on a hot tin roof.
她就像一個熱鐵皮屋頂上的貓。

Examples with indefinite article 需要用不定冠詞的例句:

An apple a day keeps the doctor away implies that a person should always remember to include an apple, or a piece of nutritious fruit in his or her daily diet.
「一天一蘋果,醫生遠離我」意味著,一個人應該記住在他的日常飲食中包括一個蘋果或一個營養的水果。

The phrase “like a cat on a hot tin roof” is used to describe a person who is in a state of unsettlingly anxiety, and is unable to hold still.
「像一個熱鐵皮屋頂上的貓」這句話是用來形容一個人焦慮不安的狀態,而無法保持不動。

Examples with definite article 需要用定冠詞的例句:

All apples are beneficial to your health, and you don’t have to go to the supermarket to find a specific apple. Unless you are Snow White’s evil stepmom, then you would want the princess to take a bite out of the poison apple, which you have specially prepared.
所有的蘋果都對你的健康有益。你不需要去超市找任何特別的蘋果。除非你是白雪公主的邪惡繼母,那你就會期待公主咬一口你特製的毒蘋果。

If the “cat on a hot tin roof” scenario is literal, then you can say: “My cat got out of the house, and climbed up onto roof, now it is jumping around because the roof of our house is really hot.”
如果「熱鐵皮屋頂上的貓」是真實的。你可以說:「我的貓跑出去,爬上了我們家的屋頂,因為我們的房子的屋頂很熱,所以它現在跳來跳去」。

「一天一蘋果,醫生遠離我」是真的嗎? (Does An Apple A Day REALLY Keep The Doctor Away?)
蘋果的好處是全世界都認同的,可是大家看影片時要注意的是這位大哥從頭到尾沒有講 “the apple”, 因為他的重點是只要是蘋果都對健康有益啦!

An “a” or an “an”? 到底是 “a” 還是 “an”?

基本上來講,如果名詞是母音開頭,就用 “an”,其它的都是用 “a” 的原則很簡單。可是 wait a second!這麼簡單的規則就不好玩了。參考以下的例句,看你會不會發現有什麼不一樣的地方?

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It’s an honor to meet you.
很榮幸認識你。

The sign “Missisippi River” is missing an “s” in “Mississippi”.
「密西西比河」的標牌中的 “Missisippi” 缺少了一個 “s” 字母。

He made a U-turn.
他轉了一個U型轉彎。

Every high school senior wishes to get into a university.
每一位高中的四年級生都期望進入一所大學。

為什麼 “a honor” 變成了 “an honor”,”a ‘s’” 是 “an ‘s’”, “an U-turn” 是 “a U-turn”, 還有好端端的 “an university” 變成了 “a university”?

再大聲的讀一次,答案馬上就出現了:

It’s an honor to meet you.
• The “h” in the pronunciation of “honor” is silent.
• “honor” 的 “h” 是沒有聲音的。

The sign “Missisippi River” is missing an “s” in “Mississippi”.
• The alphabet “s” is pronounced as “es” [es].
• 英文字母 “s” 的發音是 “es” [es]。

He made a U-turn.
• The correct pronunciation of “U-turn” is “You turn” [yoo-turn]
• “U-turn” 正確的發音是 “You turn” [yoo-turn]。

The high school senior is worried that she might not get into a university.
“University” is pronounced as “you-ni-ver-si-ty” [yoo-nuh-vur-si-tee].
“University” 是發音成 you-ni-ver-si-ty” [yoo-nuh-vur-si-tee]。

區分一個字開頭的音是否真的有母音的發音的好辦法就是大聲的念出來。也有更好的辦法:查一下字典,仔細研究一下。如果自己練習時發覺 “a honor” 或者 “an university” 聽起來不大對勁,你很可能是正確的。不要忘記,學英文時,不止是眼睛要注意的看,也要豎起耳朵,相信你的聽力!

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文/王傳瑄
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