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'The quick brown fox…' : Articles in proverbs



 
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ESL Forum | English Vocabulary, Grammar and Idioms
Since as an adverb | Why are addressing Alan with "Dear Sir"?
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'The quick brown fox…' : Articles in proverbs #1 (permalink) Thu Sep 21, 2006 14:57 pm   'The quick brown fox…' : Articles in proverbs
 

Hi

In any language proverbs are generalised and fixed phrases expressing 'folk wisdom'. :)

(But only a few languages use that <censored> :) articles. )

Could you explain why do you use definite articles in some proverbs:
The quick brown fox jumps over the lazy dog.


whereas in others you use indefinite one:
An old dog will learn no new tricks. :)


and sometimes that <censored> articles are both definite and indefinite in the same phrase… with no hope for me to find a rule :lol: :( :
The mouse lordships where a cat is not. :shock:

?
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Articles #2 (permalink) Thu Sep 21, 2006 15:20 pm   Articles
 

Hi Tamara,

Your first example of the fox is used as a way of testing a typewriter by using all the letters of the alphabet and is known as a pangram, apparently. As for the others, well that would take a deal of time to work them all out.

Quote:
An old dog will learn no new tricks.
possibly any old dog is suggested here.

Quote:
The mouse lordships where a cat is not.

?
Never heard that before! I can only suggest that the is used before mouse because that is the creature that's the boss when there is no cat/not any cat/not a cat around.

Alan
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Articles #3 (permalink) Thu Sep 21, 2006 16:16 pm   Articles
 

Hi Alan

Thank you for you response.

Quote:
by using all the letters of the alphabet and is known as a pangram
Yes, Alan, I know that.
The phase is often used (in software) to demonstrate various fonts – because of that its useful feature – but I mistakenly considered it as a proverb.
OK.
I’ll easily change it, no problem. :)

The wolf may lose his teeth, but never his nature.
Why the?

Quote:
Never heard that before!
In my "dictionary of English proverbs" it is given as an equivalent for When the :) cat is away the mice play".

Quote:
possibly any old dog is suggested here.
Yes...

So... when looking at the list of English proverbs I'm still feeling no hope to cope with articles... :(
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Despairingly :) #4 (permalink) Thu Sep 21, 2006 16:40 pm   Despairingly :)
 

Ah! I've forgotten to add cases with no (zero?) article…
like
Dog eat(s?) dog.
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Despairingly :) #5 (permalink) Thu Sep 21, 2006 16:49 pm   Despairingly :)
 

Tamara wrote:
Ah! I've forgotten to add cases with no (zero?) article…
like
Dog eat(s?) dog.

Hi Tamara

I consider "dog eat dog" to be an adjective (which should probably also be hyphenated). ;)

It's a dog-eat-dog world.

(But that doesn't explain the missing "s", does it?) :lol:

Amy
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