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a vs the (John is the/a professor of English at ABC University.)



 
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'there is a sufficiently number' vs 'there are a sufficient number' | Why is the sentence finite? (He claims that he knows the answer.)
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a vs the (John is the/a professor of English at ABC University.) #1 (permalink) Fri Jul 03, 2009 8:57 am   a vs the (John is the/a professor of English at ABC University.)
 

1) John is the professor of English at ABC University.
2) John is a professor of English at ABC University.


Does the first sentence mean that there is only one English professor at ABC University and John is the one? Does the second sentence imply that there are more than one professor at ABC University and John is one of them? And what if we omitted the article altogether? What would that mean?
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a vs the #2 (permalink) Fri Jul 03, 2009 9:13 am   a vs the
 

Hi Daemon,

Yes, 'the professor' suggests exclusivity and 'a professor' suggests one of others. If there is no article, you would simply be describing John's occupation and not indicating whether he is the only one or one of a group.

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a vs the #3 (permalink) Fri Jul 03, 2009 9:13 am   a vs the
 

1) might also imply that John is the most noted professor (for competence, queerness, etc.), I believe. That, of course, is in case you put the stress on "the" while speaking.
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a vs the #4 (permalink) Fri Jul 03, 2009 11:48 am   a vs the
 

I laugh hard at your "queerness" example. Laughing
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a vs the #5 (permalink) Sat Jul 04, 2009 8:25 am   a vs the
 

In that case, maybe John is Professor Emeritus of Potpourri or maybe Women's Fashion.

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'there is a sufficiently number' vs 'there are a sufficient number' | Why is the sentence finite? (He claims that he knows the answer.)
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