Delimiters

Delimiters is an alternative term for articles, as in definite and indefinite articles. This is a term that I have proposed, as I find the term article to be confusing and unhelpful, especially for students. Delimiters or articles belong to the larger syntactic category of determiners. The following is my own approach to analyzing and teaching delimiters, which comes from my work in cognitive linguistics.

1 Introduction

English has the following delimiters.

• Singular indefinite a and an
• Singular / plural definite the

Additionally, some functions like a plural indefinite delimiter, as in some apples, referring to a particular quantity of a non-specific set of apples. For nouns with no delimiters, some linguists describe such nouns as a zero article, as in ∅ apples in I like apples. Or the nouns can simply be called bare nouns - nouns not modified by a determiner. We thus have the following basic forms.

• Marked nouns, i.e, marked with a/an/the
  • Singular indefinites
  • Singular plurals
• Bare singular nouns
• Bare plural nouns

We have one key distinction between marked and bare nouns, and another key distinction between definite and indefinite nouns. The definite / indefinite distinction is often not taught clearly; they can be explained to students as follows:

• Definite: Known or familiar to the addressee (listener/reader). That is, the speaker/writer assumes the addressee would be familiar with the item, for whatever reason. It could be because of linguistic context, physical context, or other factors.
• Indefinite: Unknown or unfamiliar to the addressee. The speaker assumes the addressee would not be familiar with the item.

2 Basic delimiter patterns

	Form	Meaning	Examples
1.	Singular marked noun: a/an/the + singular noun cf.	Object / item / thing, i.e., physical objects	a cup, a coffee, a chicken, the chicken
2.	Singular bare noun (Ø)	Material / substance noun	coffee, chicken
3.	Bare plural noun (Ø)	Group / set nouns	buying eggs; watching birds
4.	Indefinite: a/an + noun	Unknown or unfamiliar (to listener / reader )	I don’t have a clue.
5.	Definite: the + noun	Known or familiar (to listener / reader)	Don’t look at the sun.

3 Extended patterns

The above patterns are extended to more specialized uses and functions.

	Form	Extended meaning	Examples
1.	Singular marked noun (a/an/the)	Material noun → (a) General activity (cf. 2a)	(a) Beware of theft. We like climbing
2.	Singular bare noun (Ø)	Object noun → (a) Specific event / instance (cf. 1a) (b) Abstract concepts (c) Generic use of object noun	(a) There was a theft. We had a good climb (b) feminism, peace, existence (c) It is in orbit / in place; we speak in dialect; I go by bus
3.	Bare plural noun (Ø)	Group / set noun → (a) Generic / category noun	(a) Penguins are flightless birds.
4.	Indefinite: a/an + noun	Unknown or unfamiliar → (a) Hypothetical cases / examples / descriptions (b) Definitions	(a) I want a job that is fun and pays well (b) A cheetah is a wildcat
5a.	Definite: the + noun	Known / familiar → (a) Physical context (b) Part-whole context (c) Background scene (includes so-called unique referents) (d) Specifier (comparatives, superlatives, etc.)	(a) You can take the red pill or the blue pill. (b) Open the computer and look at the hard drive. (c) At the office, the copier broke down. We saw the sun and the moon outside. (d) the better / best / first / last choice
5b.	Definite: the + noun	Exemplar usage (a) Exemplar or typical example (b) Habitual activity	(a) In the jungle the lion sleeps tonight. (b) I will take the bus. I went to the store / the office
5c.	Definite: the + noun cf. Indefinite a/an	Post-modifiers as specifiers (a) Specific instance / type, cf. (b) Definition / hypothetical	(a) the feminism of the 1960s (b) a theory that explains biodiversity
6.	Compound noun phrases	Head noun (semantic head) determines article marking	the printing company; the instruction manual; the philosophy professor
		Also: → (a) Abbreviations act like compounds; article use depends on head noun of full form (b) Familiar and pronounceable abbreviations may act like proper nouns with no article (c) Place names act like compounds, sometimes with the topographical term omitted	(a) the UN (=the...Nations); the CIA (=the...Agency); the the FBI (=the...Bureau); (b) NASA (c) the Amazon (=the Amazon River / basin / jungle); the Alps (=the Alps mountains); the Congo (=the Congo region)

Significantly more material will be added to this page later, along with related pages for teachers and learners.