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English: A vs. An

365 points · 529 comments · azhenley

abraxas · 1789856502 · focus · HN ↗
What gets me as a non-native speaker far more than "a vs an" is the "a vs the" conundrum. I still don't quite get when something needs to be "indefinite" and I've been speaking English for close to forty years. My native tongue lacks articles altogether and it's soo bloody hard I feel hopeless I'll ever master them fully.
1. Tade0 · 1789858469 · focus · HN ↗
  It leads to some funny situations.
  This one time I was at a company get-together and the CTO, whose son was just born, received some Peppa Pig merch.
  I exclaimed (in English) "Peppa Pig is the shit!"
  The HR lady stared at me as if I killed her father with an accordion.
  1. rawling · 1789890371 · focus · HN ↗
    They probably still would have given you a funny look if you'd exclaimed "Peppa Pig is a shit".
  2. glandium · 1789895709 · focus · HN ↗
    > Peppa Pig is the shit
    I can't resist linking this bit of linguistic humor: <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=igh9iO5BxBo" rel="nofollow">https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=igh9iO5BxBo
  3. IAmBroom · 1790012491 · focus · HN ↗
    A Japanese struggling to learn English asked me "What means... 'asshole'?"
    While I struggled to answer, he graphically gestured, and I agreed.
    "But... also means... 'friend'?"
    Oh. Big cultural difference. I had to explain how US males used insults as a proxy for affectionate gestures, to someone who uneasily spoke English.
    He was not fully convinced, I think.

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