Thread

1. 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. CoastalCoder · 1789856679 · focus · HN ↗

      Just curious, what is your native tongue?

      1. nephihaha · 1789857846 · focus · HN ↗

         My guess is something Slavic (since Slavic languages lack articles apart from Sorbian). I could be wrong. I don't think Finno-Ugric languages have them either. That's just Europe, there are plenty of such examples elsewhere — Japanese has tonnes of suffixes but no direct equivalent to this?

         1. fonheponho · 1789857959 · focus · HN ↗

            (Whether Hungarian qualifies as Finno-Ugric is up for debate, but Hungarian most definitely has determinate and indeterminate articles.)

            1. machomaster · 1789860031 · focus · HN ↗

               Finnish doesn't.

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