A Contrastive Study on Articles in English and Arabic

Tahani Balla Mohammed Ahmed Sulieman

B.Ed. French Language, Faculty of Education – Hantoub (2012)
Postgraduate Diploma in Translation, Faculty of Education –
Hantoub
Translation and Languages Centre, (2014)

A Dissertation

Submitted to the University of Gezira in Partial Fulfillment of the

Requirements for the Award of the Degree of

Master of Arts in Translation

Translation and Language Centre

Faculty of Education, Hantoub

University of Gezira

October, 2021

i
 A Contrastive Study on Articles in English and Arabic

Tahani Balla Mohammed Ahmed Sulieman

Supervision Committee

Name Position signature

1. Lubab Altayeb Elmikashfi Main Supervisor ………………
2. Zahir Abu Obeida Ahmed Co-supervisor ………………..

Date:

May, 2021

ii
 A Contrastive Study on Articles in English and Arabic

Tahani Balla Mohammed Ahmed Sulieman

Examination Committee

Name Position Signature

1. Dr. Lubab Altayeb Elmikashfi Chairperson ……………..
2. Dr. Salwa Eltayeb Bakhit External Examiner ………………..
3. Dr. Mona Alsayed Abd-Alwahab Internal Examiner ………………

Date of Examination

22/5/2021

iii
 Dedication

I lovingly dedicate this study to my beloved father who always supports me.

There is no doubt that without his unconditional love, constant support, continuous
encouragement I could not have completed this study.

I also dedicated this work also to my husband and my family

iv
 Acknowledgements

I would like to express my sincere thanks to my dissertation main supervisor,

Dr. LubabAltyaebAlmikashfi, for precious advices through the stages of this study ,
thanks are due to Dr.Zahir Abu Obeida Ahmed my co-supervisor

v
 Table of contents
Topic Page
Dedication iii
Acknowledgements iv
Table of contents vi
Abstract (English) ix
Abstract (Arabic) x
CHAPTER ONE
INTRODUCTION
1.0 Background 1
1.1 Statement of the Problem 1
1.2 Objectives of the Study 1
1.3 Questions of the study 2
1.4 Hypotheses of the Study 2
1.5 Significance of the Study 2
1.6 Methodology of the study 2
1.7 Limits of the study 2
CHAPTER TWO
LITERATURE REVIEW
2.0 Introduction 3
2.1 the Concept of Contrastive Analysis 3
2.2the Concept of Definiteness the English 4
2.3 Definition of Indefiniteness in the English 6
2.3.1 Nature of Definiteness and indefiniteness in Arabic 6
2.3.2 Expressing Definiteness in English 12
2.3.3 the English Definite Article ‗the‘ 12
2.3.1.3 Situational Reference of "the" 13
2.3.1.3 The Use of ‗the‘ in the Immediate Situation 14

vi
2.3.1.1 the Use of 'the' in the Larger Situation 14
2.3.3.4 The Use of ‗the‘ with Adjectives 15
2.4The Indefinite Articles in English Language 15
2.4.1 Use of 'a/ an' with Common Nouns 15
2.4.2 Use of 'a/an' with Proper Nouns 16
2.4.3: the Use of ‗a/an‘ with Titles of Books 17
2.4.4 Substitutes for 'a/an' 17
2.5 Descriptive Role of a/an 20
2.5.1 the Indefinite Article as a Classifier 21
2.5.2 Approaches to Study the Indefinite Articles 'a/n' 21
2.6 The Concept of Zero Article 21
2.6.1 The Categorical Function of the English Zero Article 22
2.7 Uses of the Arabic Definite Article‖ al‖ 23
2.7.1Textual Use of the Arabic Definite Article‖ al‖ 23
2.7.2 Situational Use 23
2.7.3 Cultural Use 23
2.7.4Structural Use 24
2.7.5 Entire Class 24
2.7.6. Individuals of a Class 24
2.8 Previous Studies 25
CHAPTER THREE
Similarities between Arabic and English Articles
3.0 Introduction 30
3.1 Similarities between English and Arabic in Uses 30
CHAPTER FOUR
Differences between English and Arabic Articles
4.0 Introduction 33
4.1 Differences between Arabic and English 33

vii
 CHAPTER FIVE
CONCLUSTION and RECOMMENTIONS
5.0Introduction 39
5.1Conclusion 39
5.2 Findings of the Study 39
5.3 Recommendations of the Study 40
1.3 Suggestions for further Studies 41
References 41

viii
A Contrastive Study on Articles in English and Arabic
Tahani Balla Mohammed Ahmed Suleiman

Abstract

Definite and indefinite articles differ from one language to another – the thing which
makes them a good area of comparing languages. Indeed, any change in the use of
articles will mostly lead to a change in the semantic implication of the sentence where the
article is used. The study aimed to find out the differences between English and Arabic
articles. It also aimed to discover the similarities between them. The study followed the
contrastive comparative approach. The articles in both Arabic and English were analyzed,
classified and discussed so as to achieve the objectives of the study. The study has come
up with many results, the most important of which are: one of the differences between the
English and Arabic definite article is that the Arabic definite article "Al" is divided into
the two patterns 'Alshamsia', and 'Algamariya' in terms of whether the article is
pronounced or not, respectively. In contrast, the English definite article "the" is always
pronounced. Another difference is that English has two indefinite articles "a" and " an";
Arabic has no article to indicate indefiniteness. One of the similarities is represented in the
fact that the definite article in both languages can be used to express either a specific
reference or a concept shared by the speaker and the hearer. Moreover, both of them can
be used with uncountable nouns. The study recommends Arab learners who study English
and translators to pay attention to the differences between English and Arabic definite and
indefinite articles. The study suggests conducting a contrastive study on the types of
definiteness in English and Arabic and a study concerning the problems encountered in
translating the Arabic definite article ‗al‘ into English.

ix
 ‫دراسة تقابلية عن األدوات في اللغتين اإلنجليزية والعربية‬

‫تهاني بله محمد أحمد سليمان‬

‫ملخص الدراسة‬

‫ذخرٍف أد‪ٚ‬اخ اٌّعشفح ‪ٚ‬إٌىشج ِٓ ٌغح إٌ‪ ٝ‬أخش‪ِّ ٜ‬ا ‪٠‬جعٍ‪ٙ‬ا ِجاالً ج‪١‬ذاً ٌّماسٔح اٌٍغاخ‪ .‬أ‪ ٞ‬ذغ‪١١‬ش ف‪ ٟ‬اعرخذاَ‬
‫ذٍه األد‪ٚ‬اخ ع‪١‬ؤد‪ ٞ‬ف‪ ٟ‬اٌغاٌة إٌ‪ ٝ‬ذغ‪١١‬ش ف‪ ٟ‬اٌّعٕ‪ ٝ‬اٌذالٌ‪ٌٍ ٟ‬جٍّح اٌر‪ ٟ‬ذغرخذَ ف‪ٙ١‬ا األداج‪٘ .‬ذفد اٌذساعح إٌ‪ٝ‬‬
‫ِعشفح اٌفش‪ٚ‬ق ت‪ ٓ١‬أد‪ٚ‬اخ اٌّعشفح ‪ ٚ‬إٌىشج ف‪ ٟ‬اٌٍغر‪ ٓ١‬اإلٔجٍ‪١‬ض‪٠‬ح ‪ٚ‬اٌعشت‪١‬ح‪ .‬وّا ٘ذفد إٌ‪ ٝ‬اورشاف أ‪ٚ‬جٗ اٌرشاتٗ‬
‫ت‪ّٕٙ١‬ا‪ .‬اذثعد اٌذساعح إٌّ‪ٙ‬ج اٌرماتٍ‪ ،ٟ‬اٌّماسْ‪ .‬ذُ ذحٍ‪ ً١‬أد‪ٚ‬اخ اٌّعشفح ‪ٚ‬إٌىشج ف‪ ٟ‬اٌٍغر‪ ٓ١‬اٌعشت‪١‬ح ‪ٚ‬اإلٔجٍ‪١‬ض‪٠‬ح‬
‫‪ٚ‬ذصٕ‪١‬ف‪ٙ‬ا ‪ِٕٚ‬الشر‪ٙ‬ا ٌرحم‪١‬ك أ٘ذاف اٌذساعح‪ .‬ذ‪ٛ‬صٍد اٌذساعح ٌٍعذ‪٠‬ذ ِٓ إٌرائج ِٓ أّ٘‪ٙ‬ا‪ ِٓ :‬اٌفش‪ٚ‬ق ت‪ ٓ١‬أد‪ٚ‬اخ‬
‫اٌّعشفح ‪ٚ‬إٌىشج ف‪ ٟ‬اٌعشت‪١‬ح ‪ٚ‬اإلٔجٍ‪١‬ض‪٠‬ح‪ ،‬أْ أداج اٌّعشفح ف‪ ٟ‬اٌٍغح اٌعشت‪١‬ح "آي" ‪ٕ٠‬مغُ إٌ‪ٛٔ ٝ‬ع‪" ٓ١‬اٌشّغ‪١‬ح"‪،‬‬
‫‪"ٚ‬اٌمّش‪٠‬ح" ِٓ ح‪١‬س ٔطك األداج عٍ‪ ٝ‬اٌر‪ٛ‬اٌ‪ ،ٟ‬ذٕطك أَ ال‪ .‬ف‪ ٟ‬اٌّماتً‪٠ ،‬رُ دائ ًّا ٔطك أداج اٌرعش‪٠‬ف "را" ﴿‪﴾the‬‬
‫ف‪ ٟ‬اٌٍغح اإلٔجٍ‪١‬ض‪٠‬ح‪ .‬أ‪٠‬ضا ً ‪ٕ٘ ،‬اٌه أداذا ٔىشج ف‪ ٟ‬اٌٍغح االٔجٍ‪١‬ض‪٠‬ح "أ" ﴿‪" ٚ ﴾a‬آْ" ﴿‪ ﴾an‬ت‪ّٕ١‬ا ال ذ‪ٛ‬جذ ف‪ ٟ‬اٌٍغح‬
‫اٌعشت‪١‬ح أداجً ذش‪١‬ش إٌ‪ ٝ‬إٌىشج‪ .‬إْ أحذ أ‪ٚ‬جٗ اٌرشاتٗ ف‪ ٟ‬أداج اٌرعش‪٠‬ف ف‪ ٟ‬اٌٍغر‪ ٓ١‬أْ وٍرا األداذاْ ذغرخذِاْ ٌٍرعث‪١‬ش‬
‫عٓ ِصذس ِع‪ ٓ١‬أ‪ِ ٚ‬ف‪ِ َٛٙ‬ع‪ِ ٓ١‬شرشن ت‪ ٓ١‬اٌّرحذز ‪ٚ‬اٌّغرّع‪ .‬عال‪ٚ‬ج عٍ‪ ٝ‬رٌه‪ّ٠ ،‬ىٓ اعرخذاِ‪ّٙ‬ا ِع األعّاء‬
‫غ‪١‬ش اٌّعذ‪ٚ‬دج‪ .‬ذ‪ٛ‬ص‪ ٟ‬اٌذساعح اٌذاسع‪ ٓ١‬اٌعشب ٌٍغح االٔجٍ‪١‬ض‪٠‬ح ‪ٚ‬اٌّرشجّ‪ ٓ١‬تاالٔرثاٖ إٌ‪ ٝ‬اٌفش‪ٚ‬ق ت‪ ٓ١‬أد‪ٚ‬اج‬
‫ضا أْ ‪ّ٠‬اسط اٌّرعٍّ‪ ْٛ‬اٌفش‪ٚ‬ق ت‪. ُٕٙ١‬ذمرشح‬
‫اٌّعشفح ‪ٚ‬إٌىشج ف‪ ٟ‬اٌٍغر‪ ٓ١‬اإلٔجٍ‪١‬ض‪٠‬ح ‪ٚ‬اٌعشت‪١‬ح‪ ِٓ .‬اٌّ‪ ُٙ‬أ‪ً ٠‬‬
‫اٌذساعح إجشاء دساعح ذماتٍ‪١‬ح عٓ أٔ‪ٛ‬اع اٌرعش‪٠‬ف ف‪ ٟ‬اٌٍغر‪ ٓ١‬اإلٔجٍ‪١‬ض‪٠‬ح ‪ٚ‬اٌعشت‪١‬ح ‪ٚ‬دساعح عٓ اٌّشىالخ اٌر‪ٟ‬‬
‫ذ‪ٛ‬اجٗ عٕذ ذشجّح أداسج اٌرعش‪٠‬ف اٌعشت‪١‬ح ' اي ' إٌ‪ ٝ‬اإلٔجٍ‪١‬ض‪٠‬ح‪.‬‬

‫‪x‬‬
 CHAPTER ONE
INTRODUCTION
2.0 Background
Articles are important in English language and in nearly all
languages. They might be a problematic subject for learners, foreigners in
particular, because articles are of different types. In English, it is often
necessary to use an article in front of a noun. English has the define
article ‗the‘ and the indefinite a‘ or ‗an‘. In order to use English correctly,
it is important to know how those articles are used. This mostly depends
on whether the noun is countable or not, and whether one is talking about
things in general or particular. Longman, (1990:50). So the use of one
type instead of another depends on the reference of the noun used.
Articles differ from one language to another- the thing which makes it a
good area of comparing languages. A change in the use of articles will
mostly lead to a change in the semantic implication of the sentence where
the article is used. This study is concerned with articles along with their
usage in both English and Arabic. Points of similarity and difference will
be tackled and discussed thoroughly through giving examples in both
languages as need arises.
1.1 Statement of the Problem
Being a student of translation in postgraduate diploma in (2014) and
M.A programme (2016-2017), the researcher found herself much
concerned with interested in both English and Arabic structures. Besides,
the researcher has also been attracted by contrastive and comparative
research. Hence, this study is set to draw a contrast between English and
Arabic articles.
1.2 Objectives of the Study
1- To find out the differences between English and Arabic articles.
2- To find out the similarities between English and Arabic articles.

1
1.4 Questions of the Study
1- What are the differences between English and Arabic articles?.
2- What are the similarities between English and Arabic articles?.
1.4 Hypotheses of the Study
1- There are some differences between English and Arabic articles.
2- There are some similarities between English and Arabic articles.
1.8 Significance of the Study
The study is expected to be useful to those who are interested in
grammatical studies in general and comparative study in particular. It
is also hoped that the study will benefit translators, interpreters and
bilinguals who specialize in English and Arabic language.
1.9 Methodology of the Study
The study will adopt the contrastive comparative descriptive and
analytical method. The articles in both Arabic and English will be
analyzed, classified and discussed so as to achieve the objectives of
the study.
1.10 Limits of the Study
The study is limited to a contrastive study of English and Arabic
articles. The study will be conducted during the years (2018-2019) at
University of Gezira, Faculty of Education- Hantoub, Centre of
Languages and Translation.

2
 CHAPTER TWO
LITERATURE REVIEW
2.0 Introduction
This chapter is limited to the review of the literature which is
related to definitions of definiteness, classification, similarities and
differences between them. It also includes some previous studies related
to some topic of the current study.
2.1 The Concept of Contrastive Analysis
Nobody can ignore the deep interrelationship and effect of contrastive
and error analysis in the field of foreign language teaching and learning.
Gass and Selinker, (1992, 2001) state that comparative studies between
the first and the second languages are one important preliminary step to
understanding language transfer. This comparison often guides
researchers to understanding the hypotheses related to language transfer
phenomena.
According to Wardhaugh, (1970) contrastive analysis is a means of
comparing learners‘ L1 and L2 to analyze possible difficulties that the
learners might encounter in a L2 learning situation. Contrastive analysis
assumes that the patterns and rules of L1 cause difficulties to L2 learning.
Contrastive analysis is concerned with the study of two languages aiming
at discovering their structural similarities and differences.
Almaloul(2014) supports the belief that contrastive analysis studies the
similarities and differences between two languages or more. It asserts the
claim that learners tend to depend on and refer back to their native
language when they encounter target language items that greatly differ
from their mother- tongue.
Malzan, (2015) considers contrastive analysis as a method that was
widely used in the 1960s and early 1970s to explain why some features of
a target language were more difficult to learn than others.

3
Lado, (1957) reports that those items of a target language that are similar
to the learners‘ first language will be easy for them to learn. In addition,
those items of a target language that are different from the learners ‗first
language will be difficult for them to acquire.
The student who comes in contact with a foreign language will find some
features of it quite easy, while others extremely difficult. confirmed by
Lado, (1957: 2), he states that those elements that are similar to his/her
mother tongue will be simple for him/her, while those elements that are
different will be difficult as stated by Weinreich, (1953:2), the greater the
difference between the two systems, i.e. the more numerous the mutually
exclusive forms and patterns in each, the greater the learning problem and
the potential area of interferences.
Lightbown and Spada, (2006) explains that the elements of a foreign
language that are similar to the student‘s native language will be simple,
while those elements that are different will be difficult. Thus, where
differences exist, errors would be bidirectional.
Eric (2008) states that contrastive analysis hypothesis is based on the
claim that the difficulty of a second language acquisition could be
discovered or foretold depending on the degree of difference between the
learners‘ firsthand second language. She adds that there are certain
problems with this hypothesis. One problem, for instance, is that this
hypothesis does not predict many of the errors the learner makes in the
second language acquisition. Another problem is that this hypothesis
predicts interference errors where none might arise.
2.2 The Concept of ‘Definiteness’ in English
Though articles in English are presenting one of the most difficult
problems to foreigners, they are never taught to the native speakers of
English because of their obviousness. The explanation that the articles
come to them ‗by themselves‘ apart of the English idiom is superficial

4
because, except for fixed expressions, in the majority of cases they have
to make some rational choice among 'the', 'a', or no article with a noun in
its particular context, (Kaluza, (1981: 7)
There are several definitions concerning definiteness, some consider
definiteness as a discourse – pragmatic property while others denote it as
a semantic feature.
Definiteness in English is expressed by the determiner 'the', as in (1) 'The
earth revolves around the sun. (2) She bought the car she wanted'. In
(1), the referents are part of the interlocutors, shared knowledge, while in
(2), the relative clause provides enough context for the referent to
become identifiable as the sentence is processed (Guerin, (2007:539)
Lyons (1999:278) argues that definiteness is a grammaticalization
category: that originally definite NPs are understood to denote
identifiable entities, but as a consequence of the category becoming
grammatical zed have acquired other use. In other words,
definiteness is a category concerned with the grammaticalization of
identifiability and non-identifiability of referents on the part of a speaker
or addressee.
Another definition of definiteness, given by Chafe (1976:28)
shows that it is a discourse-pragmatic notion which is identifiable. A
definite referent is one which the speaker assumes that the hearer will be
able to identify, i.e. to locate in his or her current mental representation.
Similarly, Von Heusinger and Kaiser, (2003:44) define definiteness
as a discourse-pragmatic property which indicates that the discourse
referent associated with a definite expression can be identified with an
already introduced discourse item. It is a property of the referents set in
the discourse. A definite singular expression unambiguously denotes or
refers to one object, that is, the object can be identified as the only one
that is denoted by the noun phrase. On the other hand, definiteness is a

5
semantic feature which makes reference to the knowledge state of both
the speaker and the hearer concerning a unique discourse referent (Ko et
al, 2008: 118)
Quirk et al (1985:265) and Peterson, (1974:97) state that the definite
phrase is one, which refers to something that can be identified uniquely
in the contextual or general knowledge shared by speaker and
hearer. In other words, the phrase is known to both the speaker and the
addressee.
A definite noun phrase is used when a speaker makes the presupposition
that the referent of the expression is accessible to both the hearer. That is,
the speaker assumes that there is a unique referent that the hearer can
identify, either (i) because the referent was previously mentioned in the
context of discourse, or (ii) because the referent is part of the
interlocutors shared knowledge, or (iii) because there is enough
descriptive content in the sentence to identify the referent: the referent
becomes identifiable as the sentence is processed (Hawkins, 1978:167-
168).
2.3 Definition of Indefiniteness in English
Indefiniteness is a kind of definiteness indicating that the referent(s) of an
expression are not presumed to be identifiable. The referent is not
identifiable because of a lack of shared knowledge or situation, including
no previous mention of the referent. (Charlton and Charles Short (1879)
2.3.1 Nature of Definiteness and Indefiniteness in Arabic
Al-Syuti, (1445 – 1505: 34) starts the section on ―Indefiniteness and
Definiteness‖ by stating that nouns, by default, are indefinite, and that
definiteness is a branch of indefiniteness. He specifies that nouns are
originally indefinite and that they are made definite by the addition of a
sign. Figure [2] sums up the equation.

6
 Definiteness = indefiniteness + sign

Figure No (2) the equation of definiteness

Source: Al-Suyi1 (1968 : 34)
He presents the four phases, as stated by Iben Ya‗īsh (1968: 34), setting
outhow indefiniteness precedes definiteness:
Phase one: The concept of indefiniteness precedes that of definiteness in
the mind (thought) as definiteness is applied to indefiniteness (happens to
indefinites).
Phase two: Definiteness is a subset or a branch of indefiniteness since it
needs tool, a syntactic structure or a sign, unlike indefiniteness.
Phase three: The definite term is considered a hyponym of both the
definite and indefinite forms. For example, ―man‖ is a hyponym of
―animal‖ since it is a member of class or species; thus, ―animal‖ becomes
the ‗general‘ and the hyponym of ―man‖. Similarly, indefiniteness is a
hyponym of definiteness.
Phase four: The benefit from (or the objective of) identifying a name is
to specify this name for the listener. The specification depends on the
structure of the name (adding the definite article to the noun or adjective,
for example), which is formed upon communicating this knowledge.
The indefinite is more general or more generic than the definite, and the
general dominates the specific. The specific differs from generic in the
added traits. The following is the Arabic scripts of the four phases as
presented by Al-Suyuti(1445 – 1505: 34):
Indefinite proceeding the definite in four ways: :‫النكرة سابقة عمى المعرفة ألربعة أوجه‬
1- One of them is that the identification of
indefiniteness is prior in mind than ‫ أحدها أن مسمى النكرة أسبق في الذهن من‬-3
definiteness, that why indefiniteness is .‫مسمى المعرفة بدليل ذكر التعريف عمى التنكير‬
mentioned depending on indefiniteness.

7
2-The second one is that, the definiteness ‫ والثاني أن التعريف يحتاج إلى قرينة لمتنوير‬-2
needs a relation for the identification that is
why the definiteness considered a branch of .‫لذلك تعد المعرفة فرعاً من التنكير‬
indefiniteness.
3-The third one is that the utterance of definite ‫الثالث أن لفظ شيء معموم يقع عمى المعرفة‬-3
thing fell on definiteness and indefiniteness,
so categorizing definiteness under their ‫والنكرة فإندراج المعرفة تحت عمومهما دليل عمى‬
common is an evidence for their general ‫أصالتهما كأصالة العام بالنسبة إلى الخاص فإن‬
origination compared with privatizations, thus
‫اإلنسان مندرج تحت الحيوان لكونه نوعاً منه والجنس‬
human is categorized under animals for being
as species from it and the genus is the origin .‫أصل ألنواعه‬
for its species.
4-The forth one is that the idea of defiantness, ‫ الرابع أن فكرة التعريف تعريف المسمى عند‬-3
when telling the listener and telling is
depended upon the structure, so determining ‫اإلخبار لمسامع واإلخبار يتوقف عمى التركيب‬
by definition on and before structure not ‫فيكون تعيين المسمى عند التركيب وقبل‬
telling, so there is no definition before
.‫التركيب ال إخبار فال تعريف قبل التركيب‬
structure.

Al-Suyuti, adds that the term ―thing‖ is to be found everywhere,

and to specify one particular ―thing‖ is to circumscribe the referents
associated to it, the "thing‖ in question is modified by adding an adjective
or a sign. Thus, the Modified precedes the modification making the
indefinite as the origin / base. He also asserts what is mentioned in the
second phase that definiteness needs either a phonetic or a syntactic sign.
Though indefiniteness is the standard case, definiteness dominates
indefiniteness when they occur together. In example [1], the noun man
ً‫سج‬/ rajulu/is indefinite, and the noun Zayd ‫ذ‬٠‫ ص‬/zaydu/ is definite since it
is a proper name.
1-hatha /rajulu/ wa/zaydundḩahikīn ْ‫ضحىا‬٠ ‫ذ‬٠‫ص‬ٚ ً‫ – ٘زا سج‬3
This man and Zayd are laughing
The word laughing ْ‫ضحىا‬٠/yadḩikīn/ functions as an adjective and should
be in the nominative case. Yet, because of the definite noun, it is in the
genitive case and is parsed as an adverb of manner ‫ حاي‬/ḩal/. In other
words, case changes as a consequence of definiteness. The general rule is

8
that the clauses. following indefinite nouns are parsed as adjectives ‫صفاخ‬
/şifat/ and those following definite are parsed as adverb of manner‫حاي‬
/ḩal/. However, Al-Anşarī (1938) finds this rule inaccurate; he maintains
that the clauses following pure indefinite nouns are parsed as adjectives
and those following pure definite nouns are parsed as adverbs of manner.
Iben Ya‗īsh (1968:85) agrees with Sibawayhi (1992:760-796) that
nouns are fundamentally indefinite and that definiteness is a branch of
indefiniteness. IbenYa‗īsh maintains that indefiniteness precedes
definiteness because there exists no definite noun without its indefinite
counterpart (except for the name of God). Moreover, Sibawayhi (1992)
considers that indefiniteness is ‗lighter‘ than definiteness because it exists
before definiteness, and most indefinite words are declinable. He
analyzes it from an existential point of view, which is valid, in so far as
indefinites exist before definite.
To every definite noun, there is an indefinite counterpart, but there are
many indefinites that have no definite. Sibawayhi does not provide an
example to clarify this instance.
However, some linguists, such as Afifi( cf(Al-Handud 2004),disagree
with this line of thought: they consider that many words that are definite
do not have an indefinite origin, such as pronouns and demonstrative
pronouns,
Moreover, both, Iben Ya‗īsh and Sibawayhi do not explain how the
subsets, which are the definite, dominate the original, i.e., the indefinites.
Al-Afghanī, (1981: 92) explains definiteness in terms of its function
in specifying the intended entity in the mind of the speaker. He states that
―every noun that signifies a specific item of its category is considered
definite, such as 'you' ,'Khalid', 'Beirut', 'this', 'the prince', and 'the
brother'. And if it (the noun) does not signify specific entity in its
category, it is indefinite, such as man, country, prince, and brother,

9
regardless of whether it is used with the definite article or not‖. That
means, the term the man in the general generic sense is indefinite as it
does not specify the man in question; on the other hand, the term 'you'
signifying a specific person, the person Tahani talking-to, is definite. This
leads to the conclusion that definiteness is associated with the idea of
specifying the noun in the message communicated between the speaker
and listener, which means that the context plays a major role.
Ashour (n.p.) notices that many Arabic linguists highlight no
difference between a common noun and an indefinite one. They classify
an indefinite noun as common. ―Indefiniteness sets the limit when a noun
does not specify one of its species, as in the case of man, mare, house,
etc.‖ (Al-Anbari, 1957 cf Ashour, n.p.). IbenYa‗īsh, as cited in Ashour,
speculates whether the word ―man fits for any male human being and
mare for any neighing animal walking on four‖. This means that a
common noun evokes indefiniteness since it does not specify any
particular entity of its category. At the same time, this indefinite noun
names one category rather than another, this, by the way, corresponds to
the definition proposed by English grammatical tradition for the common
or general noun (Sweet, 1891).
However, Ashour presents a difference between a common and an
indefinite noun by referring to the definition presented by Hasan (1993).
He indicates that indefiniteness targets what the individual has in
common with other members of the class of which it is a member. It is
the genuinely signified – materialized – utterance and not its abstract
imaginary meaning established in the intellect. On the other hand, a
common noun is the name given to that abstract intellectual meaning to
signify without recalling – in most cases – the utterance and its genuine
signification‖. This would seem to be in line with the definition of the
common name proposed by Stuart Mill (1943), i.e., that is a common

11
noun both denotes and connotes (by means of the attributes common to
the class), unlike the proper name, which denotes without connoting. That
is, the indefinite noun man signifies an individual without specifying his
existence on the phenomenological level because this noun is common
among many kinds of its species that share the same characteristics
(attributes or connotations). The real signification of these rather abstract
considerations which are difficult to grasp unless one takes into account
the Guillaumean distinction between Langue and Discours, on the one
hand, and Aristotelian logic, with which the Arabic grammarians were
obviously familiar, on the other.
Ya‗qob, (2006: 97) defines the indefinite noun as that which does not
specify one of its species. He lists pronouns, demonstratives, and relative
pronouns as cases of the common noun. He then defines the proper noun
as that which specifies one of its species, but he lists the same group
already listed for the common noun, in other words, pronouns,
demonstratives and relative pronouns. This is not a mistake on his part.
He states clearly that ―the intention is not to find what matches the
noun with the proper noun, but to find what is valid to every member of
the species of the common noun‖. This is quite applicable to pronouns,
demonstratives and relative pronouns. The pronoun, you for example, can
be used for any person spoken to and the pronoun refers potentially to a
referent to any speaker. At the same time, when each of these pronouns is
used in discourse, a unique person is referred to in the speech act.
Jespersen (A Philosophy of Grammar, 1924), following the tradition
established by Sweet (1891), refers to these forms as ―shifters‖.
Definiteness, on the other hand, eliminates commonness and eradicates
vagueness as it specifies one unique individual within the set of the
common nouns.

11
In conclusion, Arabic linguists and grammarians identify definiteness and
indefiniteness in their relation one to the other and to the difference and
similarity of their internal structure.
2.3.2 Expressing Definiteness in Arabic
Arabic words can be made definite in many ways. These include the
use of personal pronouns like "me", the use of proper nouns like
"Saudi Arabia", demonstrative pronouns like "this man", relative
pronouns like "the man who ...", vocation like "O man", possession
like "my bag", and of course the definite article like "the man"
(IbnHisham, 2001: 159-90).
2.3.3 The English Definite Article 'the'
The article ‗the‘ is referred to as the definite article in opposition to
a/an, the indefinite. Historically, ‗the‘ is derived from the demonstrative
‗that‘ and is pronounced as /ᶿə/. There are many uses of the; Hawkins
(1978: 129) finds that ―Set identification and referent location are
characteristics of all uses of the‖ though different pragmatic abilities are
required to locate the referent within the set depending on the type of
usage. These uses are referred to as identifiability and locatability.
It can also be characterized by uniqueness. It means that the referent is
unique, one of a kind, in a certain context. The term emerged with
Russell, (1905:177) in his discussion of singular NPs. However, Hawkins
criticizes Russell‘s view and extends uniqueness to plural and mass
nouns. He adds that when the object in question is unique, a + singular
count noun cannot be used to refer to it. Regarding the article the, there
are many theories, the first one is stated by Wilkins (1668) that he is the
first grammarian in England to refer to this theory saying that ‗the‘ ‗‘is
applied only to such a Person or Thing, as the hearer knows, or has reason
to know, because of its eminence or some precedent mention of it‖ Cf
(Lyons 1991: 311).
12
Jespersen (1949) presents three stages of ―complete familiarity‖: the first
is ―complete unfamiliarity or ignorance‖ introduced via the indefinite
article; the second is ―nearly complete familiarity‖ introduced by the
definite article; and the third is ―complete familiarity‖ introduced by
proper nouns and cases where nouns function as proper.
Lyons, (1999) coins the term ―familiarity theory‖ from Christophersen
(1939: 28), who asserts that if the speaker ―wants to be understood it is
important that he should not use words and phrases which the hearer is
likely to misinterpret‖. And if the speaker wishes to indicate that the
referent is familiar to both the hearer and the speaker, the article ‗the‘
fulfills the mission. Yet, Christophersen (1939: 28) acknowledges that
familiarity is a loose concept covering the instances when ―the exact
individual that the speaker is thinking of‖ to instances when ―something
else‖ is associated with the referent. Thus, the concept of familiarity can
be considered to cover contextual reference. That is, the use of ‗the‘ in
[1a] relies on previous mention using the article a/an as in [1]. The usage
of ‗the book‘ in [1a] is understood as referring to the same book
mentioned in 1] using indefinite description, an interesting book.[1] Fred
was discussing an interesting book in his class. [1a] Tahani went to
discuss the book with him afterwards. (Hawkins 1978: 86)
Such reference is also referred to as unique; the referent denoted by ‗the
book‘ in [1a] is unique because it is the particular one mentioned in {1}
2.3.31. Situational Reference of "the"
Hirtle (2009: 162), states that the import of the noun phrase has ―an
extra-linguistic referent… which permits us to relate the linguistic
representations constituting the meaning of a phrase or sentence to
‗mental spaces‘ outside language, i.e. to our experience.‖ He refers to this
process as ―referential incidence‖. Linguists indicate several situations
that make the referent determined or ―recovered‖ despite the absence of a

13
―first-mention‖. They identify two situations: the immediate and the
larger one.
2.3.31. The Use of ‘the’ in the Immediate Situation
Concerning immediate situation, the referent can be identified by the
hearer without previous mentioning. Example like ‗Mind the steps‘ and
‗Beware of the dog‘ do not assume that the person had previous
knowledge of the hazard. The hearer is warned on the spot. Other
immediate situations are (Quirk et al:1985: 266):
[1] The roses are very beautiful. [said in a garden]
[2] Have you visited the castle? [said in a given town]
[3] Pass me the hammer, will you?
In [1], ‗roses‘ are identified by the hearer as the ones seen in the garden –
the immediate situation of the hearer and speaker. The same can be said
about [2]. Being in a town, maybe as a tourist, ‗the castle‘, though not
mentioned before, can be identified. However, it is always possible that
the hearer may not identify the referent and seek clarification. It all
depends on the situation, and the hearer might ask ―which castle?‖
Lyons (1999), refers to immediate situation as― identifiability‖ theory.
According to identifiability, the hearer can identify the referent from the
speaker‘s utterance of the expression. However, this does not mean that
the hearer exerts no effort. In example [3], the hearer does not know that
there is a hammer, but the article "the" tells the hearer that he can find it.
So, he/she has to look around to find it and pass it. It is similar to ‗beware
of the dog‘ the hearer has to look around and identify the threat.
2.3.313 the Use of 'the' in the Larger Situation
Jespersen (1949) calls Larger Situation ―wider situation‖. 'The' referent in
this case may be identified from knowledge in the larger situation. The
larger situation can be in a country like the president, worldwide like' the
Pope', or can be extended to include the whole universe like ‗the sun‘.

14
Quirk et al (1985) find that the larger situation is hardly distinguished
from ―general knowledge‖.
2.3.3.4 The Use of ‘the’ with Adjectives
No doubt, articles precede other parts of speech like adjectives;
consequently, these adjectives function as nouns. This process is referred
to as ―nominalization‖. For example, adjectives like human, disabled and
wounded take the article the and act as nouns. It is worth mentioning that
the adjective human also acts as a noun if it receives the plural
morphemes. Jespersen, (1992:77) refers to this process as
―substantivizing‖
To sum up, the articles carry more functions than what their names
entail. The assumptions governing them need to be cautiously rephrased
and reconsidered. For example, the general assumption that indefinite
articles do not precede proper nouns or non-count nouns is not accepted
anymore. What determines the use of each is the context in which they
appear.
2.4The Indefinite Articles in English Language
Traditionally, the article a/an is referred to as the indefinite article. ―a
‖pronounced /ə/ before consonants and ―an‖ pronounced /ən/ before
vowels. Herslund (2008: 34) finds that ―the indefinite article ‗points
inward‘ by determining the semantic referential value of a noun‖ . Quirk
et al (1997:272) state that it is "notionally the ‗unmarked‘ article in the
sense that it is used for singular count nouns‖ . However, this is just one
of the many uses and functions of the article a/an, which is also able to
express both the singular and the universal
2.4.1 Use of 'a/ an' with Common Nouns:
According to Quirk et al (1997: 272), The article 'a/an' is used when the
referent is introduced for the first time and is not familiar to the hearer or
speaker; it ―makes no assumptions about an earlier mention‖

15
 1. A house on the corner is for sale.
2. The house on the corner is for sale.
Quirk et al explain that the only difference between [1] and [2] is that in
[2], it is supposed that the hearer knows which house is meant, while in
[1], there is no implied assumption. Harris (1751) states that ‗a‘ respects
our primary perception, and denotes individuals as unknown; ‗the‘
respects our secondary perception and denotes individuals as known‖
cf(Lyons 1991: 312). By ―primary perception‖, he means first
introduction where the referent is still not made known (in this way James
Harris, as early as 1751 was able to see the importance of the distinction
between the mental and experiential referent).
2.4.2 Use of 'a/an' with Proper Nouns
Guillaume (1984) considers that the usage of ‗a/an‘ in the introductions
of ―narrations‖ intends to ―present the characters‖ and situate them in
―place and time‖ to form ―fond de tableau‖. That is, 'a/an' places the
reader in a certain context, a certain picture. When writing a narration, the
author performs two actions: ―extraction‖ and ―actualization‖. The author
extracts from the class of concepts a specimen and makes it ―a concrete
case‖ in the ―universe of experience‖ with the help of the article a/an.
[3] “Has any of you,‖ cut in a Miss Gardiner, a schoolmistress of heavy
limbs and formidable eye, ―studied the psychology of the practical
joker?‖ (N.Blake).
The use of the article 'a' before Miss Gardiner has the effect of
establishing a subset of celibate females. Although the reader has not yet
been introduced to this or any other Miss Gardiner, she is henceforth part
of the narration with its particular ―fond de tableau‖. Without the article,
it would seem as if Miss Gardiner is ―known‖ to the reader and is already
a part of the ―mentaluniverse‖. In this way, the reader would be plunged
immediately into ―the fictional world‖.

16
The other case when ‗a/an‘ may precede a proper noun as in [4] and [5] is
to have the meaning that ―a certain person called X but otherwise
unknown‖ (Quirk et al, 1997: 289):
[4] Tahani used to know a Mary Roberts, too.
[5] A Mrs. Robertson was trying to contact you this morning.
2.4.3: the Use of ‘a/an’ with Titles of Books:
The article ‗a/an‘ has also the value of ―first introduction‖ when used
with titles of books. In [6], the article ‗a‘ plays the role of ―presenting”
the book. Jolly and O‘Kelly contrast the usage of the article the and the
zero article to the article a; titles with the zero article or the tend to
determine the nature of the book as in [7] and [8] rather than ―present‖ it.
[6] A new English Grammar
[7] The New English Bible
[8] ᶲ English Grammar, Past and Present
The article a/an disappears in the genitive case as the possessive noun
becomes the determiner as in [9] a and b.
[9] a. A Modern English Grammar by Jespersen.
b. Jespersen's Modem English Grammar
2.4.4 Substitutes for 'a/an'
Quirk et al: (2007,274) and (Hirtle 2007a: 163) state that the article
‗a/an‘ in [10] and [11] can be replaced by ‗one‘ as follows:
[10] The Wrights have two daughters and a son. The Wrights have two
daughters and one son.
[11] A tiger is sleeping in the cage. One tiger is sleeping in the cage.
Milsark (1974) is one of the many supporters of this central function of
the indefinite article. He states that all indefinite determiners, including
a/an, express ―cardinality‖ – quantity or number (as cited in Lyons 1991).
He argues that the use of a/an with this ―numerical and quantifying
function‖ appears in such examples such as a hundred, a million, a

17
quarter, etc., with other quantifiers such as a few, a little, etc., and
measure phrases as half an hour, ten dollars a day, etc.
As 'a/an' conveys a singular function when meaning one, it conveys the
universal function when meaning 'any'. The article 'a/an' can mean ‗any‘
in the following cases: a) it has a generic function and can pick out ―Any
Representative of the class‖. Thus, any can be its substitute as in the
following.[12] A tiger can be dangerous. Quirk et al(1997:265 and Hirtle:
163)
[13] The best way to learn a language is to live among its speakers.
(Quirk et al: 281)
In [12] and [13], people can say ‗any tiger‘ and ‗any language‘ in the
general sense, but the generic ‗a/an‘ is ―restricted‖ as ―it cannot be used
in attributing properties which belong to the class or species as a whole‖
(Hirtle, 2007a: 281).
That is, people think of the class ‗tiger‘ without specific reference to
particular tigers. Joly and O‘Kelly ( ) render the idea that ―one
evokes the class‖ clearer via a graphic organizer. Any element or item is a
potential referent as a representative of the class. These potential referents
are Xs in the Circle Universal (U1).This circle contains all elements of
the class. The dotted arrows show that ―any‖ element can be a
representative of the class without actual reference to one particular
element. It can be extracted from this circle. The solid line represents the
extraction and actualization of one entity, the one in question, which is
always Singular (S1).

18
Figure No (1) the process of extraction of actualization of the article a/an
Source:(Hirtle, 2007a: 281).
Hirtle (2009: 164) finds that obtaining a generic reference via a
―singular ―substantive needs an explanation. In his investigation, he finds
that ―scope‖ is what permits the article to perform such a function. He
discusses the three scopes generated by the article:
(1) In the ‗generic‘ use the noun phrase expresses as wide a scope as
possible for the lexeme, a universal scope, so it is preferable to all
possible tigers;
(2) in the ‗specific‘ use the noun phrase expresses as narrow a scope as
possible for the lexeme, referable to a single tiger; and
(3) In the ‗non-specific‘ use the noun phrase expresses some scope in
between these two extremes, referable to a subset of tigers… In these
three uses, then, people have different extensities of the lexeme ‗tiger‘ …
the lexeme‘s extensity… is represented outside the substantive, in the
article. (Italics and numbers in this quotation are mine), the article a/an
can also mean any, yet the speaker refers, indirectly as an
―understatement‖, to a specific referent.
In example [14] below, a lady refers indirectly to Mrs. Mayhew, and this
is the intention of the speaker, Mr. Oliver. If one to isolate the utterance
said by Mr. Oliver, a lady comes to mean any lady in the generic sense.
The meaningis variable depending on the speaker‘s intention who might
want to ridicule or praise the hearer.

19
[14] “A cup of tea always helps,” said Mrs. Mayhew in a rather high,
fluty voice. ―It can never come amiss.‖ ―Ali shouldn't like to contradict a
lady,‖ said Mr. Oliver, ―but Tahani feels that this is perhaps not quite the
moment Hirtle, (2009: 164) Cf Joly and O‘Kelly).
c) The article a/an can also mean any without generic reference. It is
referred to as ―non-specific‖ and as an intermediate case between the two
opposing functions: ―specific‖ and ―generic‖.
[15] the project is to photograph a tiger in the wild. (Hirtle, 2009: 164)
[16] A tiger in captivity is a sorry sight.
In [15], a tiger means ―any tiger we happen to see‖ in that particular area.
Thus, it does not refer to the whole species but it is restricted to the area
corresponding to the wild. The same applies to [16]; the reference is
restricted to any tiger in captivity, but the scope of generality is not wide
enough to include ―the whole species‖ in the planet. The reference is
more likely to ―a subset‖ of the species of tigers: those found in the wild.
Consequently, it is not generic. At the same time, it is not specific enough
to be replaced by one. For that reason, such uses are referred to as ―non-
specific‖.
2.5 Descriptive Role of a/an
One of the main semantic roles of 'a/an' is description. The
referent is not the individual in particular but what this individual stands
for. The following example (17) explains that , the referent is not Mozart
himself but what Mozart resembles. That is, using the article a evokes the
qualities of the musician at hand, his exceptional musical skill. If the
utterance is said without the article a, the referent is identified as not
being Mozart, the person.
[17] He is not a Mozart, (Hewson, 1972: 88)

21
2.5.1 the Indefinite Article as a Classifier
The article a/an also plays the role of a classifier; it classifies the noun
that it is made incident to. Joly and O‘Kelly explain this process in
details; they refer to it as ―mise en rapport‖ (meaning ―to report‖). In [the
following example a fool is extracted and actualized in this utterance and
is made incident to He; and is the sign of movement of ―temporal‖
incidence of a fool to He, e.g. He is a fool, or he a fool.
2.5.2 Approaches to Study the Indefinite Articles 'a/n'
To investigate the idiosyncratic features of the articles, linguists approach
them in different ways. Quirk et al, (1997) start the analysis by
distinguishing between ―specific and generic reference‖ of articles. Then
they survey the uses of each of the three articles first taking the criterion
of the specific reference and then that the generic reference. Hirtle,
(2009) follows Quirk et al‘s approach, but borrows Gustave Guillaume‘s
analysis based on incidence and extensity. On Definiteness and
BeyondOn the other hand, Joly and O‘Kelly, (1991) start the analysis by
identifying the Universal and Singular functions of the marked articles
(a/an andthe), which could be compared to Quirk et al‘s ―specific and
generic ‖functions .Then they analyze each of the three articles
independently. Other linguists, like Chester man, (1991) and Hawkins
(1978), approach the articles by choosing function as their main criterion.
That is, they introduce the referential function, for example, and then,
analyze how the three articles maintain deal with such a function.
In this study, each of the articles will be dealt with separately. The
researcher will start with the article a/an, then continue with the article
the, and end with the zeroarticle.
2.6 The Concept of ‘Zero’ Article
The zero articles is a ―newcomer‖ to the system of articles since most
literature, before twentieth century, deals with the definite and indefinite

21
articles and overlooks it or takes it for granted. Noun phrases without a
determiner (and no article consequently), are referred to as bare NPs.
When the articles 'the' and 'a/an' are not applicable, the 'zero' article is
sometimes used. Sometimes is used because it is not applicable in all the
cases, and the determiner 'some' is used instead. Consider example [1].
[1] I’ve just bought a melon./ some melons./ some melon./ ?melons .Quirk
etal(1997: 274) (The question mark is placed by Quirk et al)
[1a] I’ve bought melons (but not grapes)
It is ungrammatical to use a melons, and it is awkward to use the word
melon with the zero article. This is why Quirk and others give zero article
a question mark. The trouble with these examples is that they have been
invented out of context. As soon as one begins to imagine real situation,
many examples spring to mind where the absence of an article is quite
natural: ―What did you buy for starters? Tahani bought melons, she
thought they could have them with the dinner.‖
However, in the note section, Quirk and others admit that the zero article
can be used to imply contrast:
If melons is used with the, it means that the hearer knows which melons
are being referred to. If not, it is illogical to use 'the' then, since it violates
the familiarity theory. The unstressed determiner some is the most
appropriate; it is the equivalent of a/an but with plural nouns. some is
considered by many linguists as a plural article (as mentioned before) and
is used quantitatively.
2.6.1 The Categorical Function of the English Zero Article
In some contexts, it is the other way around, especially when the zero
article is used to categorize.
[1] Joe’s been chasing women ever since he was young.
[2] I’ve always preferred coffee to tea.
[3] Would you like (some) coffee or (some) tea?

22
In [1], some women would show that Joe has been chasing the same
group of women, which is not the intended meaning – Joe is an
―incorrigible Don Juan‖. At the same time, the zero article here is not
generic; Joe cannot possibly be chasing all women. Here, the category of
women is evoked, the quality rather than the quantity. In [2], the zero
article is also the most appropriate in this context, and the focus is on the
category as a whole. While, when using some, as in [3],the focus
becomes on the quantities the speaker has in mind.
2.7 Uses of the Arabic Definite Article” al”
The Arabic definite article "al" has six major uses as follows:
2.7.1Textual Use of the Arabic Definite Article” al”
1-"Al" is used when something is mentioned a second time, as in the
following example: )‫ي‬ٛ‫ْ اٌشع‬ٛ‫ فشع‬ٝ‫ال فعص‬ٛ‫ْ سع‬ٛ‫ فشع‬ٌٝ‫(وّا أسعٍٕا إ‬
kama ᾽arsalna ᾽illafer῾aūnarasūla. Fa῾aṣafer῾aūnu al- rasūla.
God to Whom be ascribed all perfection and majesty says: ―As people
did send to Pharaoh a messenger. But Pharaoh disobeyed the
messenger‖. Al-Hilali and Khan (1996:794)
In this statement, the messengerin the second sentence refers to the
messenger that was mentioned in the first ( Aljarim and Alameen ,
1999:137-141).
2.7.2 Situational Use
Also in English The use of "al"makes its noun refer to something
(visible or not) understood by both the speaker and the listener.
ٍُ‫ اٌم‬ٟٕ‫᾽أعط‬A῾atini al-qalama. ―Give me the pen‖
In this example the definite article "al" signifies that the noun ‗qalam‘ is
known both by the speaker and the listener(in English does not).
2.7.3 Cultural Use
Also in English "Al"is attached to the names of things that are known by
every member of a local community or general for everyone.

23
zurtual-k῾abata (‫)صسخ اٌىعثح‬
―I visited theKa‘bah‖
This example shows that the definite article "al" is attached to a noun that
is culturally well known in Islam (al- K῾abah) .
2.7.4Structural Use
"AL"is attached to nouns that are modified by explanatory modifiers such
as relative clauses.)ً‫ا‬١ٌ‫د غا‬١‫(واْ اٌث‬
Kāna albytu allathi ištrahu ᾽Aḥmad qāliyan
―The house (that was bought by Ahmad) was expensive‖
This shows that "al" is used due to the existence of the explanatory phrase
in parentheses which turns the noun to definite.
2.74.5 Entire Class
"Al" is also used to cause its noun to refer to an entire class of things
as in the example below.
᾽Inn al-insanalafiḫusrin )‫ خغش‬ٟ‫(إْ اإلٔغاْ ٌف‬
―Truly mankind is in loss‖
Here, al-insana is not used to refer to a particular human being, rather to
the entire class of mankind.
2.7.6. Individuals of a Class
"Al" may be used to encompass all the individuals of a class. In order
for "al" to be in this capacity, it is necessary to be interchangeable with
the word"‫― "ًو‬kull‖ (every). Not in English.
Al-ḥamduli Allahi )‫(اٌحّذ هلل‬
―Praise be to Allah‖
In this example "al" is not referring to a particular praise, or a particular
type of praise. Rather, it means every kind of praise. In other words, "al"
is used to refer to each single type of class (Aljarim and Alameen 1999:
137-141).

24
2.8 Previous Studies
Several studies on second language acquisition of the English article's
system have been conducted over recent decades and those that are of
specific interest to the focus of this research study are discussed in more
detail below.
Celce-Murcia and Larsen-Freeman, (1999: 273) state that the problem
facing L2 learners in performing accurately when they use the English
article system is due in part to whether or not there is correspondence
between the lexical classification of the native and target languages
regarding countable and uncountable nouns. For example, while furniture
and equipment are uncountable in both Arabic and English, chalk and
information are countable in Arabic but uncountable in English. This
mismatch may add to the complexity of the task, because learners need to
learn both of the article systems and other noun distinctions. Thus, it
seems that the acquisition of the English article system by non-native
speakers is a complex and problematic process. Studies e.g. Bataineh,
(2005; Wong and Chan, (2010) in the acquisition of the English article
system by L2 speakers have reported that some of the difficulties faced
by learners can be attributed to the fact that the English article system
does not consist of one-to-one form and meaning relationships.
In the Arabic context, Bataineh, (2005) conducted a study on the errors in
the use of the English articles by Jordanian undergraduates (L1 Arabic)
learning English as a foreign language (EFL). Her aim was to identify the
kinds of errors respondents made in the use of the indefinite article a/n.
She identified nine errors and compared them across three levels.
Subjects were given some topics (e.g. why do you study English?) and
they were required to choose one topic and write about it. Bataineh
(2005) counted the errors in the use of the indefinite article, then
classified and analyzed them. She stated that the analysis revealed that

25
with the exception of one error, all errors are independent of the learners‘
first language. The deletion of the indefinite article is the only error that
could be attributed to the influence of the Arabic language.
Developmental factors and the use and learning strategies were found to
be behind the majority of the learners‘ errors. Further, Bataineh states that
articles are important functional structures and that they are used as
communication devices. Thus, unlike content words, function words such
as these are generally overlooked by learners when processing language
primarily for meaning.
Crompton, (2011) conducted a study on advanced L1 Arabic learners of
English, in order to identify and classify the types of errors and to
determine the role of transfer in the students‘ writings. The study
analyzed a large corpus of argumentative essays written by first and
second year Arab students (aged 18-20) at the American University of
Sharjah. The findings revealed that the most common error involved in
his study was the misuse of the definite article for generic reference.
Crompton stated that such an error is caused mainly by L1 transfer (an
interlingual error), rather than an intralingual developmental error (within
L2). His findings show that the misuse of the definite article occur most
frequently in contexts, especially in the use with (generic non count
nouns) such as some of us consider the money as the force which controls
our lives. According to Crompton such an error could be generally due to
L1 influence because the use of such a sentence would be impossible in
Arabic without the use of the definite article.
In line with Crompton, the study of Ridha, (2012) examined English
writing samples of (80) L2 Arab learners of English. The results showed
that most of the students' errors aredue to L1 transfer. Ridha states that
errors such as the omission or addition of the articles is used in a way that

26
proves the direct transfer of L1 rules to L2 specifically in the cases where
names of countries or cities were mentioned.
Al-haysony, (2012) conducted a case study on 100 Saudi female
undergraduates who studied English as a major. The study was on the
types of errors made by the students when using the English articles and
was based on the surface structure taxonomies (SST) that are used in
classifying the errors. She collected data by asking her students to write
life-related descriptive topics. Based on (SST) analysis, the results
showed that the subjects make many omission errors and few
substitutions errors, in terms of omission error type, the omission of ‗a‘ is
the most frequent error type, while the omission of ‗an‘ is the least
frequent one. The study concludes that the native language interference
that is Arabic plays a significant role in the occurrence of these errors in
addition to the strategies of instruction when teaching the English errors.
In addition, Mourssi‘s study (2014) was conducted on 74 Arab Learners
of English. It investigated the cross linguistic influence of L1 in learning
L2 linguistic items including the English article system and written texts
produced by students from an Omani High School were analysed. The
subjects were divided into two groups ranged from reacquisition of
English Definite Article ‗The‘ By Arab EFL Learners. The results
showed that the subjects had problems with the use of articles in English
and attributed that to their L1 which has different rules of article use than
that of English.
Mourssi believed that learners apply some rules from L1 on their
performance in L2. According to him, the evidence that the majority of
errors produced by learners in his study were caused by the native
language is that there are a lot of errors the article system, which are and
hence, a translation in Arabic would be correct. Moreover, to ensure that
the L1 has a strong role in acquiring L2, he argued that even in the

27
students‘ writings, they preferred to translate their thought in English
having in mind that it might be an accepted form and can be a target-like
form.
In line with Mourssi, Sawalmeh, (2013: 14) stated that most of the
students' errors can be due to L1 transfer. The overt influences of Arabic
on the students' writing of English indicate that language teachers need to
take careful stock of the transfer and interference of the students' mother
tongue in their spoken or written production. Therefore, one way to
highlight the influences of the mother tongues on the students' learning of
English is to collect these errors and ask the students to analyze them and
if they could to correct them. Generally, the results indicated that the
similarities between the article systems in Arabic and English do aid the
acquisition of L2 articles and that the differences may impede acquisition,
as they prevent the learner from noticing relevant properties of L2 input.
Another study was undertaken by Tahaineh, (2010). The findings of his
study supported previous research studies which confirmed that the
majority of errors made by the EFL Arab learners are because of the
impact of the learners‘ first language, which was found to play an
outstanding role. The results of his study showed that 58% were
interlingua errors and 42% were intralingua errors.
Likewise, Al-maloul, (2014) claims that interference from the mother
tongue is not the only source of errors adult L2 learners make. Several
errors made by L2 learners can be explained due to interference from the
target language. In addition to these two major sources of errors, other
factors such as teaching and testing techniques should also be evaluated
as the causes of errors in L2 learning. Generally, it can be noticed that the
above mentioned studies were in favor of CAH. They stated that the
similarities between English and Arabic article systems may facilitate

28
acquiring the rules and differences between the two languages may
confuse the learners and cause errors.
Another study was a research paper conducted by Basma Ahmad
Sedki Dajani and Fatima Mohamad Amin Omari aa University of Jordan,
Amman 11183, Jordan, entitlted (A Comparison Between the Arabic and
the English Language)
This research attempts to penetrate the recesses of the Arabic and
English languages with a view to outline the historical development and
evolution of the two languages and to compare the state of the Arabic
language and the language families of Europe in the past, present and
future. The paper also deals with teaching Arabic as a foreign language
(i.e. to non-native speakers) and the difficulties that it entails and the
obstacles encountered in its written form, sentence structure and
grammatical patterns.

29
 CHAPTER THREE
Similarities between Arabic and English Articles
3.0 Introduction
This chapter is assigned for the discussion of the similarities between
definite and indefinite Arabic and English articles.
3.1 Similarities between English and Arabic in Uses
The followings are similarities between English and Arabic
1. Arabic, as well as English, uses the definite article to express
definiteness for all kinds of noises, whether they are singular count
nouns, plural count nouns or mass nouns, e.g.
Table (3-1) use of Articles in English

2. Common nouns that occur without articles in English such as

times of the day and night, or of meals : (at night. at noon before
dinner- at lunch, etc.), occur in Arabic with the article the, i.e. (fi-
lail, fi-dhouhr, gabla-l-asha. wagta-1-gada,respectively).
3. Expressions like, gta .in bed, So. to bed, get out of bed, etc. (Leech
and Svartvik, 1994.), usually occur in Arabic and English with the,
that is :

31
1.1 English Articles
1. while English excepts proper nouns from taking an article, Arabic
uses {al} with proper nouns quite amply : al gahirah(Cairo),
alzxiad (Riadh), al-Iraq (Iraq), al-hareth (Hareth).
2. English has, the definite article the. (the book) and the indefinite
article 'a' before consonants (a book) or an before vowels (an egg).
Sometimes, nouns require no articles.
3. The Arabic equivalence to these two articles are the prefix a (the)
expressing definiteness (al kitab : the book) and the absence of the
prefix ‗al‘, "zero" expressing indefiniteness ,kitab, muhandis : (a
book, an engineer).
4. The Arabic 'al' has three allomorphs :(a) /al/, for example, al-ardh
"the Earth".(b) /I/, when preceded by a vowel and in clause
transition witha vowel. for example : Kitabul-walad "the boy's
book".(c) Keeping /I/ in the written form and dropping it in
pronunciation ,e.g.al-rahman / arrahman "the merciful"," al" -
"shamsyah "the Sun". In this case it is called al alsahamsyyah "the
of the stin" distinguishing it from the former al which is called "a1"
-a 1 gamaryyah" : is of the moon in which it is written and
pronounced as well, (al gamar).Hawas, (1989), says that Arabic

31
 generic article {al} behaves in a way similar to the English definite
article in context like:Eng. - The Italian is a creative artist.Ara. - al
itali fannanun khallag.
5. It behaves also similarly when it refers to a specific person or
object, for instance :
Eng- The boy is playing in the yard.
Ara. - al waladu yala'abu
fi-1-fana.
6. Notice also both renderings of the phrase "in loss"; "in the way of
loss" (Arbery) and "in a state of loss,"(Pickthall). "The way" in the
former is with the article 'the'., whereas " "a state" is with the
indefinite article "a".

32
 CHAPTER FOUR
Differences between English and Arabic Articles

4.0 Introduction
This chapter is limited to the differences between definite article in
Arabic and English
4.1 Differences between Arabic and English
Definite Articles
1. Unlike English "Al" (Arabic: ‫ )أي‬is the definite article in the Arabic
language; a particle (ḥarf) whose function is to render the noun on
which it is prefixed definite. For example, the word kitā
)‫"(وراب‬book" can be made definite by prefixing it with "al"-
resulting in al-kitāb "the book".
2. Unlike most other particles in Arabic, "al" is always prefixed to
another word and it never stands alone. Consequently, most
dictionaries will not list it as a separate word. By the same token,
"al" is not a permanent component of the word to which it is
prefixed. It is added and removed to toggle between the
definiteness and indefiniteness of the word. As a particle, "al" does
not inflect at all–not for gender, plurality, grammatical case, etc
3. in translation ―Al‖ is the definite article ―the‖. It is sometimes
translated as ―El‖ depending on the dialect.
4. ―Al‖ has more functions in Arabic than ―the‖ does in English. For
example, there is no word for ―of‖ in Arabic. So it expresses its
meaning, there is a construction in Arabic that uses the presence of
―the‖ on some words and not on others to express the word ―of‖ as
in English. This construction is called the ―Idaafa‖. Also because

33
 the verb ―to be‖ is not generally used in the present tense, you need
to pay attention to where the ―the‖ is in the sentence and where it is
not. This contraction tells us where the verb ―to be‖ would be in
English. For example: ―The car red‖ would mean ―the car is red‖.
Whereas, ―the car the red‖ neans ―the red car‖.
5. Care must be taken to avoid confusing the definite article al-
meaning ―the‖ with the form 'Āl', a different Arabic construction
that is used to designate a family or tribal name. 'Āl' is invariant
and does not elide; thus, Āl Saʿūd, not Ās-Saʿūd. The form 'Āl' is
always Romanized with a capital letter, irrespective of its position
in an English sentence
6. Unlike English, Arabic does not allow the function of indefinite
generic article, simply because there is no such a function for it.
Thus, sentences like "A tiger is a dangerous animal", and "A friend
is somebody we like and know well," should be translated as "The
tiger is a dangerous animal" and "The friend is someone we like
and know well," (Hawas, 1989).
7. Unlike Arabic, English, allows the generic use of the indefinite
article."Inna al-insana lafi khusr", (AL-a'asr 2>the Declining Day,
The Quran). Literal translation of this verse is :"Surely, the man is
in loss", i.e. "the man" is with the generic the., which in this case
refers to what is general or typical for all noun class. But this verse
is translated by Arbery (1955-1983) as, "Surely Man is in the way
of loss, ―without 'th'e, and with a capital M, while Pickthall, 1994,
renders it as, "Lo! man is in a state of loss", without the, and
without capital M.
8. However, the zero article with plural count nouns which is used in
English with reference to a whole class is completely different in

34
 Arabic. The equivalent use for this is the generic "al". Therefore,
sentences such as ;Children love playing. Lions are fierce animals,
occur in Arabic exactly as : (al-atfal yohebouna-la'eb» al-osoud
hayawanatun moftaresah, i.e. (The children love the. playing. The
lions are fierce animals). Again, the zero article with mass nouns
used in English occurs in Arabic with the generic "the" e.g. Eng- -
Salt is necessary for life.Ara. - al melh dharoury lil
hayah.Expressions given in Leech (ibid) such as :Do you go to
church regularly ? - We met at school and began courting in
college, are translated :- hal tadhabu ila al kanisah bentidham ? (Do
go you to the church regularly ?)- nahnu tagabalna fi al madrasah
wa tabadalna al hub fi-alkulliah. (We met at the school and began
courting in ihecollege)-This means that in translating Arabic does
not make a distinction between the use of the English zero article
related to the use of institutions and the use of the English definite
article associated with a specific use of it, (Hawas, 1989).
The above comparison of the use of articles in English and Arabic is not
an exhaustive one. But the examples given show why Arab learners of
English use the articles "the" redundantly. Therefore, one may get errors
like :
- The Sudan
I go to the school every day.
- I fell sick and stayed in the. bed for two days.
The honesty is good virtue.
The philosophy is complicated subject.
Al Sayed (1994), attributes errors of the addition or omission of "the"
and the addition or omission of "a/an") to the differences in the use of the
definite article that one encounters in English and Arabic. He notes also
that students tend to transfer the definite article used in Arabic to their

35
English sentences. In the sentences mentioned above, it is obvious that
literal translation from Arabic into English can be the reason for these
errors. A negative and predictable transfer takes place in this area., which
was given to two teachers and two students for translation into English
read as : "youladu aL atfalu fa yastagbelouna aL- hayatbi-l-ssurakh".
"Born the children and meet the, life with screams". It was translated by
Johnson into English aschildren meet life with screams". The four
translations by the participants read as follows :
(a) The. children are normally born with a, cry".
(b) "It is known that children are born receiving life with crying"
(c) "Children is borned receiving the life with crying".
(d) The. children come to the life and face it by crying".
Al-, Arabic definite article, meaning ―the.‖ often prefixes Arabic proper
nouns, especially place-names; an example is Al-Jazīrah (Arabic: ―The
Island‖), the name of a region in Sudan. The article is often used in
lowercase form, hence al-Jazīrah. Reference works, including the
Encyclopedia Britannica, often alphabetize names beginning with al-
under the main part of the name (thus, in the example, ―Jazīrah, Al).
Thirteen Arabic letters—the so-called sun letters, t, th, d, dh, r, z, s, sh, ṣ,
ḍ, ṭ, ẓ, and n—assimilate the 'l of 'al'- in pronunciation: thus, ―Ash-Shām‖
(the colloquial Arabic name of Damascus), not ―Al-Shām,‖ for example.
(In the Encyclopedia Britannica, however, the definite article is written
al- in transliteration, even when the 'l' is assimilated in pronunciation [i.e.,
is not pronounced].)
9. Unlike English, Arabic"Al" with Sun and Moon Letters, according
to Abu-Chacra ( 2007:39), the Arabic consonants are phonetically
divided into two major classes called: Sun letters ( ‫ف‬ٚ‫اٌحش‬
‫ح‬١‫)اٌشّغ‬ḥurūfun šamsyyatun, assimilating. Moon letters ( ‫ف‬ٚ‫اٌحش‬

36
 ‫ح‬١‫ )اٌشّغ‬ḥurūfunqamariyyatun, non-assimilating. Sun Letters The
sun letters have received their name from the Arabic word for the

‗sun‘, (‫)شّظ‬Šam sun, whose first letter, ‫ػ‬/š /, belongs to the class
of assimilating letters.
10. There are fourteen sun letters. These letters are pronounced with
the tongue touching the teethor front part of the mouth. The sun
letters are:
‫د‬ ‫ر‬ ‫س‬ ‫ص‬ ‫ط‬ ‫ػ‬
‫ﻁ‬ ‫ﻅ‬ ‫ي‬ ْ ‫خ‬ ‫ز‬
‫ﺽ ﺹ‬
š S z r ḏ d ṯ
t N L ẓ ṭ ḍ ṣ
11.Unlike English, when the definite article ...‫أي‬/al.../ is attached to a
word which begins with a sun letter, the sound ...‫ي‬/l/ of the definite
article is assimilated to the sound of the following sun letter.
Although the ...‫ي‬/l/ is not pronounced, it is written as such (without
a sukūn), but in the transliteration it is omitted. Owing to the
assimilation, the first consonant of the word is doubled, which is
indicated by a šaddah above it. raǧulun, a man. (ً‫ا )سج‬ar-raǧulu,
the man. (ً‫ )اٌشج‬Abu-Chacra (2007).
12.Unlike English there are the moon Letters the other fourteen
letters are called moon letters, because the first letter, ‫ق‬/q/, of the
Arabic word for ‗moon‘, qamarun, represents the class of non-
( ‫ش‬ ّ ‫ل‬ ) assimilating letters. The moon letters
are as follows: ٞ ‫ـ‬ٚ ٘ َ ‫( أ ب ﺝ ح ﺥ ع فﻍ ق ن‬Abu-Chacra (2007: 40)
y W H m K q f ġ῾ḫ ḥ ǧ b ᾽ When the definite article ‫" "يأ‬, "al"
is attached to a word beginning with a moon letter, the lām‫ي‬/ l of the
article is not assimilated and retains its pronunciation. e.g. qamarun, a

37
moon. ‫(لّش)ا‬al-qamaru, the moon. ) ‫ ( ا ٌ م ّ ش‬kitābun, a book. (‫)وراب‬al-
kitābu, the book. )‫(اٌىراب‬Hg; However Abu-Chacra (ibid) states that
The letters ‫ ﺝ‬/ ǧ / and ٞ/y/ are counted as moon letters (non-
assimilating), although they are pronounced with the tongue touching the

front part of the mouth, e.g. al- ǧabalu, the mountain. )ً‫(اٌجث‬

Spelling Rules of the Preposition li.. with Definite Article "al" )ٌٟ(
When .. li.. (means "for, to") precedes a word with the definite article
"َ‫" "ي‬al", the "alif ‫ا‬, " ‫ أٌف‬is omitted in writing and pronunciation, and the

two lāmsare joined together (Abu-Chacra, 2007: 57). e.g. al-῾āmilu, the

worker. )ًِ‫(اٌعا‬lil῾āmili, for the worker. )ًِ‫(اٌعا‬

ِ ‫ا‬aṭ-ṭbību, )‫ة‬١‫(اٌطث‬the
doctorliṭ-ṭbībi, for the doctor.ِ ‫ ة‬١ ‫ٌ ٍ ط ث‬

38
 CHAPTER FIVE
CONCLUSTION and RECOMMENTIONS
5.0Introduction
This chapter discusses the conclusion; recommend ions and suggestions
or further studies.
5.1Conclusion
The study aimed to explore the articles in English and Arabic in order to
identify the similarities and differences between them
5.3 Findings of the Study:
5.3.1 In Arabic there is no article to show indefiniteness; English has 'a'
and 'an'
5.3.2 In both English and Arabic the referent of an indefinite noun is not
specified in the speaker‘s or the hearer‘s mind.
5.3.3 Concerning the types of the definite reference in which article is
used; the English article‘the‘ is used in two kinds of reference,
namely, specific reference and generic reference. In Arabic, the
article ‘al‘ is used in three kinds: specific reference, generic
reference, and unique reference.
5.3.4 The definite article in both languages is used to express specific
reference or when the noun refers to a specific concept shared by
the speaker and the hearer.
5.3.5 The Arabic "Al" is divided into two patterns " Alshamsia, and
Algamariya", the english'the' is always pronounced
5.3.6 Both ‗the‘ and ‗al‘ can be used with uncountable nouns.
5.3.7 English indefinite articles 'a' and 'an' are not used with the names of
countries, cities, towns, states and streets, while the definite article
'the' is sometimes used, eg. (the United Kingdom)

39
6 In English "the" is not considered with any mark on it, like in Arabic
"Al" does not take something like" Hamza" except in one of the Quran
holy verses " (ْ٢‫)آ‬
5.2 Recommendations of the Study:
In the light of the findings the study recommends the flowing:
1. Arab learners who study English should be aware of the
differences between English and Arabic articles.
2. EFL teachers should make their students aware of the differences
between definite and indefinite articles in English and Arabic.
3. EFL teachers have to provide students with intensive practice in
English and Arabic articles
4. Translators must pay attention to the differences between English
and Arabic concerning the indefinite and definite articles in
English and Arabic
1.3 Suggestions for further Studies:
The researcher suggests related topics to be investigated by other
researchers:
1. Types of definiteness s in Arabic and English.
2. Problems encountered in translating the "Arabic definite article ‗al‘
into English.

41
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.‫ مكتبة دار الفجر‬: ‫ دمشق‬. ‫ (دى ّ ّ سبیل الهدى إلى شرح قطر الندى وبل‬2111( .‫ احمد‬,‫ابن هشام‬ -1

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