Zero definite article

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Zero definite article is a speaking behavior where the definite article the or a is not used.

The definite article is sometimes omitted before words such as prison, school, bed, and (in non-American dialects) hospital, hence:

  • She is in hospital.
  • He was taken to prison.

when this is a generalisation rather than a specific location.

Where a particular location is meant, then the definite article is used, viz.

  • He was taken to the prison.
  • She was collected from the hospital.
  • We were jumping on the bed.

In some nonstandard forms of British English, the is omitted in places that standard English has it, leading to sentences such as:

  • I'm going to shop. (I'm going to the shop)
  • I'm driving down road. (I'm driving down the road)

It's possible to discern, for example, in Lancashire and Yorkshire English accents a minuscule pause in place of the definite article. Often there is a slight staccato on the preceding word. i.e., to is reduced to a simple t or tuh. Thus, "Am going tuh _ pub", or "Am going __ pub" where to is entirely replaced by a pause. The "t" sound may also be appended to the preceding word even if the pause is present.

[edit] See also


Languages