Coffee Or A Coffee?

I've been hearing more and more people say "Let's get a coffee" now. Before, people would just say, "Let's get coffee." Why the addition of the article a? Is the article even correctly placed?

I think people say "a coffee" now because of the many coffee shops and coffee varieties available. When the article a is used, it means that the speaker wants one variety out of many (a bag out of so many kinds, a book out of the many available, a drink out of so many varieties of drinks). So, if the person says "Let's get a coffee," he or she wants one kind of coffee out of many (cape barako? African coffee? black coffee? coffee with cream? decaf?). Or, "a coffee" could also mean the types of coffee that come out of coffee preparations and recipes (latte? mocha coffee? French vanilla? espresso? cappuccino? caramel machiatto?). Thanks to Starbucks and all these lifestyle coffee places, we can now say "a coffee."

If you want to say "Let's get coffee," it's still all right. Truth be told, the article doesn't make much of a difference anyway.

I don't drink coffee, though.

S-V Agreement: Everyone and Every

I'm flying to Cebu tomorrow and will be back late Sunday night. I may not be able to post while I'm there so my next entry might be on Monday. Have a good weekend!

As I've been saying in my previous posts on subject-verb agreement, the only way to get around this confusing area of English is to memorize the rules. Here is a post on another s-v agreement rule: when using the words every, everyone, and everything, the verb that follows is singular. Consider these examples: "Every student has to take the test," "Everyone is joining the field trip," "Everything is a mess right now."

I understand why the use of the singular is confusing where these words are concerned. These words, after all, talk about more than one person or thing. When we say everyone, we are talking about more than one person. In this instance, unfortunately, English is not very helpful at explaining the reason for the rule. I just think we use the singular because we are referring to the individual persons or things that are referred to by everyone or everything.

If this confuses you, remember the title of the well-reviewed book, Everything IS Illuminated.

Complain and Complaint

While calling to complain about errors in my phone bill, I realized that the difference (and the corresponding usage) of complain and complaint can be confusing for people. The two words, after all, mean similar things and in all cases, also carry the same bad feelings. What's the difference between the two?

Complain is a verb which means "to express grief, anger, or disappointment about something or someone." It also means "to make an accusation." So, I call to complain about the mistakes in my bill (I'm disappointed about these mistakes and I'm also accusing the company of mismanaging my account). As a verb, complain can be in the past tense: "I complained to the manager already."

Complaint, though, is a noun. As a noun, it's a name for the grievance, the disappointment, or the problem being discussed. It is then used to refer to the issue a person is complaining about. So, "My complaint is about the bills I've been receiving for a service that I don't use."

Here's the rule: if you're talking about the act of discussing a disappointment, use complain. If you're talking about the particular thing causing the disappointment, use complaint. Check out this exchange:

Prixie: I'd like to file a complaint about the mistakes in my bill.
Customer Service Guy: Ok, ma'am, I will prepare a customer service file for you.
Prixie: I've complained about this before. You haven't done anything about it!
Customer Service Guy: I'm sorry ma'am, let me work on this complaint as soon as possible.
Prixie: You better! I don't want to have to complain again!

I hope I've made the difference between the two words clear. Remember, it's never wise to complain too much, unless the issue you're facing is really hurtful. Have a nice complaint-free day!

Using "The" With Place Names

My sister Patricia, who is studying in Poland right now, left a question for me the other day. She wanted to know why we refer to our country as the Philippines and not simply Philippines. It's funny how a question as simple as this can make you think about something you've taken as a fact. So, why do we say the Philippines?

I did some research and I found two answers to this question. The first is that some place names (names of countries, regions, mountains, rivers, etc.) use the depending on the grammatical pattern of the name. Hence, Philippines uses the because it is a plural name. After all, our country is composed of several islands and our country's name shows this. In this sense, we are similar to the U.S.A. They're the United States of America (there are several states in one country).

The second answer is that using the for place names is a question of convention rather than the rule. In other words, we use the for certain place names because we're used to doing so. Consider the expression the Bronx. The place name "Bronx" is not a plural name but convention dictates that we say the Bronx instead of just Bronx.

The English language has many cases of convention rather than rules dictating how or why we say things in a certain way. Unfortunately (and this is what complicates the learning of English), the only way to get around this is to be aware of these conventions. Check a grammar book! Check a dictionary! Or, you can ask me!

Thanks for the question, Pat! It's nice to know I have a reader in Poland, even if she is my sister.

The/A and a Person's Name

Here's another post on the proper use of articles. Normally, we omit the articles the and a when we're using a person's name. We certainly do not say "I saw the Peter yesterday," or "A Margaret, who is my best friend, was in school with me."

However, there are cases when the/a can be used with proper names. These have something to do with pointing out specific persons who many have the same names as others. Consider these:

"The Peter I know would never cheat in a test." This sentence refers to a person called Peter, perhaps in reference to other persons called Peter (who might cheat on a test). The speaker here is certain that the Peter she knows is not a cheat.

"A Margaret from the office left a message for you." Here, Margaret is one woman from the office. There could be others but this particular woman may or may not be known to the receiver of the message. It could be a specific Margaret who is in-charge of certain messages.

"You met Piolo Pascual? The Piolo Pascual?" Here, the is used to emphasize a famous person.

We can't say "I saw the Peter yesterday" because the speaker is already talking about a specific Peter (there are no other Peters). We can't say "A Margaret, who is my best friend" either because there is already a specific Margaret (the best friend).

The vs A/An

Related to my previous post is the difference between the articles the and a or an when they come before a noun. I mentioned earlier that the is used to specify which item/person/place the noun means. However, it's just as correct to say a house as it is to say the house. What's the difference between the two?

It's very simple really. English grammar rules say that the is used when you're referring to something specific. So, "I saw the book you want at the bookstore at the ground floor." In all cases, the speaker is talking about a specific book, store, and floor. Notice the difference here: "I saw a book you might want to buy. I think it's available in a store located next to the grocery."

Depending on what you're trying to say, the, a, and an can change the meaning of your words. Be sure to use them correctly and don't forget them.

English Grammar: One Use of "The"

On the way to Salcedo Market in Makati a few weeks ago, I noticed this sign "No parking from here to corner." There is a grammar mistake going on here simply because the article the was omitted.

Articles are very short words in English but omitting them when they aren't supposed to be omitted can ruin a sentence. You see, they serve to further identify nouns. In the sign I mentioned above, taking out the from the sentence makes the meaning unclear. If you read it, the "corner" being mentioned is not too specific (what corner? there are many corners in Makati after all). Note what happens though when the is added: "No parking from here to the corner." With the, the specific corner is clear. It's the one closest to what part of the street the sign is on, "here."

The rule for cases like this is simple: the is used to indicate specifically what the noun is talking about. So, "Take the cookies to the house on the corner," "I bought this from the Chinese lady in the store," and "The book entitled "Good Omens" is an excellent read."

I will be writing more about the uses of articles later.