English grammar - Roger Berry 2012
B3.2 The concept of reference
B3 Articles
Section B Development
Articles do not have any meaning in themselves. But they help with the meaning of nouns by pointing out what kind of reference they have, i.e. what it is we are talking about when we use nouns. There are two distinctions between types of reference that are important in understanding articles:
1. specific vs generic reference
This relates to whether the article picks out a specific instance or instances of a noun, or whether it applies to all possible instances of a noun (i.e. it is generic, or generalising). Most uses of both articles indicate specific reference:
I saw a man / I saw the man / I saw the men.
Here we are talking about a particular individual or group of individuals (not men in general).
There are a few uses of articles which indicate generic reference. They are noted in the lists below and are explained under the heading ’Generalising with noun phrases’.
We also need to recognise some uses of the indefinite article which are non-specific, but also not generic, in that they make reference neither to specific individuals nor whole classes.
2. definite vs indefinite reference
The basic difference between the articles is whether they indicate definite reference (the) or indefinite (a/an). This difference is usually explained in terms of whether something is ’known’ (’definite’) or not, but we need to refine this idea because it is not just a matter of ’knowing’. Using the articles involves factors such as whether speakers can assume that listeners know what they are talking about. A fuller ’definition’ is given below under the heading ’The definite article: specific uses’.
The definite/indefinite distinction applies to other determiners: e.g. possessives and demonstratives (definite), and quantifiers (indefinite). Which and what as question words have the same definite/indefinite difference as the and a/an, which explains why people often ask a which question when a speaker’s assumption is incorrect.
Can you tell me where the post-office is? - Which post-office do you mean?