LessonsSupplementary Practice 4: Audience, Emphasis, Restriction and Rhetorical JudgmentQuiz

دَخَلَ رَجُلٌ.
A man entered.

دَخَلَ الرَّجُلُ.
The identified man entered.

The indefinite expression need not identify the individual to the listener; the definite article can refer to a contextually established person. This does not mean that every definite noun must have been explicitly mentioned before. Shared perception and situational knowledge can also provide definiteness.

When a report’s purpose is to identify a specific participant, inappropriate indefiniteness may hide the needed information. Conversely, if only the occurrence matters, excessive identification may distract from the main predication.

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Definiteness and what the listener can identify

Supplementary Practice 4: Audience, Emphasis, Restriction and Rhetorical Judgment

دَخَلَ رَجُلٌ.
A man entered.

دَخَلَ الرَّجُلُ.
The identified man entered.

The indefinite expression need not identify the individual to the listener; the definite article can refer to a contextually established person. This does not mean that every definite noun must have been explicitly mentioned before. Shared perception and situational knowledge can also provide definiteness.

When a report’s purpose is to identify a specific participant, inappropriate indefiniteness may hide the needed information. Conversely, if only the occurrence matters, excessive identification may distract from the main predication.