UG_31113195@[Link] UG_31113195@[Link] UG_31113195@[Link].

eg

Difficulties of Literary Translation

(1) Translating without Changing the Original

Tones of the Author

While business translation requires high

‫ﻣﺮﻳﻢ ﻣﺤﺴﻦ ﺍﻟﺴﻴﺪ ﻏﻨﻴﻢ‬

accuracy and localization involves changes in

layout, formats, colors, etc., literary translation
takes a step further. To have a great translated book,
translators do not only need excellent insights into
literature and subject-matter
2024/2025 2024/2025 expertise to guarantee
2024/2025

the accuracy of the knowledge writers want to share.

The translator also makes sure that the literary

translation process does not affect the authors’
expression and their unique writing styles. That
means the word choices should not be too literal or
too exaggerating compared to the original book.
They should be “perfect” words to evoke the same

108
 UG_31113195@[Link] UG_31113195@[Link] UG_31113195@[Link]

understanding and feelings from the readers as the

original. Trust me, it’s no easy task.

(2) Culturally Specific Expression

Sometimes, the name of a famous person or
character in novels or poems is used as a personality
‫ﻣﺮﻳﻢ ﻣﺤﺴﻦ ﺍﻟﺴﻴﺪ ﻏﻨﻴﻢ‬

adjective. Don Juan, for instance, is an infamous

fictional character in a play by Tirso de Molina in
1630. Don Juan is a wealthy libertine who devotes
his life to seducing women. As the popularity of the
2024/2025 2024/2025 2024/2025
character grows, Don Juan becomes a generic
expression for a womanizer.

The question is when performing a literary

translation referring to this character, should
translators keep the name as the original and add a
footnote. Or should they find an equivalent fictional
character in the target language’s culture?

109
 UG_31113195@[Link] UG_31113195@[Link] UG_31113195@[Link]

(3) Play-on-words and Tongue Twisters

Wordplay or tongue twisters are no doubt a real
headache for any translators while working on a
literary translation task. It requires more time to
translate more than anything else. “She sells
seashells by the seashore” or, “You know New
‫ﻣﺮﻳﻢ ﻣﺤﺴﻦ ﺍﻟﺴﻴﺪ ﻏﻨﻴﻢ‬

York, you need New York, you know you need

unique New York” to name a few. The translators
do not stop at finding an equivalent expression for
the sentences, but they also
2024/2025 find words that carry
2024/2025 2024/2025the

same pronunciation challenges for the readers.

(4) Dialects and Slang

The use of Slang or Dialects in novels or poems
is no stranger to readers, but it’s also a challenge for
translators when dealing with a literary translation
project. How can they translate these words into a
new language while retaining the characters’ unique

110
 UG_31113195@[Link] UG_31113195@[Link] UG_31113195@[Link]

talking styles? Gone with the wind by Margaret

Mitchell is a representative of this case. Most black
people in the novel speak in a different dialect. Let’s
see how linguists handle with the dialect.
‫ﻣﺮﻳﻢ ﻣﺤﺴﻦ ﺍﻟﺴﻴﺪ ﻏﻨﻴﻢ‬

The original:
“Is de gempmum gone? Huccome you din’ ast dem
ter stay fer supper, Miss Scarlett? Ah done tole Poke
ter lay two extry plates fer dem. Whar’s yo’
manners?” – Mamma in
2024/2025 Chapter.
2024/2025 2024/2025

The Vietnamese translation:

“Mấy cậu về ‘ồi sao? Sao không mời người ta ở lại
dùng bữa? Tôi đã bảo Pok’ dọn thêm hai bộ dĩa cho
họ. Đó là lối xã giao nào vậy?”
Refer to the original and the intention of the
author, the translator illustrates this dialect in
Vietnamese by cutting out some syllabus
like ‘ồi instead of rồi, or Pok’ instead of Poke.

111
 UG_31113195@[Link] UG_31113195@[Link] UG_31113195@[Link]

Problems of Translating Idioms

Idioms have been defined as groups of words

or phrases used together to have fixed meanings. No
doubt, ideas or thoughts have been expressed
differently in different languages. Using idiomatic
‫ﻣﺮﻳﻢ ﻣﺤﺴﻦ ﺍﻟﺴﻴﺪ ﻏﻨﻴﻢ‬

expressions is one of the ways that can be used to

convey the intended meaning indirectly. The
meaning that can be conveyed by using the
idiomatic expressions is either literal or figurative.
2024/2025 2024/2025 2024/2025

In Longman Idioms Dictionary (1998) idioms

are referred to as “a sequence of words which has a
different meaning as a group from the meaning it
would have if you understood each word
separately”. Accordingly, idioms should not be
broken up into their elements because they are
sometimes referred to as a fixed expression, Cowie
& Mackin (1975). For example, the idiom

116
 UG_31113195@[Link] UG_31113195@[Link] UG_31113195@[Link]

“conceited as a barber’s cat” refers to having a high

or exaggerated opinion of oneself or one’s
accomplishments and can be translated into Arabic
as "‫"مغتور مثا الطاووس‬. Here there is nothing to do
with the cat or the barber. We can see that if this
idiom is translated word by word as ‫"مغتور كقطة‬
‫ﻣﺮﻳﻢ ﻣﺤﺴﻦ ﺍﻟﺴﻴﺪ ﻏﻨﻴﻢ‬

"‫الحالت‬it will make no sense to the readers.

Idioms are associated with historical,

geographical and cultural factors. They can include
2024/2025 2024/2025 2024/2025

such cultural aspects as religious beliefs, culture-

specific items, superstitions, and different
ideologies of the people from diverse societies and
nations. They are necessary in any language to keep
the local and cultural color of that language.

So, people from different cultures may not

understand some expressions like idiomatic ones.
This case results in problems with translation.

117
 UG_31113195@[Link] UG_31113195@[Link] UG_31113195@[Link]

Idioms and Translation: It is widely assumed

that as far as intercultural translation is concerned,
there is always a gap that is difficult to be bridged
when translating idioms from one language to
another. Idioms are an inalienable part of each
language found in large numbers in most of the
‫ﻣﺮﻳﻢ ﻣﺤﺴﻦ ﺍﻟﺴﻴﺪ ﻏﻨﻴﻢ‬

languages. Since the meaning of these collocations

cannot be understood from the literal meanings of
their constituent parts, this yields an array of
problems in the process
2024/2025 2024/2025 of understanding and
2024/2025

translating them.

The process of translating idioms from one

language into another is a fine work which obliges a
translator to have a good knowledge of both
languages and cultures. More precisely, a translator
has to be not only bilingual but also bicultural.
People of different languages use completely

118
 UG_31113195@[Link] UG_31113195@[Link] UG_31113195@[Link]

different expressions to convey a similar meaning,

in a way that while an expression might be
completely tangible and transparent for a particular
community of speakers of a specific language, the
same set of words and expressions may seem fully
vague and opaque and even in some cases nonsense
‫ﻣﺮﻳﻢ ﻣﺤﺴﻦ ﺍﻟﺴﻴﺪ ﻏﻨﻴﻢ‬

to the speakers of another language. This is due to

the fact that each language has got some culture-
specific items that are completely different from the
corresponding items in2024/2025
2024/2025 another language. That
2024/2025 is,

language and culture are closely interrelated since

the former reflects various aspects of the latter
(Larson 1984, p. 432).

In the case of Arabic and English languages,

they both belong to two different settings and
different language families. Arabic is a Semitic
language whereas English is Indo-European. They

119
 UG_31113195@[Link] UG_31113195@[Link] UG_31113195@[Link]

are culturally unrelated and alien. Besides, non-

linguistic factors as religion, geographical locations,
and different ideologies harden the process of
understanding and translating idiomatic pairs from
English into Arabic and vice-versa.
‫ﻣﺮﻳﻢ ﻣﺤﺴﻦ ﺍﻟﺴﻴﺪ ﻏﻨﻴﻢ‬

Newmark (1988), who considers idioms as

“extended” metaphors, claims that an idiom has two
main functions: pragmatic and referential. The
pragmatic function is to appeal to the senses, to
2024/2025 2024/2025 2024/2025

interest, to surprise, to delight, while the referential

function is “to describe a mental process or state, a
concept, a person, an object, a quality or an action
more comprehensively and concisely than is
possible in literal or physical language”. (p. 104)

As for translation, idioms could be defined in

terms of non-equivalence from one language into
another. Idioms should not be translated literally. It

120
 UG_31113195@[Link] UG_31113195@[Link] UG_31113195@[Link]

is more appropriate to find a rendering that can

convey the same meaning and effect in the target
language as in the source one. Ghazala (2007: 128-
130) classifies the translation of idioms from
English into Arabic in terms of directness and
indirectness:
‫ﻣﺮﻳﻢ ﻣﺤﺴﻦ ﺍﻟﺴﻴﺪ ﻏﻨﻴﻢ‬

1. Direct idioms Translators might not face

problems with direct idioms. They can find the
equivalents in target language that have an
2024/2025 2024/2025 2024/2025

appropriate meaning or similar to the one in the

source language.

For example,

A true friend does not stab in the back.

.‫الصديق الحقيقي ال يطعن في ال هت‬

121
 UG_31113195@[Link] UG_31113195@[Link] UG_31113195@[Link]

The following examples illustrate the usage of many

foreign idiomatic expressions in present-day Arabic:

To shed crocodile tears ‫يبكي بدموع التماسي‬

To fish in troubled water ‫يص ا في الما العكت‬
To digest ideas ‫يهي ار فكار‬
‫ﻣﺮﻳﻢ ﻣﺤﺴﻦ ﺍﻟﺴﻴﺪ ﻏﻨﻴﻢ‬

Lion’s share ‫حصة ارسد‬

Crux of the matter ‫صلب الموهوع‬
To give green light ‫يعطي اليو ارخيت‬

2024/2025 2024/2025 2024/2025

2. Indirect idioms This type of idioms might

cause problems and mistakes in their translation
because the translators cannot find equivalent in the
target language.

For example,
He can walk on water. ‫يستطيع صنع المعجزات‬

122
 UG_31113195@[Link] UG_31113195@[Link] UG_31113195@[Link]

The following are illustrative examples of ST

idioms which have been translated into their TT
counterparts which carry the same meaning, but
differ in their forms:

To take the rough and the smooth

‫ﻣﺮﻳﻢ ﻣﺤﺴﻦ ﺍﻟﺴﻴﺪ ﻏﻨﻴﻢ‬

‫أتي علي ارخيت واليابس‬

To keep a tight rein on someone ‫يييق الينات علي‬
Through thick and thin ‫في الستا و اليتا‬
To move earth and heaven ‫يقي الدنيا ويقعدها‬
2024/2025 2024/2025 2024/2025

To add insult to injury ‫يزيد الطين بلة‬

To walk on air ‫يرعت بسعا ة اامتة‬
To live from hand to mouth ‫حياة يحيا الكوا‬
Have no backbone ‫هعيا اترا ة والريصية‬
To let the cat out of the bag ‫يوري الست‬
To think on one’s feet ‫ستيع البديهة‬

123
 UG_31113195@[Link] UG_31113195@[Link] UG_31113195@[Link]

According to Makkai (1972), there are two

types of meaning: idioms of encoding and idioms of
decoding.

The idioms of encoding are those

idiosyncratic lexical combinations that have
‫ﻣﺮﻳﻢ ﻣﺤﺴﻦ ﺍﻟﺴﻴﺪ ﻏﻨﻴﻢ‬

transparent meanings and can be easily understood

even by nonnative speakers. For example, "kill two
birds with one stone", which could be directly
translated into Arabic as "‫"هتب عصوورين بحجت واحد‬
2024/2025 2024/2025 2024/2025

The idioms of decoding refer to those non-

identifiable and opaque lexical expressions by using
only independently learned linguistic conventions.
This type of idioms can be further classified into
lexemic and sematic.

Lexemic idioms include strings of words like

a) phrasal verbs (to come up with, to turn off, etc .),

124
 UG_31113195@[Link] UG_31113195@[Link] UG_31113195@[Link]

b) phrasal compounds (black ice, black road), c)

incorporating verbs (man-handle) and d) pseudo-
idioms (spick and span, kit and kin).

Whereas sematic idioms usually convey

pragmatic meanings related to a particular cultural
‫ﻣﺮﻳﻢ ﻣﺤﺴﻦ ﺍﻟﺴﻴﺪ ﻏﻨﻴﻢ‬

environment. They include a) proverbs (A bird in

hand is worth two in the bush) and b) familiar
quotations (not a mouse stirring).

2024/2025 --------&&--------
2024/2025 2024/2025

125
 UG_31113195@[Link] UG_31113195@[Link] UG_31113195@[Link]

Difficulties in Translating Idioms

Culture plays an important role in the process

of idiom interpretation. Only by having a solid
foundation of the culture of the target language, can
the translator catch the implied meaning. Therefore,
‫ﻣﺮﻳﻢ ﻣﺤﺴﻦ ﺍﻟﺴﻴﺪ ﻏﻨﻴﻢ‬

it requires enhancing cross-cultural awareness and

needs open–minded understanding of the culture of
the second language from different aspects.

2024/2025 Cultural roots, however,

2024/2025 play a major 2024/2025
part in
the translation process. Words which have various
connotations in one language may not have the same
emotive associations in another. Different languages
frequently reflect different connotations and
associations of feeling because of the differences in
cultural roots.

126
 UG_31113195@[Link] UG_31113195@[Link] UG_31113195@[Link]

The differences between the source language

(SL) and the target language (TL), as well as the
variation in their cultures make the process of
translating a real challenge. As indicated earlier,
problems of translation involve not only the
linguistic and stylistic features but also the cultural
‫ﻣﺮﻳﻢ ﻣﺤﺴﻦ ﺍﻟﺴﻴﺪ ﻏﻨﻴﻢ‬

and social differences between SL and TL. Hence,

the bigger the gap between the SL and the TL, the
more difficult the transfer of message from the
former to the latter will2024/2025
2024/2025 be. 2024/2025

The social factors of the Arabic and English

cultures have their influence on the Arabic and
English languages. They have a clear impact on
their perception of social experiences that include
every aspect of life: customs, morals, feelings,
emotions, beliefs, etc. To explain this crucial fact of
translating precisely, consider the following: ‫"قهت‬

127
 UG_31113195@[Link] UG_31113195@[Link] UG_31113195@[Link]

"" ‫مسنو‬He is backed up". "‫" " مقطوع من شجتة‬He has

no relatives". Speakers of English will not
understand the idiomatic meaning, if any of these
Arabic idioms is translated into English.

The first idiom illustrates that Arabs prefer big

‫ﻣﺮﻳﻢ ﻣﺤﺴﻦ ﺍﻟﺴﻴﺪ ﻏﻨﻴﻢ‬

and extended families with many sons and brothers,

since they believe that this supports social rank and
influence in their society. Therefore, the Arab feels
proud to be a member of a big family. Whereas the
2024/2025 2024/2025 2024/2025

second idiom is used in the opposite situation to

mean that all of someone’s family members are
dead. Thus, the person needs help and sympathy
from others around him, especially when his family
is no longer a source of help and assistance.

Idioms are usually impossible to translate

literally because their meanings are not built up
from the meanings of their parts. Thus, when it is

128
 UG_31113195@[Link] UG_31113195@[Link] UG_31113195@[Link]

said: " ‫"قهت مسنو‬. i.e. "his back is supported"; it is

not saying anything about his back or supporting.
But when it is said that someone is "cut off from a
tree", it is not referring to anything about cutting off
or a tree.
‫ﻣﺮﻳﻢ ﻣﺤﺴﻦ ﺍﻟﺴﻴﺪ ﻏﻨﻴﻢ‬

Culture is considered as all human attitudes,

assumptions, beliefs, and values. It is the product of
his head and heart as well as his hands. So, human
cultures are alike in providing answers to the
2024/2025 2024/2025 2024/2025

universal problems of human existence, but the

answers are all different, and each culture is
therefore unique.

In short, the main problems that idiomatic

expressions pose in translation relate to two main
areas: the ability to recognize and interpret an idiom
correctly; and the difficulties involved in rendering

129
 UG_31113195@[Link] UG_31113195@[Link] UG_31113195@[Link]

the various aspects of meaning that an idiom

conveys into the target language.

Therefore, translation involves far more than

replacement of lexical and grammatical items
between two languages. As can be seen in the
‫ﻣﺮﻳﻢ ﻣﺤﺴﻦ ﺍﻟﺴﻴﺪ ﻏﻨﻴﻢ‬

translation of the previous idioms, the process may

involve discarding the basic linguistic elements of
the SL text to achieve the goal of 'expressive
identity' between the SL and TL texts.
2024/2025 2024/2025 2024/2025

--------&&-------

130
 UG_31113195@[Link] UG_31113195@[Link] UG_31113195@[Link]

Definite and Indefinite Articles

What is an article? Basically, an article is an
adjective. Like adjectives, articles modify nouns.

English has two articles: the and a/an. The is

used to refer to specific or particular nouns; a/an is
used to modify non-specific or non-particular
‫ﻣﺮﻳﻢ ﻣﺤﺴﻦ ﺍﻟﺴﻴﺪ ﻏﻨﻴﻢ‬

nouns. We call the the definite article

and a/an the indefinite article.

For example, if I say, "Let's read the book," I

2024/2025
mean a specific book. If2024/2025
I say, "Let's read a book,"
2024/2025
I
mean any book rather than a specific book. Let's
look at each kind of article a little more closely.
--------&&--------
Indefinite Articles "A" and "An"
"A" and "an" signal that the noun modified is
indefinite, referring to any member of a group.
Example:
• "My daughter really wants a dog for
Christmas." This refers to any dog. We don't

135
 UG_31113195@[Link] UG_31113195@[Link] UG_31113195@[Link]

know which dog because we haven't found the

dog yet.
• "Somebody call a policeman!" This refers
to any policeman. We don't need a specific
policeman; we need any policeman who is
available.
‫ﻣﺮﻳﻢ ﻣﺤﺴﻦ ﺍﻟﺴﻴﺪ ﻏﻨﻴﻢ‬

• "When I was at the zoo, I saw an elephant!"

Here, we're talking about a single, non-specific
thing, in this case an elephant. There are
probably several elephants at the zoo, but
there's only one we're talking about here.
2024/2025 2024/2025 2024/2025

Remember, using a or an depends on the sound

that begins the next word. So...
• a + singular noun beginning with a
consonant: a boy; a car; a bike; a zoo; a dog
• an + singular noun beginning with a
vowel: an elephant; an egg; an apple; an or
phan
• a + singular noun beginning with a consonant
sound: a user (sounds like 'yoo-zer,' i.e. begins

136
 UG_31113195@[Link] UG_31113195@[Link] UG_31113195@[Link]

with a consonant 'y' sound, so 'a' is

used); a university; a unicycle
• an + nouns starting with silent "h": an hour
• a + nouns starting with a pronounced
"h": a horse
In some cases where "h" is pronounced,
‫ﻣﺮﻳﻢ ﻣﺤﺴﻦ ﺍﻟﺴﻴﺪ ﻏﻨﻴﻢ‬

such as "historical," you can use an.

However, a is more commonly used and
preferred.
A historical event is worth recording.
2024/2025 2024/2025 2024/2025

Remember, too, that in English, the indefinite

articles are used to indicate membership in a group:
Examples:
• I am a teacher. (I am a member of a large group

known as teachers.)
• Brian is an Irishman. (Brian is a member of the

people known as Irish.)

• Seiko is a practicing Buddhist. (Seiko is a

member of the group of people known as

Buddhists.)

137
 UG_31113195@[Link] UG_31113195@[Link] UG_31113195@[Link]

Definite Article "The"

The definite article is used before singular and
plural nouns when the noun is specific or
particular. The signals that the noun is definite, that
it refers to a particular member of a group.
Examples:
‫ﻣﺮﻳﻢ ﻣﺤﺴﻦ ﺍﻟﺴﻴﺪ ﻏﻨﻴﻢ‬

▪ The dog that bit me ran away.

Here, we're talking about a specific dog, the dog that

bit me.
▪ I was happy to see the policeman who saved
my cat!
2024/2025 2024/2025 2024/2025

Here, we're talking about a particular policeman.

Even if we don't know the policeman's name, it's
still a particular policeman because it is the one who
saved the cat.
▪ I saw the elephant at the zoo.
Here, we're talking about a specific noun. Probably
there is only one elephant at the zoo.
We use the definite article the when the noun it
refers to is unique.

138
 UG_31113195@[Link] UG_31113195@[Link] UG_31113195@[Link]

Examples:
▪ The Earth goes round the Sun.

▪ The president made a speech

--------&&--------
Count and Non-count Nouns
The can be used with non-count nouns, or the article
can be omitted entirely.
‫ﻣﺮﻳﻢ ﻣﺤﺴﻦ ﺍﻟﺴﻴﺪ ﻏﻨﻴﻢ‬

Examples:
• "I love to sail over the water" (some specific

body of water) or "I love to sail over water"

(any water).
• "He spilled the milk all over the floor" (some
2024/2025
specific milk, perhaps
2024/2025
the milk you 2024/2025
bought
earlier that day) or "He spilled milk all over the
floor" (any milk).
--------&&--------
"A/an" can be used only with count nouns.
Examples:
• "I need a bottle of water."

• "I need a new glass of milk."

Most of the time, you can't say, "She wants a water,"

unless you're implying, say, a bottle of water.
--------&&--------

139
 UG_31113195@[Link] UG_31113195@[Link] UG_31113195@[Link]

Geographical use of the

There are some specific rules for
using the with geographical nouns.
Do not use the before:
• names of most countries/territories:

Example:
▪ Italy, Mexico, Bolivia;
‫ﻣﺮﻳﻢ ﻣﺤﺴﻦ ﺍﻟﺴﻴﺪ ﻏﻨﻴﻢ‬

▪ however, the Netherlands, the Dominican

Republic, the Philippines, the United States

--------&&--------
Names of cities, towns, or states:
Examples:
2024/2025
▪ Seoul, Manitoba, Miami
2024/2025 2024/2025

▪ Names of streets: Washington Blvd., Main

St.
▪ Names of lakes and bays: Lake Titicaca,

Lake Erie except with a group of lakes like

the Great Lakes
▪ Names of mountains: Mount Everest, Mount

Fuji except with ranges of mountains like

the Andes or the Rockies or unusual names
like the Matterhorn
▪ Names of continents (Asia, Europe)

140
 UG_31113195@[Link] UG_31113195@[Link] UG_31113195@[Link]

▪ Names of islands (Easter Island, Maui, Key

West) except with island chains like the
Aleutians, the Hebrides, or the Canary
Islands
--------&&--------
Do use "the" before:
• names of rivers, oceans and
‫ﻣﺮﻳﻢ ﻣﺤﺴﻦ ﺍﻟﺴﻴﺪ ﻏﻨﻴﻢ‬

seas: the Nile, the Pacific

• points on the globe: the Equator, the North

Pole
• geographical areas: the Middle East, the West

• deserts, forests, gulfs, and peninsulas:

2024/2025
the Sahara, the Persian
2024/2025
Gulf, the Black2024/2025
Forest, the Iberian Peninsula
In short, we use the definite article the with
geographical features, monuments, some (but not
all) famous buildings and institutions.
Examples:
▪ He comes from a small village in the Alps.

▪ We took a boat to look at the Statue of Liberty.

--------&&--------

141
 UG_31113195@[Link] UG_31113195@[Link] UG_31113195@[Link]

Exceptions:
▪ His car broke down outside Buckingham

Palace.
▪ His first degree is from Oxford University.

------&&------
Omission of Articles (Zero Article/No Article)
Some common types of nouns that don't take an
‫ﻣﺮﻳﻢ ﻣﺤﺴﻦ ﺍﻟﺴﻴﺪ ﻏﻨﻴﻢ‬

article are:
• Names of languages and
nationalities: Chinese, English, Spanish,
Russian (unless you are referring to the
population of the nation: "The Spanish are
2024/2025
known for their warm hospitality.") 2024/2025
2024/2025

• Names of sports: volleyball, hockey, baseball

• Names of academic subjects: mathematics,

biology, history, computer science

--------&&--------
We do not normally use a definite article when
we refer to concepts in a general way:
It takes courage to climb a mountain when you fear
heights.

142
 UG_31113195@[Link] UG_31113195@[Link] UG_31113195@[Link]

Examples:
▪ I think love and friendship are more important

than ambition.
▪ Many people feel that happiness is the most

important thing in life.

------&&------
Zero articles with commodities, etc.
‫ﻣﺮﻳﻢ ﻣﺤﺴﻦ ﺍﻟﺴﻴﺪ ﻏﻨﻴﻢ‬

Even though they are not abstract as such, the

following items do not need the definite article for
general reference:
Examples:
▪ Wine is one of the main exports of this part of
2024/2025
the country. 2024/2025 2024/2025

▪ Do you take sugar in your tea?

▪ The price of oil is expected to fall again soon.

--------&&--------
Definite Articles with Abstract Nouns
After certain phrases and constructions, which
refer to an individual set of circumstances, abstract
nouns need a definite article.
Examples:
▪ The courage he showed was amazing.

143
 UG_31113195@[Link] UG_31113195@[Link] UG_31113195@[Link]

▪ There is nothing like the love and devotion of

a good dog.
▪ The life of a circus performer is hard and

unpredictable.
▪ The wine they had with the meal tasted very

strange.
▪ The sugar in that bowl looks a bit old to me.
‫ﻣﺮﻳﻢ ﻣﺤﺴﻦ ﺍﻟﺴﻴﺪ ﻏﻨﻴﻢ‬

--------&&--------
Zero and definite article with languages and
people
If we use the same word for the language and
the people who live in the country, we use zero
2024/2025
articles with the language
2024/2025
and the definite2024/2025
article
with the people.
Examples:
▪ There are various forms of Chinese, of which

Mandarin and Cantonese are the main ones.

▪ The Chinese refer to these languages as

putonghua and guangdonghua.

▪ We all took French as the first foreign language

at school.
▪ Everyone praises the French for their sense of

style.

144
 UG_31113195@[Link] UG_31113195@[Link] UG_31113195@[Link]

Note that some languages and people are not quite

the same.
Examples:
▪ Do you speak German?

▪ The Germans usually do well in international

football competitions.
--------&&--------
‫ﻣﺮﻳﻢ ﻣﺤﺴﻦ ﺍﻟﺴﻴﺪ ﻏﻨﻴﻢ‬

2024/2025 2024/2025 2024/2025

145