[Vocabulary] A smell of, the smell of

Kazuo · Apr 3, 2010

Hello!

A. An appetizing smell of baked apples filled the house. (Longman)

B. The powerful smell of cabbage, sardines, and body odor filled the train. (Longman)

In A., the sentence begins with the indefinite article, while in B., the sentence begins with the definite article on the same noun ‘smell’. Why?

Thanks in advance

kfredson · Apr 3, 2010

Kazuo said:
Hello!

A. An appetizing smell of baked apples filled the house. (Longman)

B. The powerful smell of cabbage, sardines, and body odor filled the train. (Longman)

In A., the sentence begins with the indefinite article, while in B., the sentence begins with the definite article on the same noun ‘smell’. Why?

Thanks in advance

A good morning to you in Japan! To my mind you could "the" or "a/an" for either one. And I don't believe the meaning would significantly change. Do you have a source that indicates they need to be written the way that you have them here? I'd be interested to know why. Perhaps I am missing something.

Kazuo · Apr 3, 2010

Hello, and good evening!

Thank you very much for your reply. I'm grateful because I feel my understanding of them deepens step by step.

As for the part beginning with “Do you have a source …..”, the meaning isn’t clear to me, I'm sorry.

Would you please rewrite that part?

Sincerely

kfredson · Apr 3, 2010

Kazuo said:
Hello, and good evening!

Thank you very much for your reply. I'm grateful because I feel my understanding of them deepens step by step.

As for the part beginning with “Do you have a source …..”, the meaning isn’t clear to me, I'm sorry.

Would you please rewrite that part?

Sincerely

No, the fault is mine. By "source" I meant a book that is explaining some principle of grammar. For instance, you write "Longman" after the quotation. Is that a book which says that one sentence should begin in "an" and the other with "the"?

I hope that is clear. If not, please ask again.

Kazuo · Apr 3, 2010

Hello!

The book that I quoted from is “Longman Language Activator” Second edition 2002, Longman.
It is a little different type of dictionary, putting emphasis on helping write and speak natural English.

Sentence A. on page 282
Sentence B. on page 1100

Sincerely

kfredson · Apr 3, 2010

Kazuo said:
Hello!

The book that I quoted from is “Longman Language Activator” Second edition 2002, Longman.
It is a little different type of dictionary, putting emphasis on helping write and speak natural English.

Sentence A. on page 282
Sentence B. on page 1100

Sincerely

And is the book simply giving sample sentences? Or is the book saying that Sentence A. should use "An" but not "The"?

Kazuo · Apr 3, 2010

Hello!

The book is simply giving sample sentences, like any other dictionaries. The idea of the dictionary is rather that of a thesaurus in its way of presenting each word. It gives each set of sentences an explanation from a point of what situations the sentences are used in, but not from a grammatical point. In a word, it’s a dictionary, not a grammar book.

Sincerely

kfredson · Apr 3, 2010

Kazuo said:
Hello!

The book is simply giving sample sentences, like any other dictionaries. The idea of the dictionary is rather that of a thesaurus in its way of presenting each word. It gives each set of sentences an explanation from a point of what situations the sentences are used in, but not from a grammatical point. In a word, it’s a dictionary, not a grammar book.

Sincerely

Oh, that is fine. Thank you. So the book is not saying that you cannot use "the" in place of "an."

albertino · Apr 21, 2010

Kazuo said:
Hello!

A. An appetizing smell of baked apples filled the house. (Longman)

B. The powerful smell of cabbage, sardines, and body odor filled the train. (Longman)

In A., the sentence begins with the indefinite article, while in B., the sentence begins with the definite article on the same noun ‘smell’. Why?

Thanks in advance

(Not a teacher)
With single sentence given out of context, both may be correct, it depends.:-D

BobK · Apr 21, 2010

I think the clue is in the word 'definite/indefinite'.

When he entered the room, his nose was assiled by the distinct smell of rotting fish.

But

I think I detect a smell of something going off [=beginning to rot].

It's not a simple as that though; the line is thinly drawn. Often either will do.

b

[Vocabulary] A smell of, the smell of

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