[Grammar] to read a magazine / the magazine

[Current]

To read a magazine or to read the magazine?

Which variant is more common (or correct)?

 

[JohnParis]

Both are common and correct. Their proper usage will depend upon the context in which you employ them.

 

[Current]

Both are common and correct. Their proper usage will depend upon the context in which you employ them.

Does it mean that I can say either "I am reading a magazine" or "I am reading the magazine" if there is no any context?
But if there is the concrete magazine (eg. Times), it will be "I am reading the Times"?

Thanks.

 

[JohnParis]

Yes, very good examples.

 

[TheParser]

To read a magazine or to read the magazine?

Which variant is more common (or correct)?

***** NOT A TEACHER *****


(1) Great question!

(2) Mother: Can you help me prepare dinner, please?

Daughter: Sorry, Mom. But I'm reading a magazine now.

Mother: I don't care what you're reading! Get into the kitchen right now, young lady!

***

(3) Son: Hey, Dad, have you had time to read the copy of Newsweek that I gave you

yesterday?

Father: I am reading the magazine [that you gave me] right now. ["The" = something like "that."]

***

Mother: Can you help me prepare dinner, please?

Daughter: I'm busy, Mom, reading the newspaper. [I think that 'the" would be

more likely because -- at least in the United States -- most people read only one

newspaper -- the [that] newspaper that comes to the house every morning. On the other

hand, magazines -- in theory -- are more plentiful, so you would not refer to the

magazine, except in the case of my son/father dialogue.]

***

People usually ask, "Have you read the paper today?" [When they ask this,

they are not necessarily referring to a specific newspaper. It's almost like: Have

you read any newspaper today?]

But people would look at you very strangely if you asked "Have you read the

magazine today?" [Again, unless you were referring to a specific magazine.]

 

[sumon.]

Hi, dear Parser.

Have you read the paper today?

Can I ask this question to my neighbor friends or uncles who read newspapers? I want to ask the question definitely because I know which newspapers they read.

Thank you very much....

 

[TheParser]

***** NOT A TEACHER *****

I think that you are 100% correct: "Have you read the paper today?" simply means

whether or not they have read any newspaper. I don't think that it matters whether or

not you know the specific papers that they usually read. (I hear that there are MANY

newspapers in your country. Here, most American cities have only one newspaper!)

I think that people might ask (or used to ask before the Internet destroyed newspapers

in this country): Have you seen the papers? There is a big story about ....

(In the old days when there were many newspapers -- most big cities had at least

5 daily papers when I was young -- "Have you seen the papers?" might have meant

something like "Have you seen one or more of the papers?" Maybe today, we

might say "Have you heard the news?" (here "heard" could really mean "to find

out about.") So it could refer to the radio, TV, the Internet, and newspapers.

Thanks for your great question. I love journalism.

 

[emsr2d2]

"The Times" is a daily newspaper in the UK, not a magazine. On a Sunday, the newspaper contains a magazine as well and it's called "The Sunday Times Magazine" to differentiate it from the newspaper.

"Time" is a well-known magazine. If you were reading that, you would not use an article at all.

I'm reading Time [magazine].
I'm reading a copy of Time.

 

[Current]

***** NOT A TEACHER *****


(1) Great question!

(2) Mother: Can you help me prepare dinner, please?

Daughter: Sorry, Mom. But I'm reading a magazine now.

Mother: I don't care what you're reading! Get into the kitchen right now, young lady!

***

(3) Son: Hey, Dad, have you had time to read the copy of Newsweek that I gave you

yesterday?

Father: I am reading the magazine [that you gave me] right now. ["The" = something like "that."]

***

Mother: Can you help me prepare dinner, please?

Daughter: I'm busy, Mom, reading the newspaper. [I think that 'the" would be

more likely because -- at least in the United States -- most people read only one

newspaper -- the [that] newspaper that comes to the house every morning. On the other

hand, magazines -- in theory -- are more plentiful, so you would not refer to the

magazine, except in the case of my son/father dialogue.]

***

People usually ask, "Have you read the paper today?" [When they ask this,

they are not necessarily referring to a specific newspaper. It's almost like: Have

you read any newspaper today?]

But people would look at you very strangely if you asked "Have you read the

magazine today?" [Again, unless you were referring to a specific magazine.]

Thanks a lot!!

 

[aachu]

Not a teacher.

I think the thread starter got confused with the use of the definite article when it come to its use in special cases. When I was reading about the definite article, I came across three such special cases of the article:

Special case-1: Use with media and communications:
Eg: The newspaper, the internet, the telephone. TV being an exception here.

But note that we use 'the' only when we refer to these things in whole. I mean if we were to take telephone as a system, we call it as 'the telephone', but when we talk about the machine alone, it will be incorrect to say 'the telephone'. The same goes with newspaper etc.

Special case-2: Use with transportation:
Eg: The railway, the subway etc

Special case-3: Use with forms of entertainment:
Eg: The ballet etc.


Post script:
The rest of the rules have been very well been explained by the teachers. I.e, when we refer to a specific thing we use the definite article with it, else, indefinite article, or no article.

 

[5jj]

Special case-2: Use with transportation:
Eg: The railway, the subway etc
We normally go by train, bus, tram, tube etc; we don't use an article. We can, however, 'take a/the train, bus, tram'.

Special case-3: Use with forms of entertainment:
Eg: The ballet etc.

There are, unfortunately, rather more than three 'special cases'.

- in the morning, afternoon, evening, but at [STRIKE]the[/STRIKE] night.
- (BrE): in [STRIKE]the[/STRIKE] hospital, school, prison, ...
- go the the pub, theatre, ballet, ...
- in the bath, shower;
- I've had [STRIKE]the[/STRIKE] appendicitis, (the) measles, (the) flu, a cold, ...
- the Pacific Ocean, [STRIKE]the[/STRIKE] Lake Windermere, ...
- the Himalayas, the Matterhorn, [STRIKE]the[/STRIKE] Mount Everest, ...
- the University of Durham, [STRIKE]the[/STRIKE] Durham University.

 

[aachu]

Special case-2: Use with transportation:
Eg: The railway, the subway etc
We normally go by train, bus, tram, tube etc; we don't use an article.

Sorry, 5jj. I didn't elaborate it. My elaboration with the first special use holds good for this use too. I.e, When we refer to the whole system we say 'the railway', 'the subway' etc, but when we be specific, we say, train, bus and the likes.

 

[5jj]

Sorry, 5jj. I didn't elaborate it. My elaboration with the first special use holds good for this use too. I.e, When we refer to the whole system we say 'the railway', 'the subway' etc,
I don't think we do very often. When I talk about a system, I use the word 'system': "The German railway system is rather more efficient than the British (railway system)". I would use 'the railway' only if talking about the means of transport involving locomotives running on rails: "The arrival of the railway meant that people could at last travel long distances faster the ancient Romans".
but when we [STRIKE]be[/STRIKE] are specific, we say, train, bus and the like[STRIKE]s[/STRIKE].

5