Known / Specific / General Reference
Is it known, new, specific, or general?
المعنى
How the speaker expects the listener to identify a participant: new, known, specific, nonspecific, generic, unique, or shared.
كيفية التعرّف عليه
Ask whether the listener already knows which thing is meant.
أمثلة
a|the|this|any|some|dogs
a dog|the dog|dogs in general|this book
I saw a dog, then the dog ran away.
Visual guide
Reference choice new thing -> a dog known thing -> the dog pointed thing -> this book any one -> any dog whole kind -> dogs
Marking options English: article a dog / the dog Other languages may use: demonstrative: this dog word order or case context only Same job: identify referent
منظور اللغة
في اللغة الأم
Definiteness is central: ال, nunation, iḍāfa and context all affect reference.
قرأتُ كتابًا. الكتابُ مفيد.
I read a book. The book is useful.
في لغة التعلم
English articles and determiners strongly encode new, known, specific, general, and countability-related reference.
I saw a dog. The dog was black.
a/the = new vs. known reference
Articles are one of the biggest difficulties for learners whose languages lack a similar system.
Same block, different coding
Both languages use this block strongly, but they signal it differently. Focus on form changes, not only meaning.