• Kabe@lemmy.world
    link
    fedilink
    English
    arrow-up
    120
    arrow-down
    4
    ·
    edit-2
    5 months ago

    English teacher here. Articles in English can be really confusing but essentially we use the definite article in this situation because:

    • Uniqueness: In most situations, there’s only one mirror in a room or a home that’s readily available for someone to look into.
    • Generality: Similar to “going to the bathroom,” “look in the mirror” refers to the general act of using a mirror to see oneself, not interacting with any specific mirror.
    • grrgyle@slrpnk.net
      link
      fedilink
      arrow-up
      7
      arrow-down
      2
      ·
      5 months ago

      Tell me you haven’t read Jonathan Strange without telling me you haven’t read Jonathan Strange 😏 obviously it’s because all mirrors are connected - as entrances to the King’s Way of old.

    • ALERT@sh.itjust.works
      link
      fedilink
      English
      arrow-up
      8
      arrow-down
      8
      ·
      5 months ago

      Ukrainian here. IMO, the first statement is half-stupid, the second one is half-overcomplicated :) no offense to you personally, of course. I understand the whole concept of articles in English and know (at least I thought I knew before this post) their correct usage, and in all use cases I can remember the article uses are logically acceptable for a foreigner, but this one with the mirror and the bathroom is messed up a bit :)

      • Kabe@lemmy.world
        link
        fedilink
        English
        arrow-up
        16
        ·
        edit-2
        5 months ago

        IMO, the first statement is half-stupid, the second one is half-overcomplicated :)

        Welcome to English, my friend. No one ever claimed that it wasn’t a pain in the arse to learn :)

        • ALERT@sh.itjust.works
          link
          fedilink
          English
          arrow-up
          6
          arrow-down
          6
          ·
          5 months ago

          :) no, it’s not, because for people to understand you you don’t need to grasp 75% of the concepts of the English language, and IMO, this is the measure of “pain in the ass” of a language. so still not even half as complicated as Ukrainian and not even half a pain in the ass as Ukrainian :)

      • jaybone@lemmy.world
        link
        fedilink
        arrow-up
        8
        ·
        5 months ago

        The second example is quite good imo. You would never say “I’m going to a bathroom.” Even if you were in a stadium with hundreds of bathrooms, you would still say you are going to the bathroom.

        Same as you might say I’m taking the train. Not usually taking a train, though I’ve heard that too sometimes. Though oddly you usually say I’m taking a plane, not the plane. Also I’m taking the freeway, not a freeway. I’m usually going to the doctor, less often than a doctor.

        • ALERT@sh.itjust.works
          link
          fedilink
          English
          arrow-up
          3
          arrow-down
          5
          ·
          edit-2
          5 months ago

          The second example is quite good imo. You would never say “I’m going to a bathroom.” Even if you were in a stadium with hundreds of bathrooms, you would still say you are going to the bathroom.

          you are justifying this statement “because of reasons” :) this is not a logical explanation. there are a bunch of bathrooms in the world. Am I going to the one specific that was mentioned before in the context? then it’s “to the bathroom”. is this bathroom just a random one that I will encounter on my way? then why not “to a bathroom”?

          same with trains: even if you are speaking about a train route with a specific number, you are not talking about a specific train, then it should be “I’ll be taking a train”. if you are going to take the specific locomotive for a ride in a museum, then, obviously, you are going to take “the train”. this sounds logical for the usage of Articles in the English language, at least in my head.

          same with doctors: if you are going to a specific doctor, and your opponent knows which one by the context, then it should be “to the doctor”, otherwise it would be a random doctor that will be assigned to you as soon as you arrive to the clinic, it cannot be “the doctor” by the same principle I always thought exists :)

          I’m not even talking about the option of using a subject without an article, like in Ukrainian. “I’m going to bathroom”. if I wanted to say which one, I would have stated it, but as soon as I am going to pee in a random bathroom I find, why can’t it be just “I’m going to bathroom”? :D yeah, now it sounds like a verb :D

          whoa, another meaningless “the” appeared. “The English Language” phrasing is used despite there are at least four? five? English languages.

          so… it’s complicated :D but this does not prevent English from being The Language of the World, and I cannot name a language that could have been on its place.

          • SurpriZe@lemm.ee
            link
            fedilink
            arrow-up
            1
            ·
            5 months ago

            This is gold! But what I also find confusing is the ultimate difference between Present Perfect and Past Simple…

          • Hexarei@programming.dev
            link
            fedilink
            arrow-up
            1
            ·
            5 months ago

            My autistic ass has always thought of it as “I’m going to the (specific) bathroom (that I will be using)”