indefinite article


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indefinite article

n.
An article, such as English a or an, that does not fix the identity of the noun modified.
American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

indefinite article

n
(Grammar) grammar a determiner that expresses nonspecificity of reference, such as a, an, or some. Compare definite article
Collins English Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged, 12th Edition 2014 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1994, 1998, 2000, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2014

indef′inite ar′ticle


n.
an article, as English a or an, that denotes class membership of the noun it modifies without particularizing it.
Random House Kernerman Webster's College Dictionary, © 2010 K Dictionaries Ltd. Copyright 2005, 1997, 1991 by Random House, Inc. All rights reserved.

indefinite article

An article such as “a” or “an” that does not specify the noun that it modifies.
Dictionary of Unfamiliar Words by Diagram Group Copyright © 2008 by Diagram Visual Information Limited
ThesaurusAntonymsRelated WordsSynonymsLegend:
Noun 1. indefinite article - a determiner (as `a' or `some' in English) that indicates nonspecific reference
article - (grammar) a determiner that may indicate the specificity of reference of a noun phrase
Based on WordNet 3.0, Farlex clipart collection. © 2003-2012 Princeton University, Farlex Inc.
Translations
أداة غَيْر مُعَرِّفَه، أداة تَنْكير
člen neurčitýneurčitý člen
ubestemt artikel
epämääräinen artikkeli
határozatlan névelõhatározatlan névelő
óákveðinn greiniróákveîinn greinir
artigo indefinido
nedoločni člen
belgisiz harfi tarif

indefinite article

n (Gram) → unbestimmter Artikel
Collins German Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged 7th Edition 2005. © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1980 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1997, 1999, 2004, 2005, 2007

indefinite article

n (Gram) the indefinite article → l'articolo indeterminativo
Collins Italian Dictionary 1st Edition © HarperCollins Publishers 1995

indefinite

(inˈdefinit) adjective
1. not fixed or exact; without clearly marked outlines or limits. She invited her mother to stay for an indefinite length of time. onbepaald غَيْر مَحْدود، غَيْر مُحَدَّد неопределен indefinido neurčitý unbegrenzt ubestemt; ubegrænset αόριστος, ακαθόριστος indefinido määramata نا مشخص määräämätön indéterminé לא מוּגדָר अस्पष्ट neodređen határozatlan tidak pasti óákveðinn indeterminato 不定の 정확하지 않은 neapibrėžtas nenoteikts tidak tetap onbepaald ubestemt, endeløs nieokreślony نا پیژندونکی indefinido neprecizat неопределённый neurčitý, neobmedzený nedoločen neodrđen obestämd ซึ่งไม่มีข้อกําหนด belirsiz 無限期的 невизначений; необмежений غیر معین không xác định 无限的
2. vague; uncertain. His plans are indefinite at the moment. vaag مُبْهَم ،غَيْر واضِح، غَيْر مُؤَكَّد неясен indefinido nejasný, mlhavý unbestimmt ikke nærmere bestemt αόριστος, ασαφής indefinido ebamäärane مبهم epämääräinen indéfini לא בָּרוּר अनिश्चित nejasan bizonytalan samar-samar óljós indefinito 不明瞭な 막연한 miglotas, neaiškus neskaidrs samar-samar onzeker ubestemt, utydelig niesprecyzowany تت، نا څرګند، ( مبهم) نا ټاكلى، اند غپ، نا جوت، نا برسيره indefinido vag неопределённый nejasný nejasen neodređen vag ไม่แน่นอน kesin olmayan 不明確的 неясний غیر واضح mập mờ 不明确的
inˈdefiniteness noun
onbepaaldheid عَدَم مَحْدوديَّة، عَدَم وُضوح неяснота indefinição neurčitost die Unbestimmtheit ubestemthed αοριστία indefinición, cualidad de indefinido ebamäärasus ابهام؛ عدم محدودیت epämääräisyys caractère vague ללא הַגדָרָה מְדוּיֶקֶת अनिश्चियता आदि neodređenost, nejasnoća határozatlanság, bizonytalanság ketidakpastian sem er óljós indefinitezza 不明瞭 불확정 neapibrėžtumas nenoteiktība; neskaidrība ketidaktetapan onbepaaldheid, onzekerheid ubestemthet, utydelighet nieokreślony charakter نا برسيره indefinição caracter imprecis неопределенность neurčitosť nedoločnost neodređenost obestämdhet ความไม่มีขีดจํากัด belirsizlik 無限期 невизначеність عدم تعیین sự không xác định 无限期
inˈdefinitely adverb
for an indefinite period of time. The match was postponed indefinitely. onbepaald لأجَلٍ غَيْر مُسَمّى، بصورةٍ غَيْر محدودَه за неопределено време indefinidamente na neurčito auf unbestimmte Zeit på ubestemt tid επ' αόριστον indefinidamente määramata ajaks بطور مبهم؛ بطور نامحدود määräämättömästi à une date indéterminée לִזמָן בִּלתִי מוּגבָּל अनियत काल के लिए neodređeno, neograničeno korlátlan v. bizonytalan időre yang tidak terbatas um óákveðinn tíma a tempo indeterminato 無期限に 막연히 neribotam laikui nenoteikti; neskaidri; bezgalīgi yang tidak terbatas voor onbepaalde tijd på ubestemt tid; i det uendelige na czas nieokreślony د مبهم په دوله indefinidamente nedefinit, sine die неопределённо na neurčito za nedoločen čas na neodređeno på obestämd tid อย่างไม่จํากัดเวลา belirsiz bir tarihe 無限期地 на невизначений час غیر معین مدت تک một cách không xác định 无限期地
indefinite article the name given to the words a and an
onbepaalde voornaamwoord أداة غَيْر مُعَرِّفَه، أداة تَنْكير неопределеителен член artigo indefinido člen neurčitý unbestimmter Artikel ubestemt artikel αόριστο άρθρο (γραμμ.) artículo indefinido umbmäärane artikkel نکره؛ ناشناخته epämääräinen artikkeli article indéfini תַווִית סְתָמִית अनिश्यावाचक neodređeni član határozatlan névelő kata sandang tak tentu óákveðinn greinir articolo indefinito 不定冠詞 부정 관사 neþymimasis artikelis nenoteiktais artikuls kata sandang tak tentu onbepaald lidwoord ubestemt artikkel przedimek nieokreślony نا پیژندونکی artigo indefinido articol nehotărât неопределённый артикль neurčitý člen nedoločni člen neodređeni član obestämd artikel คํานําหน้านามเอกพจน์ที่ไม่ได้กล่าวถึงมาก่อน belgisiz harfi tarif 不定冠詞 неозначений артикль حروف غیر معین mạo từ không xác định 不定冠词
Kernerman English Multilingual Dictionary © 2006-2013 K Dictionaries Ltd.
References in periodicals archive ?
When a numeral or a genitive are determiners they can be preceded by the indefinite article; for instance, [a hundred] charges, [a colleague's] house; when they are modifiers they cannot be preceded by the indefinite article; for instance, these [hundred] charges, the [dollar's] worth of coins (Huddleston--Pullum 2002: 372).
Natural syntax: the English indefinite article
The fact that English non-count abstract nouns such as knowledge are compatible with the indefinite article a/an is not only perplexing for second language (L2) learners of English but also troublesome for both native and non-native English teachers.
Understanding English Non-Count Nouns and Indefinite Articles
Finally, at p.282, last three lines in the last but one paragraph, the indefinite article "a" after useful could be deleted.
Posner, Daniel N., Institutions and Ethnic Politics in Africa
Unidiomatic renderings such as "to drink one (for the German indefinite article ein) cup in honour of the god" (p.
Hittite Exercise Book
The apple is a new thing when it is introduced in the first sentence, so it takes the indefinite article "a/n." In the next sentence, the reader knows of the apple's existence, so the apple becomes a familiar noun, and takes the familiar article "the." This example conforms nicely to the grammatical rules; however, articles in the real world rarely work out in such nice forms.
(The) English article and ell students
According to writer Wes Howard-Brook, the lack of either a definite or indefinite article in the Greek indicates that the protagonist is not only "a man born blind" but also "humanity, blind from birth." Blind humanity is indicted subtly but profoundly in John 9:8-9.
Panhandling
THE recent debate about the humble indefinite article ('a' and 'an') before words beginning with the letter 'h' has seen some misinformation printed.
Letter: Your Say - It's 'a'... definitely; In association with POST OFFICE
Consider, for instance, the case of "indefinite generics." When "indefinite generics" are defined according to formal criteria and understood as a term referring to noun phrases that contain an indefinite article and, as such, receive a generic interpretation (of whatever kind), cross-linguistic investigations very soon lead to the result that many languages do not have "indefinite generics" quite simply because they do not possess an indefinite article, let alone one which could occur in generic contexts.
Genericity from a cross-linguistic perspective (1)
Van Fraasen holds that objectification is just a (emphasis on indefinite article) paradigm of inquiry (p.
Van Fraassen, Bas C. The Empirical Stance
The results of this approach are clearly presented; and the author of this section extracts some salient conclusions concerning, for example, the importance of dialogue (with the frequency of subject pronouns, particularly in the 'tu' form, and verbs such as 'repondit', 'repliquai', 'repartit', 'poursuivit', etc.), and the unusual frequency of the indefinite article, 'un' (the author points to its use to designate something or someone as yet unknown, which, as he explains, is a 'situation tres courante dans ce roman ou les personnages vont de decouverte a decouverte' (p.
Les Bons Contes et les bons mots de 'Gil Blas'

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