The indefinite article does not
refer to a particular person or object.
- The indefinite article is a [ə],
emphatic [a].
The indefinite article becomes an before
vowels.
A finger.
A finger. |
A man.
A man. |
A yowe.
A ewe. |
An airm.
An arm. |
An awfu day.
An awful day. |
In colloquial speech a
is often used before both consonants and vowels.
Are ye haein a
egg tae yer tea?
Are you having an egg for dinner? |
A seen a
ingine doun the railwey yaird.
I saw an engine down at the
railway yard. |
Sometimes
the indefinite article is ommited altogether.
Thair's mony ane dis
that.
Many a one does that. |
Mony time.
Many a time. |
- Ae [e:, je:] is
the adjectival form of ane and means 'single'
or 'solitary' or the 'only one' and is usually used
before nouns.
The young man gaed oot
the disco wi an ae lass.
The young man left the disco
with only one girl. |
- The
indefinite pronoun some is the plural of a,
ae, ane and an meaning an
unknown number of the the things named by the noun.
Some o thae flouers is
wiltit.
Some of those flowers are wilted. |
Some fowk's trystin at
the kirk.
Some people are meeting at
church. |
- The definite article the [ðə]
refers to a particular person or object.
Scots usage often preferes
the definate article over the indefinite article.
He wis feelin hungert
an ett the bit breid.
He was feeling hungry and ate
a piece of bread. |
Efter he telt her
it wis throu she gaed aff wi the tear in her ee.
After he told her it was finished
she left with a tear in her eye. |
Taiblet costs twal
pennies the piece.
Tablet costs twelve pence a
piece. |
Thay haed a stoot
walkin-stick the piece.
They each had a stout walking
stick. |
- Special uses of the definite article.
Before the names of the
seasons and the days of the week.
| Scots |
English |
| The ware |
spring |
| The simmer |
summer |
| The hairst |
autumn |
| The winter |
winter |
The Monanday.
Monday. |
The Tysday.
Tuesday. |
The Wadensday.
Wednesday |
The Fuirsday
etc.
Thursday etc. |
Are ye gaun til
the gemme on the Seturday?
Are you going to the game on
Saturday? |
Hit's cauld in
the winter.
It's cold in winter. |
Before
many nouns.
Awa til the kirk.
Off to church. |
Doun the toun.
In town. |
At the schuil.
In school. |
Up the stair.
Up stairs. |
Fish tae the tea.
Fish for dinner. |
On the knock.
O' clock. |
Sent til the jyle.
Sent to goal. |
A gemme at the bouls.
A game of bowls. |
Doun the brae.
Down hill. |
Wi the train.
By train. |
He begoud the
dealin.
He began trading. |
The price o the
milk an the butter's aye gaun up.
The price of milk and butter
is always increasing. |
In a number
of adverbial phrases.
The nou.
Just now. |
The day.
Today. |
The morn.
Tomorrow. |
The morn
come aicht day.
Tomorrow week. |
The nicht.
Tonight. |
The streen / yestreen.
Yesterday (evening). |
The morn's
morn(in).
Tomorrow morning. |
The morn's nicht.
Tomorrow night. |
Thegither.
Together. |
The baith
o ye.
Both of you. |
The maist
o ye.
Most of you. |
A shillin the
piece.
A shilling each. |
For
the maiter o a poond or twa.
For the sake of a few pounds. |
The corn's guid
the year.
The corn is good this year. |
The definite
article is often used colloquially instead of a possessive pronoun.
The wife.
My
(your or his) wife. |
The guidman.
My
(your or her) husband. |
The wife wis in the gairden
wi's.
My (your or his)
wife was in the garden with me. |
She clawed the mutch aff
me.
She tore off my cap. |
The sodger wis wantin the helm.
The soldier was lacking his
helmet. |
Hou's the guidman the day?
How is your husband today? |
Before
the names of diseases.
The measels.
Measels. |
The brounkaities.
Bronchitis. |
The haingles.
Influenza. |
The gulsoch.
Jaundice. |
The cauld.
Cold. |
The buffits.
Mumps. |
The rheumatis.
Rheumatism. |
|
Before
the names of trades, occupations, sciences and departments of learning.
Ma son's learnin the
carpenterin.
My son is learning carpentry. |
He kens the
chemistry gey guid.
He knows chemistry very well. |
She's guid at the Laitin.
She is good at Latin. |
He canna speak
the French.
He can't speak French. |
