English term
United States
EN>RU Business/Health Care/Education
Native in: Russian (Variant: Standard-Russia)
Works in: English to Russian, Russian to English, Russian
generation gap
"Today we are going to talk about (a/the/no article) generation gap. Do you know what (a/the/no article) generation gap is?.. (A/the/no article) generation gap is a term used to ..."
Further in the text the speaker provides some reasons for this phenomenon. So, more sentences with this phrase:
"Another reason for (a/the/no article) gap is ... Many families learn to bridge (a/the/no article) generation gap...". And so on.
I'd appreciate some explanation of the use of articles with this term, that is specific grammar rules to follow. Online search shows a wide variation in usage, so I'd like to understand the rule if there's any. Thanks!
May 27, 2021 18:43: Elena Ow-Wing changed "Field (write-in)" from "Pediatric Genetics" to "(none)"
May 27, 2021 19:44: writeaway changed "Field" from "Art/Literary" to "Other" , "Field (write-in)" from "(none)" to "English grammar question"
May 27, 2021 22:21: writeaway changed "Field (write-in)" from "English grammar question" to "basic English grammar-use of article"
May 28, 2021 03:19: Edith Kelly changed "Level" from "PRO" to "Non-PRO"
Non-PRO (3): Rachel Fell, Jennifer White, Edith Kelly
When entering new questions, KudoZ askers are given an opportunity* to classify the difficulty of their questions as 'easy' or 'pro'. If you feel a question marked 'easy' should actually be marked 'pro', and if you have earned more than 20 KudoZ points, you can click the "Vote PRO" button to recommend that change.
How to tell the difference between "easy" and "pro" questions:
An easy question is one that any bilingual person would be able to answer correctly. (Or in the case of monolingual questions, an easy question is one that any native speaker of the language would be able to answer correctly.)
A pro question is anything else... in other words, any question that requires knowledge or skills that are specialized (even slightly).
Another way to think of the difficulty levels is this: an easy question is one that deals with everyday conversation. A pro question is anything else.
When deciding between easy and pro, err on the side of pro. Most questions will be pro.
* Note: non-member askers are not given the option of entering 'pro' questions; the only way for their questions to be classified as 'pro' is for a ProZ.com member or members to re-classify it.
Responses
Ireland
right word, right place. everytime
Native in: English (Variants: Canadian, Irish, UK, US) 
Works in: French to English, Spanish to English, English, and 1 more.
a grammar question
"Today we are going to talk about the generation gap. Do you know what
the (OR possibly a) generation gap is?.. the (possibly a) generation gap is a term used to ..."
"Another reason for a gap is ... Many families learn to bridge a/the generation gap...".
it's really about understanding articles and nuances of meaning. Are you speaking about a specific thing or not?
It really depends on whether I want to speak in general about THE generation gap (universal) or A generation gap that may occur in families
indefinite or definite a/the. But ALL need an article.
You need a good grammar book and lots of practice
http://www.butte.edu/departments/cas/tipsheets/grammar/artic...
| Thanks, Yvonne. In this case I am referring to an educational video in English that first discusses the concept of generation gap in general and then specifically how it happens in families. If that helps. I provided the exact sentences from that video. |
| agree |
AllegroTrans
: I wonder if the educational video was written by a person whose native language is in the Slavic group
16 hrs
|
|
Thanks:-) Most likely a L2 speaker
|
|
| agree |
Tina Vonhof (X)
19 hrs
|
|
Thanks:-)
|
|
| agree |
Lucila Gonzalez
: There's also choice for no article at all, since it could be referred to as the concept of generation gap, which is abstract and not referring to a specific one.
4 days
|
|
Thanks but I disagree. In these sentences an article in needed. Just see how many Ghits there are
|
"generation gap" is a concept or phenomenon, not a physical gap.
Explanation: "generation gap" is a concept or phenomenon, not a physical gap, therefore no article is needed. It is like saying: "Today, we are going to talk about depression. Do you know what depression is?... Depression is a term used to ..."
"Another reason for the gap is .... Many families learn to bridge the generation gap...".
Explanation: here it refers to the phenomenon or concept of the "gap" mentioned about, therefore "the" is necessary.
--------------------------------------------------
Note added at 6 hrs (2021-05-28 01:00:48 GMT)
--------------------------------------------------
Correction: "mentioned above", not "mentioned about".
--------------------------------------------------
Note added at 12 hrs (2021-05-28 07:26:57 GMT)
--------------------------------------------------
At first, the speaker was talking about generation gap in general (non-specific), so there should be no "the" in front of it. "Generation gap" is a concept and not countable (non-count), so there should be no "a" in front of it.
http://www.butte.edu/departments/cas/tipsheets/grammar/artic...
| Thanks for taking time to consider my question. |
| neutral |
Daryo
: the question is in fact about grammar - use of articles
12 mins
|
|
Yes, it is.
|
|
| disagree |
AllegroTrans
: Asker wants guidance on use of the arrticle not an explanation of the term
14 hrs
|
| agree |
Lucila Gonzalez
: The explanation of the use of articles can be improved if you explain what the term accompanying the article actually means. I think the best use is no article at all.
3 days 23 hrs
|
Argentina
Ficción, bellas artes y literatura
Native in: Spanish 
Works in: English to Spanish, Spanish to English, Spanish, and 1 more.
Use of article a/the/no article
"Today we are going to talk about (a/the/ no article ) generation gap. Do you know what ( a /the/ no article ) generation gap is?.. (A/the/ no article ) generation gap is a term used to ..."
"Another reason for (a/ the /no article) gap is ... Many families learn to bridge (a/ the / no article ) generation gap...". And so on.
I hope it helps!
--------------------------------------------------
Note added at 4 days (2021-05-31 21:17:31 GMT)
--------------------------------------------------
It is a matter of use of articles. So there's not one answer only, but rather one factor, reference. A/the for specific generation gaps, no article for the concept of generation gap.
https://www.dictionary.com/browse/generation-gap
https://www.oxfordlearnersdictionaries.com/definition/english/the-generation-gap
| Thanks for taking time to consider my question! |
Discussion