My hopes, from my earliest years, have been hopes of celebrity as a writer- not of wealth, or of influence, or of accomplishing any of the thousand aims which furnish the great bulk of mankind with motives. You will laugh at me. There is something so emphatically shadowy and unreal in the object of this ambition, that even the full attainment of its provokes a smile. For who does not know 'How vain that second life in others' breath, The estate which wits inherit after death!' And what can be more fraught with the ludicrous thanan union of this shadowy ambition withmediocre parts and attainments! But I digress.
2010 март 22, Paul Taylor, “Greece Debates Revive Old European Fears and Resentments”, inThe New York Times[3],→ISSN,→OCLC, archived fromthe original on2010-04-03, Inside Europe:
President Nicolas Sarkozy of France is open toan European monetary fund but would want it to raise money cheaply on capital markets and lend it to needy euro-zone countries before they faced possible default.
2021 април 13, Neil Vigdor, “Hank Aaron’s Name Will Replace a Confederate General’s on an Atlanta School”, inThe New York Times[4],→ISSN,→OCLC, archived fromthe original on April 14, 2021, U.S.[5]:
Inan unanimous vote on Monday, the city’s school board approved removing the name of Gen. Nathan Bedford Forrest from Forrest Hill Academy and calling the alternative school the Hank Aaron New Beginnings Academy.
2024 фебруар 14,Lawrence O'Donnell, 0:29 from the start, inLawrence: Jack Smith asks SCOTUS to move fast on Trump. Nixon case is proof they can.[6],MSNBC, archived fromthe original on February 15, 2024:
Having been given seven full days, Jack Smith took exactly one day to file a forty-page response in opposition, to the Supreme Court, making the argument that there was no reason for the Supreme Court to hear Donald Trump's appeal ofan unanimous opinion by the second most important court in the country, the Washington, D.C. Federal Court of Appeals, which supported the trial judge's ruling that there is no such thing as immunity from criminal prosecution for former presidents.
For more examples of usage of this term, seeЦитати:an.
(nonstandard)Used before/h/ in a stressed or unstressed syllable.
1 I waited patiently for the Lord, and he inclined vnto me, and heard my crie. 2 He brought me vp also out ofan horrible pit, out of the mirie clay, and set my feete vpon a rock, and established my goings.
1693,Robert Morden, “Of China”, inGeography Rectified; or a Description of the World[7], 3rd edition,→OCLC,page441:
The Province ofNanking, by theTartars calledKiangnan, is the ſecond in honour, in magnitude and fertility in allChina : It is divided into 14 great Territories, having Cities and Townsan hundred and ten;Nanking, orKiangning being theMetropolis; a City, that if ſhe did not exceed moſt Cities on the Earth in bigneſs and beauty, yet ſhe was inferior to few, for her Pagodes, her Temples, her Porcelane Towers, her Palaces and Triumphal Arches.Fungiang,Sucheu,Sunkiang,Leucheu,Hoaigan,Ganking,Ningue,Hoeicheu, are alſo eminent places, and of great Note and Trade.
Following the doctrine of Lenin and Stalin, relying on the support of the great Soviet state and all the revolutionary forces of all countries, the Chinese Communist Party and the Chinese people gainedan historic victory a few years ago.
1972 мај 28, 3:30 from the start, inPresident Nixon addresses the Soviet People live from the Kremlin[9], spoken byRichard Nixon, archived fromthe original on 22 December 2015:
We have agreed on joint ventures in space. We have agreed on ways of working together to protect the environment, to advance health, to cooperate in science and technology. We have agreed on means of preventing incidents at sea. We have established a commission to expand trade between our two nations. Most important, we have takenan historic first step in the limitation of nuclear strategic arms.
2022 јун 29,David Pakman, 0:00 from the start, inTrump Assaulted Secret Service Agent, Smeared Ketchup on Wall[10], archived fromthe original on 30 June 2022:
Well yesterday wasan historic day. Uh, there was last minute testimony scheduled in the January 6th committee from a former aide to Trump chief of staff Mark Meadows.
(nonstandard, British, West Country)Used before all consonants.
In standard English, the articlean is used before vowel sounds, whilea is used before consonant sounds. Alternatively,an can be found before an unstressed syllable beginning with/h/, as in "an historic". The/h/ may then become silent or is at least very weakly articulated. This usage is favoured by only 6% of British speakers, and is only slightly more common in writing.[1]
Historically,an could also be found beforeone and before many words with initial⟨u⟩,⟨eu⟩ (now pronounced with initial/juː/,/jʊ/,/jə/), such aseunuch,unique, andutility. This is because those initial letters were pronounced as vowels. In writing,an remained usual before such words until the 19th century -- long after these words acquired initial consonant sounds in standard English. This is still occasionally seen.[2]
In the other direction,a occurs before a vowel, rarely, in nonstandard (often dialectal) speech and in its written representations. Example: "ain't this a innerestin sitchation" (Moira Young,Blood Red Road).
The various article senses ofa are all senses ofan.
↑Fowler's Dictionary of Modern English Usage (2015,→ISBN 0199661359, page 2: "Before words beginning withh [...] the standard modern approach is to usea (neveran) together with an aspiratedh [...], but not to demur if others usean with minimal or nil aspiration given to the followingh (an historic /әn (h)ɪsˈtɒrɪk/,an horrific /әn (h)ɒˈrɪfɪk/, etc.)."Fowler's goes on to source the 6% figure to Wells (third edition, 2008).
↑Lua грешка in Модул:quote at line 832: Timestamp |date=launched 2000 (possibly canonicalized from its original format) could not be parsed; see thedocumentation for the #time parser function..
This is the same as the worda in such contexts, modified because of preceding a vowel sound (after an unpronouncedh).The train was speeding along at a milea minute.
direct marker for all general nouns other than personal proper nouns
Nagdalaganan lalaki pasiring sa baybayon.
The man ran towards the shore.
Kinakan kan ikosan sira. (Naga)
Kinaon kan ikosan sira. (Legazpi)
The cat atethe fish.
Usage notes
This particle is analyzed as the definite article (i.e.,the) when used alone, and the indefinite article (i.e.,a oran) when used with the numeral "saro".
Bělá se tam, bělá žena,ana malé dítě nese. ―A white form can be seen there, a white womanwho is carrying a child.
Vidíš-li poutníka,an dlouhou lučinou spěchá ku cíli, než červánky pohynou? ―Do you see a traveller hastening ere the twilight passes away across the long meadows towards a destination?
A lengthened form/aːn/ is possible in non-prepositional uses, e.g. in the prefixan- or the adverbdaran. This was formerly widespread, but is now chiefly restricted to Austria and Switzerland (where it is optional). Compare similarly the distinction betweenin andein-.
(any relation to an object or attribute regardless of time and space)of,on,in,for,about
an einem Roman schreiben ―to writeon a novel
Mangelan Lebensmitteln ―lackof food
Alle Menschen sind frei und gleichan Würde und Rechten geboren ―All human beings are born free and equalin dignity and rights.
Er ist schuldan dem Unglück ―He is responsiblefor the misfortune
Das mag ich nichtan ihm ―I don't like thatabout him
Usage notes
Usually used to refer to something being on a vertical surface, as opposed toauf, which usually points to a horizontal surface.
When followed by the masculine/neuter definite article in the dative case (i.e.dem(“the”)), the two words generally contract toam(“on the”) if not emphasized.
When followed by the neuter definite article in the accusative case (i.e.das(“the”)), the two words generally contract toans(“on the”) if not emphasized.
orrather, or on thecontrary (where the opinion of the speaker or the probability inclines to the second interrogative clause, and this is made emphatic, as a corrective of the former)
or, or rather, orindeed, orperhaps (where, as is frequent, the first part of the interrogation is not expressed, but is to be supplied from the context,an begins the interrogation, but it does not begin an absolute –i.e., non-disjunctive – interrogation)
denoting uncertainty by itself, without a verb of doubting
(chiefly in and after theAugustean period)standing forsīveAN
where the first disjunctive clause is to be supplied from the general idea or wherean stands forutrum ornecne
Since in such distributive sentences expressive of doubt, the opinion of the speaker or the probability usually inclines to the second,i.e. to the clause beginning withan, the expressionshaud sciō anAN,nesciō anAN, anddubitō anAN incline to an affirmative signification, “I almost know”, “I am inclined to think”, “I almost think”, “I might say”, “I might assert that”, etc., for “perhaps”, “probably”.
Sometimes the distributive clause beginning withan designates directly the opposite, the more improbable, the negative; in which casenesciō anAN,haud sciō anAN, etc., like the EnglishI know not whether, signify “I think that not”, “I believe that not”, etc.
Usage notes
Used withutrum(“whether”) in the constructionutrum...an(“whether...or”):
Nescio quid intersit, utrum nunc veniam,an ad decem annos.
I know not what matter it is, whether I come nowor after ten years.
Englishtranscriptions of Mandarin speech often fail to distinguish between the criticaltonal differences employed in the Mandarin language, using words such as this one without the appropriate indication of tone.
In later non-Northern Middle English,a is usually found before consonants other than/h/, whilean is usually found preceding vowels and/h/. However,an often occurs before any consonant in earlier Middle English.
In early Middle English, the indefinite article is often omitted; occasional omission persists into later Middle English.
Inflected forms of the indefinite article are sometimes found in early Middle English; see the inflection table below.
—Þā cōm hē and fand hīe slǣpende, and cwæþ tō Petre, "Simon, slǣpst þū? Ne meahtest þūāne tīd wacian?",Then he came and found them asleep, and said to Peter, "Simon, are you asleep? Couldn't you stay awake forone hour?"
—Þæs þe mā þā Iudēiscan sōhton hine tō ofslēanne, næs nā for þonāne þe hē þone ræstedæġ bræc, ac for þon þe hē cwæþ þæt God wǣre his fæder, and hine selfne dyde Gode ġelīcne.,That made the Jews try even harder to kill him, notjust for breaking the Sabbath, but for saying God was his father, and making himself equal to God.
—Foresetnessa ne bēoþ nāhwǣrāna, ac bēoþ ǣfre tō sumum ōðrum worde ġefēġeda.,Prepositions never occurby themselves: they are always attached to some other word.
995. Anglo-Saxon Gospels,Translation, Gospel of Saint Matthew, chapter 8, verse 8.
ang
—Ðā andswarode sē hundredes ealdor and ðus cwæþ, Drihten, ne eom ic wyrðe, ðæt ðū ingange under mīne þecene; ac cweþ ðīnān word, and mīn cnapa biþ ġehǣled.,Then answered the centurion, and said thus, Lord, I am not worthy, that you enter under my roof; but say your wordonly, and my boy will be healed.
—Is demniu liunn a n-ad·chiam hua sulib ol·daasan ro·chluinemmar hua chluasaib.,What we see with the eyes is more certain for us thanwhat we hear with the ears.
direct marker for all general nouns other than personal proper nouns
Midalaganan lalaki paingon ha baybayon.
The man ran towards the shore.
Gikaon han iringan isda.
The cat atethe fish.
Usage notes
This particle is analyzed as the definite article (i.e.,the) when used alone, and the indefinite article (i.e.,a oran) when used with the numeral "usa" plus "ka" that quantifies an object/object that it modifies.
1867, “A YOLA ZONG”, inSONGS, ETC. IN THE DIALECT OF FORTH AND BARGY, number 1, page84:
Lidge w'ousean a milagh, tis gaay an louthee:
Lie with uson the clover, 'tis fair and sheltered:
References
Jacob Poole (d. 1827) (before 1828) William Barnes, editor,A Glossary, With some Pieces of Verse, of the old Dialect of the English Colony in the Baronies of Forth and Bargy, County of Wexford, Ireland, London: J. Russell Smith, published1867
Yoruba
Pronunciation
(mid-tone):Грешка у скрипти: Не постоји модул „yo-pron”.
(high-tone):Грешка у скрипти: Не постоји модул „yo-pron”.
