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    Function of the indefinite article
    quickinfo

    The indefinite article is used for the first introduction, the presentation, of a new referent into the domain of discourse. Consider the following example:

    1
    Der wie in frou yn 'e winkel en dy hie wat stellen. Doe kaam de plysje, mar de frou woe de boete net betelje
    there was a woman in the shop and she had something stolen then came the police but the woman wanted the fine not pay
    There was a woman in the shop and she had stolen something. Then the police came, but the woman did not want to pay the fine

    The indefinite article presents a new referent, a woman, in the discourse, whereas the definite article is used to make the woman, now familiar in the domain of discourse, the topic.

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    As the indefinite article is used for the presentation of a new discourse referent, it characteristically shows up in presentative der-clauses:

    2
    Der skyt in kat yn 'e tún
    there shits a cat in the garden
    There is a cat shitting in the garden

    In the example above, the indefinite Noun Phrase (NP) in kat is specific, that is, concrete. However, indefinite NPs may also be interpreted as variables, which do not have a specific, concrete interpretation, as in the following example:

    3
    Gelbrich wol in kat
    Gelbrich want a cat
    Gelbrich wants a cat

    In this example, it may not be known which specific cat Gelbrich wants, but if she takes a cat, she will have a specific one. In the following example, the meaning of the indefinite NP depends on the meaning of a universal quantifier:

    4
    Elkenien hat in geheim
    everybody has a secret
    Everybody has a secret

    In this example, many different specific secrets are involved, depending on the person picked out by the universal quantifier. This reading is called a list or distributive reading. The indefinite article may also be responsible for a generic reading:

    5
    In ko yt graach gers
    a cow eats eagerly grass
    A cow likes to eat grass

    Bare plurals can also carry a generic reading, as shown in the example below:

    6
    Kij ite graach gers
    cows eat eagerly grass
    Cows like to eat grass
    References
      About this article
      Author(s): Eric Hoekstra
      Category: Frisian Syntax
      Keywords: discourse referent
      Version: 1.0, December 2015
      Version history:
      version editor(s) date remarks
      1.0 Eric Hoekstra December 2015
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