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Grammar-Quizzes
"A" - one as an example vs. one in particular Framed | Unframed 

 

 

Read & Contrast

 

ONE AS AN EXAMPLE ONE IN PARTICULAR
UNSPECIFIC SPECIFIC


A comet appears to have a tail as it streaks through the sky.
A comet also has a dense head.
If you look up in the sky, you might see a comet.

a comet

 

 

The sentences above are true of all comets.


A comet was seen in the western sky last night. (first mention)
The comet was believed to be Hale-Bopp.
The comet has a spectacular, bright tail.

Hale-Bopp comet

The sentences above are about a comet we saw last night.

 

 

Practice 1

 

Can you distinguish an unspecific noun from a specific noun?

A black hole is an object, typically a collapsed star whose gravity is so strong that its escape velocity exceeds the speed of light. Since nothing is known to exceed the speed of light, nothing can escape from a black hole. a black hole

1. A blackhole is an object . . . .nothing can escape from a black hole.

 

2.  A planet was later discovered farther out in the solar system. The planet, Jupiter, named after the Roman god, was the largest of all.

 

 

 

 

Practice 2

 

Specific (a particular one)  or Unspecific (true of any one)

# SENTENCE YOUR RESPONSE ANSWER
1 People did not always know what a comet was.    In ancient times, people thought comets were "power rays" of super- natural beings.
2 They thought a comet contained fire because they are so bright in the sky.
3 Some people in ancient times thought that a comet was a curse. To save himself from "the curse of the comet," Emperor Nero of Rome had all possible successors to his throne executed.
4 In 1910, people panicked when a comet passed through Earth's path around the Sun.
6 In Chicago, people sealed their windows to protect themselves from a comet that they believed had a poisonous tail.  Others committed suicide. Special "Comet Protecting Umbrellas," gas masks, and "anti-comet pills" were sold.
6 Not everyone saw a comet as bad luck. Some thought they brought good luck.
7 They also believed that a comet carried angels through the heavens.

 

 

Web Based Activities Page (NASA) http://amazing-space.stsci.edu/ Comets: (select little book on the right): Myths: Friend or Foe

 

 

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Julie Sevastopoulos -   College of San Mateo - San Mateo, CA 94402 USA