The Definition and Purpose of the Zero Article

The Definition and Purpose of the Zero Article In English grammar, the term  zero article  refers to an occasion in speech or writing where a noun or noun phrase is not preceded by an article (a, an, or the). The zero article is also known as the  zero determiner. In general, no article is used with proper nouns, mass nouns where the reference is indefinite, or plural count nouns where the reference is indefinite. Also, no article is generally used when referring to means of transport (by plane) or common expressions of time and place (at midnight, in jail). In addition, linguists have found that in  regional varieties of English known as New Englishes,  omitting an article is often done to express non-specificity. Examples of the Zero Article In the following examples, no article is used before the italicized nouns. My mothers name is Rose. I gave her a rose on  Mothers Day.Every mile is two in winter.This plant grows in  sandy soil and on the edges of swamps.David Rockefeller was authorized to hold the position of director of the Council on Foreign Relations. The Zero Article in American and British English In American and British English, no article is used before words such as  school, college, class, prison  or  camp  when these words are used in their institutional sense. The students start school in the fall.College provides opportunities for students to learn and meet new people. However, some nouns that are used with definite articles in American English are not used with articles in British English. When I was in the hospital, I often wished there were fewer hours in the day.[American English]When Elizabeth was in  hospital, she was occasionally visited by her parents.[British English] The Zero Article With Plural Count Nouns and Mass Nouns In the book English Grammar, Angela Downing writes that the loosest and therefore most frequent type of generic statement is that expressed by the zero article with plural  count nouns  or with  mass nouns. Count nouns are those that can form a plural, such as dog or cat. In their plural form, count nouns are sometimes used without an article, especially when they are referred to generically. The same is true when the noun is plural but of indefinite number. Dogs love to run around outside.The boy loves to play with toys. Mass nouns are those that cannot be counted, such as air or sadness. They also include nouns that are not usually counted but that can be counted in some situations, such as water or meat. (These nouns can be counted using certain measurements, such as some or much.) Clean air is important for a healthy environment.The man was overcome by sadness when he lost his home. Sources Cowan, Ron.  The Teachers Grammar of English: a Course Book and Reference Guide. Cambridge University Press, 2011.Downing, Angela.  English Grammar. Routledge, 2006.Platt, John T., et al.  The New Englishes. Routledge and Kegan Paul, 1984.

Generational Names in the United States

Generational Names in the United States Generations in the United States are defined as social groups of people born around the same time who share similar cultural traits, values, and preferences. In the U.S. today, many people readily identify themselves as Millennials, Xers, or Boomers. But these generational names are a fairly recent cultural phenomenon and they vary depending on the source. The History of Naming Generations Historians generally agree that the naming of generations began in the 20th-century. Gertrude Stein is considered the first to have done so. She bestowed the title of Lost Generation on those who had been born around the turn of the century and bore the brunt of service during World War I. In the epigram to Ernest Hemingways The Sun Also Rises, published in 1926, Stein wrote, You are all a lost generation. Generational theorists Neil Howe and William Strauss are generally credited with identifying and naming the 20th-century generations in the U.S. with their 1991 study Generations. In it, they identified the generation that fought World War II as the G.I. (for Government Issue) Generation. But less than a decade later, Tom Brokaw published The Greatest Generation, a best-selling cultural history of the Great Depression and World War II, and that namesake stuck. Canadian author Douglas Coupland, born in 1961 at the tail end of the Baby Boom, is credited with naming the generation that followed him. Couplands 1991 book Generation X: Tales For an Accelerated Culture, and later works chronicled the lives of 20-somethings and came to be seen by some as defining that eras young. Did You Know? Generational theorists Neil Howe and William Strauss suggested the name Thirteeners (for the 13th generation born since the American Revolution) for Generation X, but the term never caught on. Credit for naming the generations that followed Generation X is less clear. In the early 1990s, the children following Generation X were often referred to as Generation Y by media outlets like Advertising Age, which is credited with first using the term in 1993. But by the mid-90s, as buzz about the turn of the century grew, this generation was more often referred to as Millennials, a term Howe and Strauss first used in their book. The name for the most recent generation varies even more. Some prefer Generation Z, continuing the alphabetical trend begun with Generation X, while others prefer buzzier titles like Centennials or the iGeneration. Generation Names While some generations are known by one name only, such as the Baby Boomers, names for other generations is a matter of some dispute among experts.   Neil Howe and William Strauss define recent generational cohorts in the U.S. this way: 2000 to present: New Silent Generation or Generation Z1980 to 2000: Millennials or Generation Y1965 to 1979: Thirteeners or Generation X1946 to 1964:  Baby Boomers1925 to 1945: Silent Generation1900 to 1924: G.I. Generation The Population Reference Bureau  provides an alternate listing and chronology of generational names in the United States: 1983 to 2001: New Boomers1965 to 1982: Generation X1946 to 1964: Baby Boomers1929 to 1945: Lucky Few1909 to 1928: Good Warriors1890 to 1908: Hard Timers1871 to 1889: New Worlders The Center for Generational Kinetics lists the following five generations who are currently active in Americas economy and workforce: 1996 to present: Gen Z,  iGen, or Centennials1977 to 1995:  Millennials  or Gen Y1965 to 1976: Generation X1946 to 1964: Baby Boomers1945 and before: Traditionalists or Silent Generation Naming Generations Outside the United States Its worth remembering that the concept of social generations like these is largely a Western notion and that generational names are often influenced by local or regional events. In South Africa, for example, people born after the end of apartheid in 1994 are referred to as the Born-Free Generation. Romanians born after the collapse of communism in 1989 are sometimes called the Revolution Generation.   Sources Brokaw, Tom. The Greatest Generation. 1st Edition, Kindle Edition, Random House, February 23, 2000. Carlson, Elwood. 20th-Century U.S. Generations. Population Reference Bureau, March 4, 2009. Coupland, Douglas. Generation X: Tales for an Accelerated Culture. Paperback, St. Martins Griffin, March 15, 1991. Generational Breakdown: Info About All of the Generations. The Center for Generational Kinetics, 2016. Hemingway, Ernest. The Sun Also Rises. Hemingway Library Edition, Reprint Edition, Kindle Edition, Scribner, July 25, 2002. Howe, Neil. Generations: The History of Americas Future, 1584 to 2069. William Strauss, Paperback, Reprint edition, Quill, September 30, 1992.