Quote:
Originally Posted by Realism
I learned Chinese while growing up.
I never remembered learning particles.
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1. I assume by "Chinese particles" you mean 虛字.
2. I think this is similar to how native English speakers are not taught words like "at," "on," "through," "by," etc. We just pick them up. But ESL students have to learn them through painstaking work (I know it was tough for me to get used to 虛字 like 的 and others). English prepositions are the evillest part of English, from what I've heard from ESL students.
In the house = physical presence in the building
Inside the house = same
At the house = same, but could also mean you are geographically located on the property of the house, even outside the building itself; also could be slightly more casual than "in the house," possibly implying the addressee has some familiarity with the house in question (i.e., I cannot imagine saying "I am at the house" to my boss, but I would say "I am at the house" to my wife).
I am in Hawaii. = I am located in Hawaii.
I am at Hawaii. = grammatically incorrect
I am on Hawaii. = my feet on located on Hawaiian lands, but practically borders on wrong grammar
I am in the Hawaiian islands. = now, it sounds weird, like you have dug a hole into the islands and sat down there
I am at the Hawaiian islands. = sounds OK, I guess
I am on the Hawaiian islands. = now, it sounds correct
I know of no rule that explains why the correctness of "in" and "on" switches places when I changed "Hawaii" to "the Hawaiian islands." Imagine having to learn this as an ESL student!
Or maybe the use of articles in English is the worst. Consider this (and pardon my French) important distinction:
He is shit. = He is not good.
He is the shit. = He is very good.
You are man. = You are a member of
Homo sapiens.
You are the man. = You are successful and respectable.