bird," "This is a rare kind of _an_ eagle," or, "It is not worthy of the
name of _an_ eagle"; because in these sentences "eagle" is used as the
name, not of a single bird, but of a class of birds, and includes in its
meaning all the birds which belong to the class called "eagle." The
sentences are equivalent to: "The kind of bird called 'eagle' is our
national bird;" "This is a rare species of the class of birds called
'eagle;'" "It is not worthy of the name given to the birds which belong to
the class called 'eagle.'"

[8] Ibid., pp. 33-34.


EXERCISE V.

_Tell the difference in meaning between_:--


1. The (a) house is on fire.
2. Yes, I heard (the) shouts in the street.
3. About eight o'clock (the) guests began to come.
4. Yes, I heard (the) noises in the next room.
5. The (an) elephant stood on a cask, and the (a) clown sat on the
elephant's back.
6. The President has appointed a commission to investigate the
cause of (the) strikes.
7. Will he let us look at (the) stars through the (a) telescope?
8. (The) teacher and (the) pupil are interested in this question.
9. He told us about an (the) accident.
10. Fire is beautiful. The fire is beautiful.
11. He was a better scholar than (an) athlete.