“it's a perfect time to...” vs. “it's the perfect time to...”
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From SE: ELL (10 Nov 15):
“it's a perfect time to...” vs. “it's the perfect time to...”
(Note I added a third dot in the two phrases to make three dots or periods, as that is how I punctuate an ellipsis.)
CopperKettle points to a text in English written by a native Russian speaker (themself?) on Lang-8:
"This time of the year when the weather has finally changed from warm and pleasant to cold and windy, it’s a perfect time to think about new adornments and decorative elements for our homes that help to refresh our living spaces and add more life to our interiors."
which CopperKettle, thankfully, shortened to
"This time of the year when the weather has finally changed from warm and pleasant to cold and windy, it’s a perfect time to think about new items for interior decoration."
And the question is Is this use of the indefinite article okay, or would it be better to use 'the'?
And trying to come up with a rationale for the use of one article or another CK muses:
'Is it that with "a perfect time" we allow that other "perfect times" will occur later or have occurred before, while with "the perfect time" we insist on the absolute uniqueness of this "time"?'
I spent an hour or so thinking about this question and I promised an answer. This is late in coming, but it's here.
Let's shorten the sentence again to something even more workable.
Autumn: it's a perfect time of the year to think about redecorating.
Thus, is it okay to use the indefinite article here, or is it better to, or even must one use the definite article? Note that this is different from asking, which article would a native speaker use? And we recall in passing that the sentence we are looking at was not written by a native English speaker.
The answer is
Yes, it is okay to use the indefinite article in the sentence. The phrase a perfect time of the year does not refer to an exclusive time or moment or opportunity, either when speaking of one year (which has spring, summer, autumn and winter) or more than one year (which has cycles of these seasons). So we can jettison the idea of exclusivity ("absolute uniqueness," to use CK's words).
The word perfect can be used in many ways (ie, it has many definitions).
If I say
1 I have a perfect black pearl at home.
I am not saying that Joe or Jane cannot also have a perfect black pearl. Because perfect means, according to The American Heritage Dictionary
1. Lacking nothing essential to the whole; complete of its nature or kind.
2. Being without defect or blemish: a perfect specimen.
3. Thoroughly skilled or talented in a certain field or area; proficient.
4. Completely suited for a particular purpose or situation: She was the perfect actress for the part.
5.
a. Completely corresponding to a description, standard, or type: a perfect circle; a perfect gentleman.
b. Accurately reproducing an original: a perfect copy of the painting.
6. Complete; thorough; utter: a perfect fool.
7. Pure; undiluted; unmixed: perfect red.
8. Excellent and delightful in all respects: a perfect day.
etc
Notice that several of these meanings overlap. Also that several example phrases use the indefinite article.
Thus, in one sense, the question is not one about article usage, but about word meaning. And perfect is not exclusive:
2 Yesterday was a perfect day for swimming and so is today.
So the indefinite article seems overwhelmingly felicitous, and I hope I may say decorous in the sentence Autumn: it's a perfect time..., because by saying that, one does not claim that autumn is the only perfect time of the year to blah blah blah.
This covers the use of the indefinite article in the sentence. But since the definite article was brought up, how does, or would, that work in the sentence?
Autumn: it's the perfect time of the year to think about redecorating.
What does the definite article do here that the indefinite did not? Since the marks for definiteness, does its use now introduce the notion of exclusivity ("absolute uniqueness")? Is autumn the only time of the year to think about redecorating? Is this the claim of this sentence? And if the notion of exclusivity is allowed, the additional question rises of must the sentence be read this way? That is, would the use of the allow for a non-exclusive reading as well?
Exclusivity: yes...or no?
If a commercial pops up on my TV in the fall and a saleswoman starts talking about autumn being the perfect time of the year to think about redecorating, I can be sure that if she is not saying autumn is the exclusive time (or season) to think about redecorating, she is at least saying it is one of the exclusive times (or seasons) to think about it, the other perfect times being any other time or season that the store runs the television commercial!
If Jane walks into the clothing store and the salesperson remarks
3 I have the perfect dress for you!
but Jane tries the dress on and she does not like it, will the salesperson let Jane walk out the door without looking at other dresses? Not if she wants the commission. So, LBD1 (the first little black dress) was not, after all, the perfect dress for Jane. And I am sure the salesperson can come up with another "the perfect dress." So, in reality, "the perfect dress" is not exclusive, anymore than "a perfect dress." And this is true linguistically as well as practicably.
4 Yesterday was the perfect day for swimming, you know, John and we really should have gone.
If Jane utters the above, is she ruling out that other "perfect days" of swimming cannot occur? No. There will be other perfect days.
5 Bob is the perfect man for you, Jane.
If Jane's mother is trying to find her a husband, is her claim that Bob is the perfect man "absolutely unique"? Bob may be "the perfect man" for Jane, but if Jane is repelled by him, then her mom might say, as well:
6 Bob is the perfect man for you, Jane...but then so is Hal.
This raises a slight smile, because of the notion of perfect as meaning "completely suitable" or "an exact specimen" blah blah, but because neither perfect nor the perfect mean "absolutely unique in claim," it is felicitous. We can even do the following:
7 Bob is the most perfect man for you, Jane...but then so is Hal.
So, since I have excluded exclusivity, what does the introduce that is different from the indefinite article?
8a Autumn is a perfect time of the year...
8b Autumn is the perfect time of the year...
I remind you that no one, not even the most learned linguist knows everything about the definite article in English. No one has yet come up with a unified theory of the English definite article. Some definitions seem perfect, only to fail on examination of other uses.
However, it seems decorous, and I hope felicitous to say that
The definite article allows for the possibility of exclusivity without holding to it, whereas the indefinite article does not attempt this claim.
--NES
(Native English Speaker)
From SE: ELL (10 Nov 15):
“it's a perfect time to...” vs. “it's the perfect time to...”
(Note I added a third dot in the two phrases to make three dots or periods, as that is how I punctuate an ellipsis.)
CopperKettle points to a text in English written by a native Russian speaker (themself?) on Lang-8:
"This time of the year when the weather has finally changed from warm and pleasant to cold and windy, it’s a perfect time to think about new adornments and decorative elements for our homes that help to refresh our living spaces and add more life to our interiors."
which CopperKettle, thankfully, shortened to
"This time of the year when the weather has finally changed from warm and pleasant to cold and windy, it’s a perfect time to think about new items for interior decoration."
And the question is Is this use of the indefinite article okay, or would it be better to use 'the'?
And trying to come up with a rationale for the use of one article or another CK muses:
'Is it that with "a perfect time" we allow that other "perfect times" will occur later or have occurred before, while with "the perfect time" we insist on the absolute uniqueness of this "time"?'
I spent an hour or so thinking about this question and I promised an answer. This is late in coming, but it's here.
Let's shorten the sentence again to something even more workable.
Autumn: it's a perfect time of the year to think about redecorating.
Thus, is it okay to use the indefinite article here, or is it better to, or even must one use the definite article? Note that this is different from asking, which article would a native speaker use? And we recall in passing that the sentence we are looking at was not written by a native English speaker.
The answer is
Yes, it is okay to use the indefinite article in the sentence. The phrase a perfect time of the year does not refer to an exclusive time or moment or opportunity, either when speaking of one year (which has spring, summer, autumn and winter) or more than one year (which has cycles of these seasons). So we can jettison the idea of exclusivity ("absolute uniqueness," to use CK's words).
The word perfect can be used in many ways (ie, it has many definitions).
If I say
1 I have a perfect black pearl at home.
I am not saying that Joe or Jane cannot also have a perfect black pearl. Because perfect means, according to The American Heritage Dictionary
1. Lacking nothing essential to the whole; complete of its nature or kind.
2. Being without defect or blemish: a perfect specimen.
3. Thoroughly skilled or talented in a certain field or area; proficient.
4. Completely suited for a particular purpose or situation: She was the perfect actress for the part.
5.
a. Completely corresponding to a description, standard, or type: a perfect circle; a perfect gentleman.
b. Accurately reproducing an original: a perfect copy of the painting.
6. Complete; thorough; utter: a perfect fool.
7. Pure; undiluted; unmixed: perfect red.
8. Excellent and delightful in all respects: a perfect day.
etc
Notice that several of these meanings overlap. Also that several example phrases use the indefinite article.
Thus, in one sense, the question is not one about article usage, but about word meaning. And perfect is not exclusive:
2 Yesterday was a perfect day for swimming and so is today.
So the indefinite article seems overwhelmingly felicitous, and I hope I may say decorous in the sentence Autumn: it's a perfect time..., because by saying that, one does not claim that autumn is the only perfect time of the year to blah blah blah.
This covers the use of the indefinite article in the sentence. But since the definite article was brought up, how does, or would, that work in the sentence?
Autumn: it's the perfect time of the year to think about redecorating.
What does the definite article do here that the indefinite did not? Since the marks for definiteness, does its use now introduce the notion of exclusivity ("absolute uniqueness")? Is autumn the only time of the year to think about redecorating? Is this the claim of this sentence? And if the notion of exclusivity is allowed, the additional question rises of must the sentence be read this way? That is, would the use of the allow for a non-exclusive reading as well?
Exclusivity: yes...or no?
If a commercial pops up on my TV in the fall and a saleswoman starts talking about autumn being the perfect time of the year to think about redecorating, I can be sure that if she is not saying autumn is the exclusive time (or season) to think about redecorating, she is at least saying it is one of the exclusive times (or seasons) to think about it, the other perfect times being any other time or season that the store runs the television commercial!
If Jane walks into the clothing store and the salesperson remarks
3 I have the perfect dress for you!
but Jane tries the dress on and she does not like it, will the salesperson let Jane walk out the door without looking at other dresses? Not if she wants the commission. So, LBD1 (the first little black dress) was not, after all, the perfect dress for Jane. And I am sure the salesperson can come up with another "the perfect dress." So, in reality, "the perfect dress" is not exclusive, anymore than "a perfect dress." And this is true linguistically as well as practicably.
4 Yesterday was the perfect day for swimming, you know, John and we really should have gone.
If Jane utters the above, is she ruling out that other "perfect days" of swimming cannot occur? No. There will be other perfect days.
5 Bob is the perfect man for you, Jane.
If Jane's mother is trying to find her a husband, is her claim that Bob is the perfect man "absolutely unique"? Bob may be "the perfect man" for Jane, but if Jane is repelled by him, then her mom might say, as well:
6 Bob is the perfect man for you, Jane...but then so is Hal.
This raises a slight smile, because of the notion of perfect as meaning "completely suitable" or "an exact specimen" blah blah, but because neither perfect nor the perfect mean "absolutely unique in claim," it is felicitous. We can even do the following:
7 Bob is the most perfect man for you, Jane...but then so is Hal.
So, since I have excluded exclusivity, what does the introduce that is different from the indefinite article?
8a Autumn is a perfect time of the year...
8b Autumn is the perfect time of the year...
I remind you that no one, not even the most learned linguist knows everything about the definite article in English. No one has yet come up with a unified theory of the English definite article. Some definitions seem perfect, only to fail on examination of other uses.
However, it seems decorous, and I hope felicitous to say that
The definite article allows for the possibility of exclusivity without holding to it, whereas the indefinite article does not attempt this claim.
--NES
(Native English Speaker)