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The old woman reduced the self-esteem of the speaker.

My question is why it is the self-esteem.

J.R.
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Edwin Arthur
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  • There is a further question here. I would have written The old woman reduced the speaker's self-esteem because I would want to define and draw attention to the visible speaker, not to the internal and invisible 'self-esteem'. – Nigel J Sep 15 '18 at 12:01
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    Because self-esteem is not a plural noun, the rules of English syntax require an article in that position. If you wrote 'a self esteem' it would sound like the speaker had several 'self esteems', which doesn't work, so you write 'the self esteem'. (Similarly for a genetically normal cat you wouldn't say 'he scratched a head of the cat'.) The last commenter's suggestion is better stylistically. – S Conroy Sep 15 '18 at 14:47

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Because it is known from context which person is being talked about. that`s what matters in this case. We are talking about the specific person the old woman is referring to.
For example - " Battered women are often depressed, anxiety-ridden, suffering from low self-esteem or displaying a countenance of helplessness. " ( in general, it is a general idea ) One more example - " Abusers are often suspicious and jealous, suffer from low self-esteem and need to assert themselves. " but - " The school principal destroyed the self-esteem of the pupil by insulting him/her in front of everyone ". ( we know who the pupil is )

Beqa
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    Because that's how the English language works! Self-esteem is a quality, not an object. so we wouldn't say 'a self-esteem in the same way that we could say 'She picked up a handkerchief belonging to the speaker'. – Kate Bunting Sep 15 '18 at 08:13
  • @KateBunting I think your comment is beside the point. Int his particular case, the definite article " the " is used because, it is clear from context who exactly the speak is. – Beqa Sep 15 '18 at 08:25
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    Beqa, the system has flagged your answer for closure as "low-quality because of its length and content." An answer is expected to be authoritative, detailed, and explain why it is correct, whereas your answer currently reads as a personal opinion without anything to support it. You can avoid closure by adding more detail using the [edit] link. – Chappo Hasn't Forgotten Sep 15 '18 at 11:09
  • @Chappo I explained in my original comment why the definite article " the " is used in OP`s sentence. I reiterate, when it is clear from context which person or thing is being mentioned, even if we are using it for the first time, we ought to use the definite article " the ". As for your reply, it adds absolutely no value to this discussion. In your place, instead of typing this tirade, uttered with a sarcastic undertone, I would come up with something worthy of attention. – Beqa Sep 15 '18 at 11:52
  • @Chappo https://www.theenglishspace.com/grammar/determiners/articles-introduction.html – Beqa Sep 15 '18 at 11:52
  • Could you please, explain in a few words, why you down-voted my comment. Thanks. – Beqa Sep 15 '18 at 12:31
  • BTW, there was nothing sarcastic in my first comment. Your answer was listed in the VLQ queue to be considered for deletion. I advised you how to avoid that outcome. You've amended your answer, proving that my positive intervention was useful. The difference between a bad answer and a "wrong" answer is an important one on this site. "Wrong" is subjective, which is why we upvote or downvote but not delete, whereas "low quality" answers (as flagged by an internal EL&U algorithm) can be deleted. I suggest you read [answer] for more guidance - and I mean this genuinely, without sarcasm. – Chappo Hasn't Forgotten Sep 15 '18 at 14:00
  • @Chappo Well, I can say the same about your reply. It is totally irrelevant and useless since you only expressed your point of view regarding my comment. Unfortunately, I have not seen your well-formulated answer to the OP`s question. It is already clear from context who the speaker is, that is what matters in this case. We are talking about the specific person the old woman is referring to. – Beqa Sep 15 '18 at 17:33
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    I don't think this answer is adequate. You say he has self-esteem, not he has a self-esteem or he has the self-esteem. So why do you need to use an article in the OP's sentence? – Peter Shor Sep 15 '18 at 18:43
  • @PeterShor You can not say "A self-esteem" because according to grammar rules, the indefinite article can not be used in front of uncountable nouns. – Beqa Dec 07 '19 at 17:35