Do you have THE time?

How much can an article change the meaning of an expression?  A lot!

A few years ago, a Korean graduate student in a TESOL program experienced a very embarrassing situation. It was caused by her unfamiliarity with a common way of asking if someone knows what time it is.  A man stopped her when she was on the mall (she's a petite, very attractive, young Korean married lady) and asked her if she "had the time."  Since she only knew the expression "have time" to do something, she thought he was asking her out on a date or to have coffee together. She looked at him and told him that she was married.

The man was confused at first but after a minute or two of awkward explanations from the woman, he  realized that the woman did not know that "the" completely changed the meaning of his utterance.  He explained to her that he was not asking for a date. He pointed to the wristwatch she was wearing. "I just wanted to know the time."

Of course, my Korean classmate felt humiliated. She considered herself to be a quite advanced-level non-native speaker and had even taught English in her home country.  However, she had never heard the expression "have the time."

She has the time.