76. The usage of articles with the names of meals.

The noun denoting meal can be countable or uncountable. A countable noun can be singular (banana) or plural (bananas). In this case we use the usual rules for the usage of countable nouns.

An uncountable noun has only one form (for example rice). In this case we use the “zero article”.

1) I eat a banana every day. (countable in the singular form)

2) I like bananas. (countable in the plural form)

3) I eat rice every day. (uncountable)

4) I like rice. (uncountable)

We cannot normally use a/an with uncountable nouns. We don’t say ‘a water’ or ‘a rice’. But we can also use a.....of:

a bowl of rice;

a drop of water;

a cup of tea.

77. What articles do we use with such nouns as: “school, prison, hospital, university, church”?

We don’t use “the” when we are thinking of the general idea of these places and what they are used for. Compare:

1) Mark’s brother is in prison for robbery.

but

Mark went to the prison to visit his brother.

2) Jack had an accident last week. He was taken to hospital. He’s still in hospital now. (as a patient)

but

Jill has gone to the hospital to visit Jack. She’s at the hospital now. (as a visitor)

3) When I leave school, I want go to university.

but

Excuse me, where is the university, please? (= the university building)

4) Mrs. Kelly goes to church every Sunday. (to a religious service)

but

The workmen went to the church to repair the roof. (not for a religious service)

78. What articles should we use for musical instruments?

For musical instruments we should use the definite article – “the”.

For example:

1. I can play the piano.

2. Jack wants to know how to play the guitar.

Compare with:

1. I often listen to the radio.

2. I often watch television.

79. Usage of articles with the names of countries, mountains, islands.

Names of countries, states, provinces, cities, towns, villages take no article.

e.g. France, Great Britain, California, Brittany, Mos­cow, Brighton, Appledore, etc.; also: West Ger­many, Old England, Ancient Greece, Soviet Russia, etc.

But: the Ukraine, the Netherlands, the Crimea, the Caucasus, the Hague, the Riviera.

If the name of a country has a common noun such as "kingdom", "state", "union", "republic", "federation", etc. the definite article is used.

e.g. the USSR, the USA, the United Kingdom, the Russian Federation, etc.

Names of mountain chains and groups of islands take the definite article.

e.g. the Alps, the Rocky Mountains/the Rockies, the Andes, the British Isles, the Canaries/the canary Islands, the Bahamas

But: Elbrus (a separate mountain peak,), Everest, Etna, Kilimanjaro

Cyprus (a separate island), Corsica, Sicily, Bermuda

Mind the difference:

New York City, but the City of New York; also: the Strait of Dover, the Lake of Geneva, the Cape of Good Hope.

80. Usage of articles with the names of oceans, seas, rivers, lakes.

Names of oceans, seas, straits, channels, canals, rivers, lakes, deserts, falls usually take the definite article.

e.g. the Pacific (Ocean), the Atlantic (Ocean), the Indian (Ocean);

the Baltic (Sea), the Mediterranean (Sea), the Red Sea;

the Magellan Strait;

the English Channel;

the Thames, the (River) Amazon, the Nile, the Rhine;

the Baikal, the Niagara Falls, etc.

But: Hudson Bay

Mind the difference:

the Baikal but Lake Baikal.

81. Usage of articles with the names of streets, squares, parks; important buildings and institutions. Are there are any exceptions?

But: the Strand, the High Street, the Haymarket, the Mall.

Very often foreign names take the definite article: the Rue de Rivoli (in Paris), the Gorki Park (in Moscow), (the) Red Square (in Moscow).

82. Usage of articles with newspapers, organizations, companies, airlines.

83. Usage of articles with shops, banks, hotels, churches.

84. What non-finite forms of the verb are there in English? What grammatical categories are typical of them?

There are the following non-finite forms of the verb, or verbals: the infinitive, the gerund and the participle (participle I or participle II).

The verbals have much in common in their grammatical features, therefore a comparative survey of the verbals will be given here.

1. Semantics

The verbals (like the finite forms of the verb) express actions, states or processes (see above, "The Verb", 1.1.0).

1.2.0. Morphological Characteristics

The three verbals: the infinitive, the gerund and the participle I — have the grammatical categories of order and voice. The infinitive has also a third grammatical category — aspect.*

1.2.1. Order

The category of order is built up by two forms: perfect and non-perfect.

Perfect non-perfect

Infinitive to ask, to give to have asked, to have given

Gerund asking, giving having asked, having given

Participle I asking, giving having asked, having given

The perfect form is used to present the event as prior to another event (generally prior to the event expressed by the predicate verb).

I am glad to have given her this book. (I am glad that I gave her the book. I gave her the book then, and now I am glad.)

I was glad to have given her this book. (I was glad that I had given her the book. I gave her the book and was glad afterwards.)

The non-perfect form will be generally used to present the event as non-prior to another event (simultaneous, posterior or referring to no particular time).

I enjoyed reading the book. (While reading the book I enjoyed the process, i.e. simultaneously.)

We very much approve of his reading such books. (We approve that he reads such books, but do not specify the time when he does it.

He took the book from the library, reading it on his way home. (He took the book from the library and read it on his way home, i.e. afterwards.)

Note: The perfect infinitive when used after the verbs, "intend", "expect", "hope", "mean" and also after the modal verbs "should", "ought", "be" has the additional meaning of unreality — it will indicate that the action denoted by the infinitive was not carried out.

He intended (ought) to have home. (It was his intention or it was necessary for him to do it, but it did not happen.)

Harriet was surprised although she realized when she thought about it that she ought not to have been. (Brm.)

(See also "The Modal Verbs", 1.4.4.)