Вопрос 6. The Article. The use of Articles with material Nouns and uncountable abstract Nouns.

The Use of Articles with Uncountable Abstract Nouns

1. Uncountable abstract nouns used in a general sense take no article: Reason and love are sworn enemies

2. Uncountable nouns may become countable if they denote kinds or special aspects of the notion which they denote: A dull anger rose in his chest.

3. No article is used if abstract nouns are modified by such attributes as modern, English, French, real, authentic, symbolic, proletarian, medieval, ancient, contemporary. French poetry, modern art

4. Some uncountable nouns are never used with the indefinite article. They are mostly nouns of verbal character denoting actions, activity, processes, such as: information, news, advice, progress, work, weather, money, assistance, permission. They don’t take the indefinite article and agree with the verb only in the singular.

5. In the set-phrase “in all weathers” the noun weather is in the plural: She works in her garden in all weathers

Вопрос 7. The Article. Articles with the names of meals, diseases, parts of the day and seasons.

The Use of Articles with the Names of Diseases

1. Names of diseases are uncountable nouns and generally don’t take any article. They are: AIDS, appendicitis, cholera, diabetes, hepatitis, herpes, influenza

2. The definite article is possible with the names of such diseases as mumps, chickenpox, flu (but not influenza).

3. Words ending in -ache in British English have either the indefinite article or no article at all. I’ve got earache: He’s got an earache

The Use of Articles with Nouns Denoting Parts of the Day and Seasons

This group includes the nouns: day, night, morning, evening, noon, afternoon, midnight, dawn, dusk, twilight, sunrise, sunset, daytime, nightfall, winter, spring, summer and autumn.

1. These nouns are very often treated as abstract nouns. No article is used with reference to parts of the day or of the year, light or darkness, as in: As morning broke, the light wind died away.

2. When these nouns have a descriptive attribute the indefinite article is used: We were having tea in my room on a cold January afternoon.

3. The definite article may occur with such words if they are clear from the situation, or context, or if there is some limitation. We watched the sunrise from the balcony

4. In some prepositional phrases either the definite article or no article may be found.

1) the definite article is used in the following phrases: in the morning, in the evening, in the daytime, in the afternoon, in the night, in the winter, in the summertime.

2) no article is used with these nouns after the prepositions at, by, about, past, before, after, towards, till (until): at night, at dawn, by day, by night, by noon, by midnight, past noon, after sunset, till morning.

3) there is no article in the following phrases: all day (long), all night (through); day after day; day in, day out; from morning till night; (to work) day and night; in the dead of night; in the dead of winter.

Вопрос 8. The Article. The use of Articles with geographical and proper names.

The Use of Articles with Geographic(al) Names

1.Names of continents, countries, regions, cities, towns and villages are as a rule used without any article. Australia, Europe, Russia

1)No article is used either when these nouns have such attributes as north(ern), south(ern), ancient, old, central: North America, Southern France, Central America,

2)Names of states including such common nouns as union, kingdom, states, dominion, federation, republic, lands, are used with the definite article: the Soviet Union, the Union of South Africa

2. Names of some regions are traditionally used with the definite article: the Antarctic, the Crimea, the Caucasus, the Far East, the Middle East

3. Names of streets, parts of the city, squares, parks are generally used without any article: Tverskaya Street, Regent Street, Oxford Street, Broadway, Charing Cross Road, Park Lane

Names of streets modified by ordinal numerals take no article: 42nd Street, Fifty Eighth Street, Fifth Avenue, 15th Park Lane, etc.

4. Names of oceans, seas, channels, canals, falls, rivers and lakes usually take the definite article : the Pacific (ocean), the Adriatic (sea), the English Channel, the Panama Canal

When names of lakes are preceded by the noun lake (which is often the case), no article is used. Lake Baikal, Lake Ontario, Lake Erie, Lake Balaton

5.Names of mountain chains and groups of islands are used with the definite article: the Rocky Mountains (the Rockies), the Himalayas

6.Names of separate mountain peaks and separate islands are used without any article: Etna, Vesuvius, Elbrus, Everest, Cuba, Cyprus

6. Names of bays and peninsulas take no article. Hudson Bay, Mexican Bay, Kamchatka, Scandinavia, Taimir

The definite article is used if the word “peninsula” itself is used. the Balkan Peninsula, the Kola Peninsula, the Scandinavian Peninsula

7. Names of deserts generally take the definite article. the Sahara Desert, the Gobi, the Kara-Kum, the Kalahari

8. No article is used with the names of stations, airports and bridges. Victoria Station, Gatwick, Vnukovo Airport

9. Geographic names that generally don’t take any article may be used:

1) with the definite article when there is a limiting attribute: The Russia of the 21st century will be very different from the Russia of the 20th century.

The definite article is necessary, if a geographic name is in the plural. The two Americas have a great variety of climatic zones.

The definite article is used in the combinations of the type: the City of New York, the Cape of Good Hope

3. with the indefinite article when there is a descriptive attribute, or if it is implied: It was a new Russia that he found on his return.

The Use of Articles with Proper Names

1. There is no article with names of universities, colleges and

schools.: Moscow University, Oxford University, Trinity College, King’s College, Heaton Manor School,

2. Names of theatres, museums, picture galleries, concert halls, cinemas, clubs and hotels are used with the definite article: the Bolshoi Theatre, the Opera House

3. Names of famous trains, ships, yachts and boats are used with the definite article. the Orient Express, (the) Titanic, the Sedov

4. Names of English and American newspapers are generally used with the definite article. the Daily Telegraph, the Independent, the Times

Names of foreign newspapers take no article: Le Monde, Moskovski Komsomolets

Names of magazines as a rule take no article (though it is possible). Times, House Beautiful, Punch, the Spectator

5. Names of months and days of the week are usually used without any article. January, February, Monday, Tuesday

6. Names of most organizations and political parties are used with the definite article. the Kremlin, the Senate, the Capitol, the Government

7. Names of languages are used without any article unless the noun “language” is mentioned. English, French, Japanese

8. Names of sport events take the definite article. the Olympic Games, the World Cup, the World Championship

No article is used if a geographic name is used to indicate some sport competition. Wimbledon (tennis), Luzhniki (football), Ascot and Epsom (horse races), Henley (rowing)

9. Names of musical groups are used with the definite article if the noun is in the plural. the Beatles, the Rolling Stones, the Eurythmics, the Supremes, the Cardigans

In other cases no article is used. Queen, ABBA, Gorky Park, Genesis, A-Ha

10. Names of highways (motorways) and roads generally take the definite article. the Al, the M3, the New Seattle Highway

11. Names of internationally known prizes take the definite article. the Nobel Prize, the Booker Prize, the Pulitzer Prize