Article

The Article is a word that serves as a noun determiner alongside with such determiners as demonstrative, possessive and indefinite pronouns. The article is one of the main means of expressing the category of definiteness and indefiniteness in English.

The Indefinite Article

The meanings:

1. It refers an object to a group of objects of the some kind. We can use word any/every instead of the article. A noun is representative of the class.

1) Classifying (general) meaning the article serves to refer an object to the class of objects of the same kind, just to classify it: I am a school teacher. It’s a teenager novel.

2) In its numerical meaning the indefinite article retains its original meaning of the cardinal numeral “one” and expresses oneness. This meaning is evident with nouns denoting units of measure (time, distance, length, weight, etc.): An apple a day keeps wrinkles away.

2. A countable noun in the singular takes the indefinite article if it is used:

1) in the function of the subject and just classifies it. : A student should work hard

2) in the function of a predicative: He is an air traffic controller.

3) in the function of a direct object: I wrote a letter. We got a Christmas card from London

4) in some set-phrases expressing one-time (однократные ) actions like: to be à success, to have a rest, to have a lovely time, to give a look, to give a lift, to give a hint, to do a favour, to make a will, to make a fuss, to make a mistake, to take a seat, to have a date, to keep an eye on.

5) after the exclamatory “what”, “such”: What an idea! What a surprise! What a shame! What a man!

If the noun is uncountable (abstract or material) no article is used: What fine weather! What interesting news!

6) with a descriptive attribute. Compare: It was night. — I was a cool night.

The Definite Article

The Definite article is used:

1. if the context or the situation makes the noun clear. : Open the door. Go to the kitchen. Where is the key?

2. if the noun was already mentioned. : Three little Kittens lost their mittens…

3. if the noun has a restrictive (limiting) attribute. It may be expressed by a clause, a prepositional phrase, by the words very, right, left, central, wrong, only, one, opposite, main, last, next (following), same, by ordinal numerals, by the superlative degree of adjectives

4. with unique objects or notions. They are the sun, the moon, the earth, the world, the universe, the horizon, the equator, the south, the north, the west, the east, the globe, the Milky Way, the cosmos, the hemisphere, the atmosphere.

5. with an adverbial modifier of place to identify the exact place. : Jane is in the garden. The indefinite article is also possible.

6. in a number of idioms like: to make the best of something, to be in the know

The Generic Use of the Definite Article

1. A singular countable noun with the definite article may represent a whole class of objects, thus becoming the symbol

of that class, the image of it. We mainly find here names of animals, plants, professions and occupations, unique phenomena, inventions, collective nouns denoting social groups. Scientific terms are also often used generically.

But the indefinite article is not permissible when invention, genre or à phenomenon is meant.

2. The nouns man, woman, child used in a generic sense, take no article. : Now I know what man is capable of. Woman’s work is never done.

Articles with the Names of Meals

To this group of nouns belong: breakfast, brunch (elevenses), lunch, dinner, supper, tea.