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Файл:English Articles in Use. Артикли. Объяснение, употребление, тренинг
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CHAPTER 4
Names of schools, colleges, universities, academies1) : Lincoln Elementary School, Ford High School; Amherst College, Barnard College, Boston College, Teachers College;
Cambridge University, Harvard University, Moscow State
University, Ohio State University, Oxford University, Princeton University, Rockefeller University, Yale University:
It all started when Professor Robert D. Newman of Harvard
University published his book.
But: the George Washington University, the John Hopkins
University, the Sorbonne.
Note. The defi nite article appears if the limiting attribute ex-
pressed by the «of phrase» is used:
the University of California at Los Angeles (UCLA), the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), the State University of
New York, the City University of New York;
the Harvard School of Business, the Fletcher School of Law
and Diplomacy, the Julliard School of Music, the Mayo School of
Medicine;
the College of William and Mary, the College of the Holy
Cross;
the Royal Academy of Art, the National Academy of Sciences,
the U.S. Military Academy.
names of fi rms, corporations, businesses: Ford, General 2)
Motors, International Business Machines (IBM), Microsoft, Mitsubishi, Samsung Electronics, Citibank, Time
Warner Inc., British Telecom, McDonald’s, Sears, Procter
and Gamble, Estee Lauder Inc.
names of magazines: Computer Weekly, Waters Magazine, 3)
Financial Times, Man’s Health, Muscle & Fitness, etc.
Vogue and Cosmopolitan are popular women’s magazines.
Times published this report last month.
Note. Names of some magazines may be used with the defi nite article:
The New Yorker, The Forbes, The Wall Street Journal, The
Shadow, etc.
names of months and days of the week:4)
Yes, Thursday will be convenient.
names of languages: Russian, Arabic, Chinese, Italian, 5)
Danish, etc:
Having learnt English in early childhood, he never thought of
it as a foreign one.
61
CHAPTER 4
Note. The defi nite article is obligatory if the word language
is used.
And had not the start of the Stuart Dynasty seen such glory
as the preparing of the noblest book in the English language –
King James’s Authorised Bible?
the following names of holidays are traditionally used 6)
with the zero article:
Christmas, Christmas Eve, New Year’s Day, New Year’s, New
Year’s Eve, Saint Patrick’s Day, Easter, April Fools’ Day, Mo ther’s
Day, Memorial Day, Independence Day, Labor Day, Halloween,
All Saints’ Day, Veterans Day, Thanksgiving, Mardi Gras.
Let’s talk about Christmas. You want it sentimental or
swinging?
He is coming home for Easter, isn’t he? The dormitory is closed
for the time, anyway.
But: the Fourth of July, the Cherry Festival, the Jazz Festival.
Note. New Year may be used with the defi nite article if it
means «the beginning of a new year»:
I’ll see you again in the New Year.
Note. Names of holidays may be used with the indefi nite ar-
ticle if they are modifi ed by a descriptive attribute or with the
defi nite article if there is a limiting attribute or they are specifi ed
by the contextual situation.
I am dreaming of a white Christmas, just like the one I used
to know.
We had a wonderful Christmas.
It was the best Christmas in my whole life, one I had only
seen in the movies.
4.6.3. The zero article with names of persons
Names, surnames, patronymics are used with the zero article.
John Bonney had gone out of his way to hire a partner not so
much because of his talent, but because of his name, which was
Clyde Danskin, just so he could call his agency Bonney and
Clyde.
Proper names in combination with nouns denoting rank, title,
occupation take the zero article. The noun is spelt with the capital letter.
Go and see Doctor Bregman.
62
CHAPTER 4
And back in the room behind us would be Governor Stanton
or Mr. Ellis Burden, or both, for they were friends, or Judge Ir-
win, for he was a friend, too.
Nouns denoting family relations are sometimes used as proper names and are consequently spelt with the capital letter. As a
rule they take the zero article:
«Stay here, Mama-in-law».
«Your Daddy isn’t coming back, Son».
4.7. Contextually bound absence of the article
The zero article in the function of absolute generalization
should be distinguished from the contextually bound absence of
the article which is always stylistically marked. The article is
deliberately omitted due to genre peculiarities of a text or for the
sake of economy or sometimes for expressive purposes. Besides
the article auxiliary verbs and other functional words may be
omitted. The absence of both the defi nite and the indefi nite article is regularly found in the following cases:
In newspaper headlines, brief news items, communiqués:1.
Kidnapped Baby Found.
Priceless Painting Stolen from Louver.
Sporting Hero Fails Drug Test.
In telegrams, SMS texts, internet communication:2.
can arrive later supervise fi nal test and commissioning stop we
plan to send mr. Wright and mr. Campbell to supervise installation until project completed stop.
In stage remarks:3.
Door onto illuminated terrace. Palms, fl owers and brilliant
lights. Room crowded with guests. Lady Windermere is receiving
them.
In advertisements, notes, warning plates, etc.4.
Management accepts no responsibility.
Hangover Helper.
In fi ction texts the article may be omitted for the sake of au-5.
thenticity, in order to create illiterate, uneducated speech
of the characters or to express the inner speech of them:
Coast clear. Smart boy, Arthur.
Yes, dear. Same again?
«Fact», said Guy. «My wife heard it from the highest source».
63
Chapter 5
Articles with Nouns in Various Syntactic
Functions
5.1. Syntactic structure and actual division
of a sentence
Direct word order in the English sentence displays the train of
human thoughts: the sequence of logical components (a subject,
a predicate, an object субъект, предикат, объект) corresponds
to the order of sentence parts (the subject, the predicate, the object подлежащее, сказуемое, дополнение). Each of these components may have a separate attribute. One more part of a sentence
is an adverbial modifi er which indicates various circumstances of
the action.
Syntactic structure of a sentence is related to its actual division which reveals the contribution of each sentence part to the
general meaning of an utterance. From this point of view a sentence has two parts – the theme (the topic) and the rheme (the
comment). The theme expresses information already known to
the interlocutors and serves the starting point of communication.
The rheme displays new or most important information and thus
it is the goal of communication.
A certain parallelism between the syntactic structure of a sentence and its actual division can be observed: the theme of an utterance corresponds to the subject of a sentence and the rheme –
to the predicate or to those parts which constitute the predicate
group (the object, the adverbial modifi er). However in the process
of communication this correspondence is regularly violated which
should be taken into consideration in further reasoning.
The English language provides a set of various lingual means
of expressing the theme and the rheme. The most important morphological means is the article.
The indefi nite article usually indicates the rhematic component of an utterance as the speaker merely names an object
which is new and unknown to the listener. The noun is the focus
of communication and bears the logical stress.
Presently the Browns arrived. They brought with them a small
child, a governess and a dog.
The defi nite article is associated with the thematic component of an utterance and indicates an object already known to the
64
CHAPTER 5
interlocutors. It is possible due to extra linguistic factors: there
exist unique objects, there are certain facts considered general
truths, or participants of communication may share some com-
mon knowledge of the topic discussed.
He said that the horn resembled the human voice more than
any other instrument.
The information about an object may be gained from the previous verbal context thus establishing the retrospective anaphoric
reference between components of the dicteme.
He made her a nice wedding present. The present wasn’t to
her taste however.
It should be taken into consideration that the correspondence
between the article and the theme or the rheme is not in the least
obligatory and it may be regularly violated in the process of communication.
Let us view now typical cases of the use of articles with nouns
in various syntactic positions.
5.2. Articles with nouns in the function
of a subject
A noun in the function of a subject can be used with the defi nite, the indefi nite and the zero article.
The defi nite article is found in the following cases:
with a singular or plural noun denoting a concrete animate 1)
or inanimate object which is already known to the interlocutors or somehow specifi ed:
The fl at is quite large and comfortable.
The manager asked you to wait a little.
The fl owers in our garden haven’t been watered for a long
time.
with nouns denoting a certain amount of a substance in a 2)
particular contextual situation:
The ice is too thin to skate on it.
The water in the jug is dirty.
The tea isn’t hot enough.
with substantivized adjectives or participles:3)
The old don’t always understand the young.
The English are fond of their pets.
The wounded were taken good care of at the hospital.
The supernatural frightens me rather than attracts.
with singular nouns denoting a whole class of similar ob-4)
jects (generic function):
65
CHAPTER 5
The African elephant is bigger than the Indian.
The postmark fi rst appeared in England in 1840.
The azalea can grow practically in any climate.
with nouns denoting abstract notions applied to a defi nite 5)
situation:
The good news is that he’s got that post at last.
The weather proved to be as good as the weathermen pre-
dicted.
with proper names: 6)
The Browns haven’t returned from London yet.
The Great Wall in China stretches for some 1,500 miles.
The Colorado River fl ows through the Grand Canyon.
with nouns denoting unique objects or phenomena: 7)
When the stars fall from the sky one should make a wish.
The Zenith is a part of the sky directly overhead.
with nouns modifi ed by a limiting attribute:8)
The Russian literature of the 19
th
century gained great po-
pularity throughout the world.
The life he is leading now causes everyone distress.
The Moscow I used to love exists no more.
The day of our departure was rather gloomy.
Here’s the book I want you to read.
The indefi nite article is used in the following cases:
with countable nouns in the singular thus performing a 1)
classifying or numerical function:
А man is waiting for you.
A word is enough to the wise.
A beginner is a person with no experience.
with uncountable nouns denoting particular sorts or kinds 2)
of a substance:
A good butter is diffi cult to be found nowadays.
A dry red wine is my favourite.
with abstract nouns expressing a certain aspect of the no-3)
tion. They may have a descriptive attribute though it is
not a must:
A childhood hatred, like a childhood love, can last a lifetime.
A dull anger rose in his chest.
After a time a loneliness fell upon the two men.
Mind that the indefi nite article with abstract nouns is charac-
teristic of a belles-letters style.
with proper names to indicate a representative of the family; 4)
in the meaning some «некий»; in case of a metonymic transfer (the name of the inventor stands for their invention):
66
CHAPTER 5
My landlady knocked at the door and said: «A Mr. Parcis to
see you».
A Webster is a good dictionary.
with countable singular nouns preceded by a formal sub-5)
ject there (such verbs as to be, to live, to stand, to come, to
appear occur in this construction):
There is a new park in the town.
Once there lived a king.
Note. In special questions with a question word Where? a
noun is used with the defi nite article:
Where is the park in your town?
Where is the money?
The zero article is used in the following cases:
with countable nouns in the plural if they don’t have a 1)
limiting attribute:
Secretaries should know computers and languages.
Hours passed before the police came.
Rainy days make me feel unhappy.
with nouns denoting substances or abstract notions if they 2)
are not modifi ed by limiting attributes:
Food is necessary for our health.
Honesty is the best policy.
Snow makes a fairy-tale out of everything.
Heavy traffi c is a problem in big cities.
with proper names which are not generally combined with 3)
the defi nite article:
London is the capital of Great Britain.
Turkey is situated on two continents.
Sunday is the seventh day of the week.
Jack is a man of wit and humor.
with nouns in the plural form or with uncountable nouns 4)
preceded by a formal subject there if they lack a limiting
attribute:
There were tears in her eyes.
There is marmalade in the jar.
Is there useful information in the fi le?
There are nice little cottages in the valley.
5.3. Articles with nouns in the predicative
function
Nouns used as predicatives (nominal parts of a compound
predicate) can take the defi nite, the indefi nite and the zero article.
67
CHAPTER 5
The indefi nite article is found in the following cases:
with countable singular nouns without a limiting at-1)
tribute:
The man is an American, and the woman is a Greek.
My friend will become a student soon.
This song is a great hit.
with abstract nouns if they express a certain aspect of the 2)
notion:
It’s a wonderful, wonderful life!
A good name is a second inheritance.
It was a happy marriage from the start.
NOTE. Abstract nouns may take the zero article even if modi-
fi ed by descriptive attributes.
When they were together, it was pure happiness.
I suspected that it was not just ordinary anxiety.
with proper names resulting from the metonymic transfer 3)
of meaning:
My husband is really a Jack-of-all-trades.
What a smart dress! – Yes, it’s a Chanel.
She was a good actress. She made a memorable and touch-
ing Ophelia in «Hamlet».
with geographical names modifi ed by descriptive at-4)
tributes:
It was a new Russia that he found on his return.
with nouns in some set-phrases such as 5) to be a success,
to be in a rage, to be in a good (bad) humor, to be at
a loss, to be in a hurry etc.
with nouns which are modifi ed by words 6) such, rather,
so, quite combined with adjectives:
She’s rather a strange woman.
It’s quite an easy task.
It was so good an idea.
with nouns 7) pity, shame, disgrace, pleasure, relief,
comfort, disappointment preceded by a formal subject
it in the principal clause:
It is a pity you don’t ride or shoot, you’ll miss a lot.
It was a relief to see you here again!
The defi nite article occurs in the following cases:
with countable or uncountable, singular or plural nouns 1)
modifi ed by limiting attributes:
You are the very man I need.
This is the house we are looking for.
They are the best friends I’ve ever had.
68
CHAPTER 5
Was it the wine you’ve brought from Spain?
with proper names commonly used with the defi nite ar-2)
ticle:
Our new neihbours are the Parkers.
Their native country is the Sudan.
The zero article is found in the following cases:
with countable plural nouns without a limiting attribute:1)
Tom and Simon have always been good friends.
Drinking and smoking are bad habits.
Our family are theatre-goers.
with uncountable nouns denoting abstract notions or sub-2)
stances used in a general sense and / or modifi ed by descriptive attributes:
It’s unbelievable news!
Time is money.
Sugar is white death.
All I need now is good advice.
It’s such hot tea!
with proper names commonly used with the zero article:3)
The best student of our group is Rachel Smith.
In my opinion the most diffi cult school subject is Maths.
with nouns denoting a unique post (rank, state) which can 4)
be occupied by only one person at a time:
Мike Slattery was chairman of the Republican county committee.
Jack is goalkeeper and Brian is centre forward.
They are such nouns as author, best man, boss, captain,
chief, chairman, director, dean, head, king, leader, manager, president, prime minister, principal, queen, secretary, treasurer.
with proper names preceded by common nouns indicating 5)
titles (ranks, posts) or family relations:
The only person who sympathized with her was Colonel Pickering.
My favourite character in Mark Twain’s novel «The Adventures of Tom Soyer» is Aunt Polly.
One of the most tragic fi gures in English history was Admiral
Nelson.
with common nouns indicating titles (ranks, posts) and 6)
family relations if this noun makes the rheme of the utterance:
Mrs. Nelson was wife of the manager of the fi rm.
He is heir to a rich manufacturer.
69
CHAPTER 5
with nouns in set-phrases such as 7) to be in despair, to be
in power, to be of importance, to be out of control,
to be in (out of) danger etc.
with nouns expressing a certain characteristic of a person 8)
who is the subject of a sentence. A predicative noun is usually followed by the adverb enough:
He isn’t fool enough to believe that sort of thing.
She is woman enough to understand it.
with predicative nouns in subordinate clauses of conces-9)
sion. Full emphatic inversion is found in this case:
Child though he was, he had suffered much.
Country woman though she was, she appeared shrewd and
smart.
with nouns in idiomatic word combinations such as 10) to
turn traitor, to turn pirate, to turn miser and after
the link-verb to go with nouns denoting political views or
beliefs:
He went Democrat, though his brother remained a Republican.
5.4. Articles with nouns in the function
of an object
A noun in the function of an object can be used with the indefi -
nite, the defi nite and the zero article.
The indefi nite article occurs in the following cases:
with countable singular nouns in classifying meaning mo-1)
difi ed or not modifi ed by a descriptive attribute:
Jonny keeps a white mouse in a box.
Can I have a cake and a cup of coffee, please?
My brother wants to be an architect.
Never send a boy to do a man’s job.
with abstract nouns denoting a certain aspect (quality, 2)
state) of the notion meant by the speaker. A descriptive
attribute may be either present or absent:
What a good chance we have!
If you give us a hint, we’ll guess your secret.
He had a dream that seemed real.
with nouns denoting substances when a type, kind, sort or 3)
portion is meant:
Want a beer? — No, a coke for me.
My Granny makes a very fi ne jam.
with proper names metonymically transferred into the class 4)
of common nouns or used in the meaning some (некий):
70
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