85 A/an, one and some

A A/an and some

Look at this example.

Trevor has found some money in his old trousers. There's a note and some coins.

We use a/an with a singular noun and some with a plural or an uncountable noun (see D).

B A/an and one

A/an and one both refer to one thing. Using one puts more emphasis on the number.

Henry gave the taxi driver a note, (not a coin) Henry gave the taxi driver one note,

(not two)

We use one (not a/an) when we mean one of a larger number.

One question/One of the questions in the exam was more difficult than the others. The team wasn't at full strength. One player/One of the players was injured.

C A dog = all dogs

We often use a plural noun on its own to express a general meaning (see Unit 86).

Dogs make wonderful pets. Oranges contain vitamin C.

Here dogs means all dogs, dogs in general.

These sentences with a/an express the same general meaning.

A dog makes a wonderful pet. An orange contains vitamin C.

A butcher is someone who sells meat. A video recorder costs about £300.

A dog here is less usual than the structure with dogs, but we often use a/an when explaining the meaning ol a word, e.g. a butcher.

D Some

Some with a plural noun means 'a number of, and some with an uncountable noun means 'an amount of.

Claire took some photos. We went out with some friends. Henry bought some flowers. I had some chips with my steak. Can you lend me some money? Andrew is doing some work. Let's play some music. There's some milk in the fridge.

Claire took some photos means that she took a number of photos, although we may not know the exact number.

We do not use some when we are describing something or saying what kind of thing it is.

Vicky has blue eyes. Is this salt or sugar?

These are marvellous photos. Those people are tourists.

Compare these sentences.

I had some chips with my steak, (a number of chips) I had chips with my steak, (chips, not potatoes or rice)

76 Countable and uncountable nouns 83-4 A/an and the 94 Some and any 96 All, most and some

86 Cars or the cars?

We can use a plural noun (e.g. cars, parties) or an uncountable noun (e.g. ice hockey, music) without the. I love parties means that I love all parties, parties in general.

B General and specific meanings

A phrase or clause after the noun often shows that it is specific.

Look at the oil on your sweater. The apples you gave me were nice. But the nouns in these sentences have a general meaning.

/ hate people who never say hello. Life in the old days was hard. Life in the old days is still a general idea, not a specific life.

A phrase with of usually takes the. Compare these two structures. a book on Irish history a book on the history of Ireland

Special uses of the

We use the + singular noun to make general statements about animals and about inventions and discoveries.

The tiger can swim. The fly is a common insect.

Who invented the camera? The electron is a part of every atom.

Here the tiger means all tigers, tigers in general. We use this structure mainly in written English. In speech, Tigers can swim is more usual.

We also use the with musical instruments. (But for American English see page 379.)

Natasha can play the piano, the violin and the clarinet. We do not use the with sports.

Shall we play tennis? NOT Shall we play the tennis? Note that we listen to the radio but normally watch television.