GRAMMAR-PERFECT: FUNCTIONAL VIEW

Adam's apple a baker's do"zen a bird's eye view

a busman's holiday

cat's cradle a cat's paw Davy Jones's locker

a hair's-breadth escape

Hobson's choice

a ladies' man

the lion's share a mare's nest

a needle's eye a nine days' wonder

Noah's ark

a small but important weakness, esp. in a person's character projection at the front of the neck thirteen

a view seen from above or from the sky A marvellous bird's eye view of the whole city a holiday spent in doing one's usual work The painter spent a busman's holiday painting his own house. a children's game played by two people using fingers and a loop of string

someone who does unpleasant or dangerous jobs on the orders of another person; tool the bottom of the sea, esp. as a place where people lie dead

My camera fell overboard and went to Davy Jones's locker.

an escape which almost failed or ended in disaster

lack of choice; a situation in which there is only one thing that one can choose

a man who enjoys the company of women and is (sexually) attractive to them the greatest part (of); most (of)

a discovery which proves to be untrue or worthless

Set Expressions with Nouns in the Genitive Case

Achilles'heel

the least possible (opening, gap) a thing or event that causes excitement for a short time and then is forgotten a large ship built by Noah in which he saved his family and two of every kind of animal from the flood that covered the world

an old wives' tale

a rogues' gallery

the season's greetings

a stone's throw (away, from)

a wolf in sheep's clothing

at death's door at a snail's pace

at one's wit's/wits'end

by/within a hair's breadth

for appearance' sake

for conscience' sake for God's/Christ's/ goodness' /Heaven's

a story or statement about life, usually foolish and far-removed from modern knowledge, beliefs and practice a collection of photographs of (known) criminals, or bad and unpleasant people

greetings at a time of public celebration, expressing good will A Happy New Year! a short distance

Our house is only a stone's throw from the station.

a person who seems friendly or harmless

but is hiding evil intentions

Beware of the police chief. He seems polite,

but he's a wolf in sheep's clothing.

about to die; near death

I was so ill that I was at death's door.

a very slow speed or rate of activity

When you watch a clock time seems to

move at a snail's pace.

made so worried by difficulties that one

doesn't know what to do next

I am at my wits' end with this problem.

very short distance

The car came careering round the bend

and missed us by a hair's breadth; it came

within a hair's breadth of hitting us.

if you do smth for appearance' sake you

are trying to make people think you are

still successful, etc.

to satisfy one's conscience

1. used when asking strongly for smth

2. used as an expression of annoyance etc. sake

get one's money's worth

go on / by Shanks's mare/pony

have smth at one's fingers'ends/ fingertips

hit the bull's eye

in one's mind's eye

in the lion's den to keep someone at arm's length

lead/live a dog's life

like water off a duck's back

make a silk purse out of a sow's ear

to get everything which has been paid for to get the best quality for the money paid I didn't get my money's worth with my camera, so I took it back

to use one's own two legs, to walk My car isn't working, so I'll have to travel on Shanks's mare.

to have a complete and ready knowledge of smth

You'd better ask David — he's got the whole subject at his fingers'ends. hit the centre of a target Your last remark really hit the bull's eye; it was exactly right.

in one's mind / refers to visualizing smth

In my mind's eye, I can see trouble ahead.

among people who are your enemies

to keep a safe distance away from; avoid

being friendly with someone

John is in a bad mood, and that tends to

keep people at arm's length

to live an unhappy life with many troubles I've been working so hard. I'm tired of living a dog's life.

(of advice, warnings, or unpleasant experiences) having no effect on someone; not influencing someone's behaviour I must have told him a hundred times and he always forgets — it's like water off a duck's back.

to create smth of value out of smth of no value

Don't bother trying to fix up this old bicycle. You can't make a silk purse out of a sow's ear.

open Pandora's box

out of harm's way

stir up a hornet's nest

straight from the horse's mouth

to one's heart's content

twist the lion's tail to uncover a lot of unsuspected problems When I asked Jane about her problems I didn't know I opened Pandora's box. in a position in which one is safe from harm / or unable to cause harm

cause a lot of trouble and anger between people

Bill stirred up a hornet's nest when he

discovered the theft.

(of information) from the actual person

concerned, not told indirectly

This comes straight from the horse's

mouth, so it has to be believed.

as much as one wants

It's the weekend, so you can sleep to your

heart's content. .

to provoke or insult someone of power.

EXPRESSING THE REFERENCE OF THE NOUN

In English, noun groups should be presented as indefinite, definite or generic. This is done by the use of determiners, primarily articles.

The article is a form word which is one of the main means of convey­ing the idea of definiteness and indefiniteness and establishing the reference of the noun (specific or generic).

There are two articles in English: the definite article the and the indef­inite article a.

Definiteness suggests that the object presented by the following noun is individualized and singled out from all the other objects of the same kind, whereas indefiniteness means a more general refer­ence to an object. Thus when saying The book is a historical novel the speaker treats the book as a specific object, while saying a historical novel the speaker characterizes the object in a more general way, pointing out what kind of novel the book is.

The notion of definiteness/indefiniteness determines the important role of the article in the process of communication. The definite arti­cle usually presents the notion as something already known, where­as the indefinite article introduces a new item of information. The presentation of objects as definite or indefinite, as already known or as new, depends on the speaker, who by using articles establishes mutual understanding between the speaker and the hearer. The def­inite article is used if the hearer is supposed to identify the object which the speaker is referring to as one that is known to him or has already been mentioned. On the contrary, the indefinite article indi­cates that the hearer is not supposed to identify the object the speak­er is referring to with any objects known to him. The indefinite description serves only to indicate the class which, among other ele­ments, contains that object.

•

Since the article is a noun determiner and the noun is the headword in a noun phrase, the syntactical role of the article consists in marking off a noun or a noun phrase as part of the sentence.

The morphological value of the article lies in indicating the substan­tivization of other parts of speech.

Her hair was a bright brown.

He is such a nothing.

She was fifty and looked a handsome thirty-five.

'J-fahhiness is a (ww, not a wftat; a talent, not an oGjecf.

^J H. Hesse

Both articles have originated form notional parts of speech, whose influence may be traced in their meaning and use.

The definite article developed from a demonstrative pronoun, which accounts for its meaning of definiteness: at the time, of the kind.

The indefinite article developed from the cardinal numeral one. The numerical meaning is evident in such phrases and sentences as at a time, wait a minute.

Since the article is the opening element of a noun phrase, it is placed before the noun it refers to or before all the other noun premodifiers.

The exceptions to this rule are as follows:

• the definite article may be preceded by the predeterminers all and both:

Are you going to cook all the cakes yourself? Both the answers were good.

• the indefinite article may be preceded by the predeterminers what, such, quite:

What a sight I am in this hat! You were such a queen! You are quite a scholar.

• the indefinite article is placed after adjectives preceded by the adverbs too, as, so:

That was too difficult a problem for the child to solve.

It's as good an excuse as any for breaking it up.

I've never seen so miserable a creature as Jane was at the moment.

THE USE OF ARTICLES WITH COUNT CONCRETE NOUNS

The Indefinite Article

The main functions of the indefinite article are classifying, generic and numerical.

I. In its classifying function the indefinite article shows that the speaker is characterizing a person, object or event only as a spec­imen of a certain class of things of the same kind (specific indef­inite reference).

I am a school teacher.

Somewhere a telephone began to ring.

The noun preceded by the classifying indefinite article may be accompanied by pre- or postmodifying attributes. I've read a novel. It is a very interesting novel. It is a novel by a modern writer.

The classifying indefinite article is found with predicative and appositive nouns:

I'm a critic and I'm a novelist.

He owes his curious name to his father, a well-read man.

The indefinite article is also used in predicative and adverbial phrases with like and as:

I was trembling like a leaf.

His appearance in the room was as decisive as a dinner-bell.

The indefinite article also serves to introduce some new informa­tion, i.e. a new element of the sentence which is important and attracts attention, thus becoming the centre of communication and acquiring strong stress.

One morning a new man was sitting at the table.

In the Russian language, which has no article, the centre of com­munication containing new information is usually marked by word order and also stress:

К окну подошла девушка. — A girl came up to the window. Девушка подошла к окну. — The girl came up to the window. В комнату вбежал мальчик. — A boy rushed into the room. Мальчик вбежал в комнату. — The boy rushed into the room.

As the indefinite article introduces new information it is widely used in existential sentences in which something is stated as present or existent.

There was a crisis for the first time in his life.

II. In the generic function the indefinite article implies that the object denoted by the noun is spoken of as a representative of the class, and therefore what is said about one specimen of a class can be applied to all the specimens of the class (generic reference).

The meaning of the article with singular nouns here is close to every/any. With plural nouns neither the article nor some is used. A sonnet is a poem of fourteen lines. Real friends should have everything in common.

The indefinite article in its generic function is often used in proverbs and sentences expressing a general truth.

A cat has nine lives. A creaking gate hangs long.

A fwuse is not а (юте.

P. Adler

In the majority of cases a noun with the indefinite article in its generic function is the starting point of the utterance.

III. In its numerical function the indefinite article always implies the idea of oneness'. The numerical meaning is generally found:

• with nouns denoting time, measure and weight

We stared intently at her for a minute or two.

• with the numerals hundred, thousand, million and the nouns dozen and score

I've told you a hundred times that you mustn't trust that man.

• after the negative not (not a word, not a trace) Not a word was spoken in the parlour.

• in some set phrases, like at a time, at a gulp, at a draft He picked up his drink and drank it off at a gulp.

• between two noun groups in expressions denoting prices, salaries, speeds, etc.

90 pounds a week 150 kilometers an hour

Give a man a {isft anduoufeedhim for a day. Teach a man to /isft andyoufeedftm for a lifetime.

Chinese proverb

The three main functions of the indefinite article are interrelated, one of them predominating in the context.

I've bought a new dictionary — the function is classifying; the numerical idea is implied.

An apple a day keeps the doctor away — the idea of number goes together with the idea of class.

A triangle has three sides — the generic function is combined with the idea of oneness and class.

The Definite Article

The definite article implies that the speaker presents a person, a thing, or an abstract notion as known to the hearer either from his general knowledge, or from the situation, or from the context. Hence, the two main functions are specifying and generic.

I. The definite article in its specifying function serves to single out an object or a group of objects from all other objects of the same kind (specific definite reference). The specification is carried out by means of (1) the situation, (2) the preceding context, (3) the meaning of the noun, or (4) a restrictive modifier (attribute). (1) Situational specification occurs when the speaker is referring to some objects or person he assumes the hearer can identi­fy in the environment they share.

There's someone at the door. Didn't you hear the bell? Shall I draw the curtains?

Thus, it should be noted that the definite article is often used by reason of locality, i.e. with reference to objects that surround the speaker or the people or things described to him — either indoors: the window, the door, or outdoors: the street, the leaves.

The definite article is also used with nouns denoting objects that are normally found in a particular place or within the bounds of a particular community. Thus, at home we may hear Have you fed the'dog? In a restaurant we say Let's call the waiter.

The inhabitants of the same village speak of the pub, the church. Fellow Englishmen speak of the queen, the prime minister.

MAJOR SENTENCE LI [MINIS

2. An object or a group of objects may be specified by reference to the preceding context (backward reference / prior men­tion). This use of the definite article is called anaphoric. The noun with the definite article may be a mere repetition of the noun mentioned before:

Three little kittens lost their mittens...

... The three little kittens they found their mittens.

It may be referred to the words or statements just mentioned: Dainty spoke aloud. The habit was certainly growing.

Or it may be a final statement prompted by the context:

My daughter's getting married at the weekend, but I don't think I shall go. — You don't like the man?

2. The definite article can also indicate unique reference. The group of nouns with unique reference is rather limited: the sun, the moon, the stars, the sky, the world, the Universe, the planets, the equator, the north pole, the south pole, the horizon, the solar system, the weather, the devil, the pope and some others.

In some respect unique nouns are like proper nouns, which also typically refer to only one item or set of items. There is a tendency to use the capital letter with some of them, espe­cially devil, earth, equator, north pole, south pole and pope.

Talk of the Devil and he is sure to appear. Note.

• When a certain aspect of the items in question is stated, the indefinite article is used; the noun is usually modified by a descriptive attribute:

A pearl-white moon smiled through the green trees.

• Mind the indefinite article in It's a small world — Мир тесен.

• The noun Earth is often used without an article, especially after the preposition on, like in the smallest nation on Earth.

4. Specification can be carried out by various kinds of limiting (restrictive / specifying) attributes, or modifiers, in pre- and postposition to the noun phrase. (See Chapter NOUN MODI­FIERS, p. 110)

II. The definite article in its generic function indicates reference to a whole class of referents; it is used to denote a genus taken as a whole, a thing taken as a type, a genre (generic reference):

The horse and mule live for forty years.

The compass was invented in ancient China.

The tragedy and the comedy first appeared in Greece.

Only a semantically limited group of nouns tends to be used generi- cally. We mainly find here names of animals, plants, professions and occupations, scientific terms and some other semantic groups: There was nothing of the artist in her.

Unlike other singular countable nouns, man and woman can be used in a general sense without articles:

Man and woman were created equal.

But in modern English, a woman and a man or men and women are used more often:

A woman without a man is like a fish without a bicycle, (old fem­inist joke)

Men and women have similar abilities and needs. Man is also commonly used to mean 'the human race'.

JAan is the onfy animalthat Mushes. Or needs to.

M.Twain

Some people find this usage sexist and prefer to avoid it by using terms such as people, humanity or the human race.

Generic noun phrases are mainly characteristic of scientific and liter­ary prose where there is a need for generalization.

In some contexts both indefinite and definite generic noun phrases can be used; though they seem to be interchangeable, there is still some difference between them. Thus we can say The tiger is a wild animal and A tiger is a wild animal. The indefinite generic noun phrase presents the referent of the noun as an individual specimen of a class while the generic definite noun phrase denotes the whole class, especially to distinguish one class from another:

The housewife has a harder life than the office-worker.

It is possible to replace the housewife by a housewife or housewives in that sentence, making other necessary changes, but the sentence with the generic definite NP follows a pattern commonly used when a generalization is made about a whole class of people, animals, plants or inanimate objects. Thus, the indefinite article is not possible in the following examples:

The cat has been a domestic animal for thousands of years.

The olive grows only in warm countries.

The hen is worse than the sword.

R. Burton

Generic reference is also indicated by the definite article used with substantivized adjectives and participles II. The semantic group of adjectives thus substantivized is very limited. It includes: • words denoting singular non-personal abstract notions (the evil = 'that which is evil'). The following adjectives are often used after the definite article in this way:

best

bizarre

exotic

impossible

incredible inevitable

mystical

new

obvious

old ordinary

possible

ridiculous

sublime

supernatural unbelievable

unexpected

unknown

unreal

unthinkable

Politics is the art of the possible. He always had a love for the concrete.

An ambassador is an honest man sent to fie abroadfor thegoodof his country.

H. Wotton

• words denoting plural personal entities (the French = the French nation; the rich = those who are rich). The adjectives and partici-

pies most frequently used		in this way are:
aged	elderly	needy	starving
blind	free	old	strong
brave	handicapped	oppressed	uneducated
dead	homeless	poor	unemployed
deaf	hungry	powerful	weak
disabled	injured	rich	wealthy
educated	living	sick	wounded
young

The strongest have their hours of depression.

The Spanish and the Portuguese developed the caravel for

coastal trade in the Atlantic.

The definite article indicates generic reference when it is used with collective nouns: the aristocracy, the bourgeoisie, the police, the nobili­ty, etc.

The class struggle between the bourgeoisie and the proletariat found no reflection in Thackeray's novels.

Generic reference is also indicated when the definite article is used with plural count nouns when the idea of collectivity is definitely emphasized, suggesting 'the whole body of: the Russians, the Germans, the Americans, the catholics, the peasants, the workers, the Tories, the Liberals, the Impressionists, etc.:

'The Italians are a wonderfully hospitable people,'she said. Until about 1920, the two main parties were the Conservatives and the Liberals, but during the period following the First World War, the Labour party replaced the Liberals as the second main party.

The generic definite article is found with names of nationalities, rep­resentatives of political parties, classes, social groups and religious beliefs only when 'the whole body' is meant; when separate, individ­ual representatives are referred to, no article is used:

'Do you notice the way Italians drive?'Maurice asked. ' Well,'Jack said, 'It's better than the way Frenchmen drive.'

THE USE OF ARTICLES WITH ABSTRACT NOUNS

Abstract nouns fall into two large categories: count abstract nouns and non-count abstract nouns. The line between count and non- count nouns is not always easy to draw. Among abstract nouns there are many with dual class membership. They often have considerable difference in meaning. Cf.:

travel faster than sound hear an irritating sound

Beauty is to be admired She was a beauty

speak with decision make a difficult decision

walk in silence speak after a long silence

R. Lowell

Names of colours used in a general sense are uncountable abstract nouns (converted from adjectives):

Red is often used a danger sign.

When denoting shades of colours, they are countable:

The trees were turning yellows and reds. Her eyes were a cordial gentle brown.

Count abstract nouns (e.g. answer, belief, doubt, effort, fact, idea, job, lie, opinion, plan, question, visit) can be used both in the singular and in the plural. The use of articles with count abstract nouns is practical­ly the same as with concrete count (class) nouns:

You could have a very happy life with her. He always has such brilliant ideas!

Non-count abstract nouns (e.g. anger, chemistry, impatience, jealousy, modesty, pride, relief, violence) are used in the singular only.

1. When non-count abstract nouns have generic reference they are used without any article. This is the case when a certain quality, state, action as such is meant:

Knowledge is power.

She has attached herself to youth and hope and seriousness and they had failed her more than age and despair.

"Education, fifo neurosis, beams at home.

M. R. Sapirstein

Abstract nouns with generic reference are often used in attributive and adverbial prepositional phrases after of, with, in: A slight feeling of uneasiness came over him. Four pairs of eyes were on him, black with suspicion and accusa­tion.

He turned round in annoyance and then walked away.

The tendency to use the noun in attributive and adverbial prepo­sitional phrases without an article is so strong that even count nouns may have no article in these functions: a man of principle, a woman of feeling, a carpet of colour, etc.

Generally no article is used when the abstract noun within a preposi­tional phrase is modified by a descriptive modifier:

His small clear voice was heavy with passionate determination.

There was a look of mingled ferocity and stupidity about him.

We find no article if the modifier qualifies the noun from the point of

view of

• nationality and geography (English literature, French poetry, Russian painting, Moscow time),

• time (modern physics, contemporary art, ancient sculpture),

• degree (great value, perfect surprise, sheer delight, complete satis­faction, infinite fatigue) and

• authenticity (real importance, genuine sorrow):

For once he showed real irritation.

When I heard the news I felt perfect relief.

The definite article is used in combination with the limiting of- phrase: the English literature of the 19th century, the French poetry of that period, etc.

2. Non-count abstract nouns can be used with the indefinite arti­cle when they have descriptive modifiers which bring out a spe­cial aspect of a quality, feeling, state, etc. expressed by the noun. In this case it behaves like a countable noun. This use of the indef­inite article may be called aspective:

She looked several years younger and there was a new dignity about her.

Some grammarians point out that the use of the indefinite article in such cases seems to be optional and depends on the intention of the speaker to lay particular stress on the special aspect ("некий", "какой- то") expressed by the noun modifier.

The indefinite article seems to be obligatory when the abstract noun is modified by the adjective certain, curious, peculiar or by a descrip­tive relative clause:

You have a curious influence over me.

The girl interrupted him with a certain impatience in her voice.

He had a patience which amazed his friends.

The use of the indefinite article when the abstract noun has no mod­ifier is rare:

When I arrived that afternoon it was to find them awaiting me and I sensed an impatience in them both.

3. Abstract nouns with specific reference take the definite article. Identification is based on (1) the linguistic context or (2) the situ­ation of utterance.

(1) Linguistic context involves reference either backwards or for­wards.

• Reference backwards: identification is made by some­thing already said, i.e. by prior mention: John laughed and the sound of the laugh was hard.

When the definite article is used anaphorically, the antecedent need not necessarily be a word (a noun, an adjective or a verb) of the same root with the abstract noun. The definiteness can be clear from the prior context as a whole:

A moment afterwards the lights suddenly went out. In the dark­ness we felt lost.

• Reference forwards: identification is made by something about to be said.

This is the case when the abstract noun has some limiting modifi­er in post-position. The definite article indicates that the abstract notion is used in a limiting sense: it denotes a particular instance of the notion expressed by the noun. The limiting modifier can be presented in different ways: / by a limiting of-phrase:

I was wrapped in the security of childhood.

S. Johnson

/ by a restrictive (limiting) relative attributive clause: His apologetic laugh did not disguise the pleasure that he felt.

The use of articles with names of languages:

Do you speak Hungarian/Swedish /Japanese/Arabic?

Do you speak the Hungarian, etc. ?

Do you speak Hungarian, etc. language?

She speaks fluent English.

She speaks a very good English?

What is the English we use in international communication? His was a nervous, graphic English.

(2) Identification can result from the whole situation of utterance:

'And how did you like the music?' she asked. ' The weather is changing for the better/he said.