1. Nouns in the common case

The use of articles with countable nouns modified by nouns in the common case.

Such attributes are usually descriptive.

A There was a glass door leading into the passage (N+N).

A silver tray was brought in with tea cups on it (N+N).

He sat on a kitchen chair (N+N).

THE the definite article is accounted for by the situation, not by the attribute.

At the study door he stopped for a moment. (=traditional use of the d.a.)

Lanny looked at the dining-room window and smiled.

Nouns as limiting attributes are rarely used with the d.a. In this case the attribute is usually expressed by a proper name and serves to show that reference is made to a particular object.

I reached the house just as the Whitehall lamps were coming out.

Do you believe we can leave the Sawbridge question where it is?

8. Nouns in the genitive case

There are two kinds of the genitive case:

1) the specifying genitive which denotes a particular person or thing, as in: my mother's picture, the man's voice, the river's bed. In this case the article refers to the noun in the genitive case and is chosen in accordance with the general rules.

e .g. the boy's

the boys'

a boy's books

boys'

Robert's

2) the classifying (descriptive) genitive, which refers to a whole class of objects, as in: sheep's eyes (a descriptive attribute+the head-noun), a doctor's degree, a mile's distance. In this case the article refers to the head-noun (eyes); the noun in the genitive case (sheep’s) serves as a descriptive attribute. The article for the head-noun is chosen in accordance with the general rules.

We had not walked a mile's distance when we saw the river.

It was only a mile from the cottage to the nearest village but the mile's walk in the hot sun seemed very long to Jim.

Is there a butcher's shop in the street?

" I am looking for the butcher's shop," he said, "that used to be here when I was a child."

MIND! A plural noun in the genitive case may be preceded by the indefinite article because the article here refers to the head-noun, which is in the singular form: a soldiers' canteen, a girls' school, a three miles' walk, a fifteen minutes' break.

Would you like to go to a soldiers' canteen and get some food?

The College has a two years' course.

9. Prepositional phrases

The use of articles with countable nouns modified by prepositional phrases. Attributes may be expressed by nouns with various prepositions. Depending on the context or the situation, they may be either:

a) descriptive

a) But you must know that a marriage with a boy in a jazz band wouldn't last a year.

A man under such circumstances is always very helpless,

(b) or limiting

He always felt ill at ease among the callers at his sister's house.

The darkness was almost complete, and the boats in the harbour were swaying to the rhythm of the sea's breathing.

OF-PHRASES

may serve as descriptive and limiting attributes.

Descriptive of-phrases are recognized by clear-cut meanings. They denote:

1). quality — a book of interest, a feeling of relief, a question of importance, a portrait of a girl, etc.

2) quantity or measure — a temperature of + 20°, a distance of three miles, a box of two tons, etc.

3) composition — a group of children, a flock of birds, a party of twelve people, a team of hockey players, etc.

4) material — a wall of glass, a ring of gold, a scarf of thick wool,etc.

5) content — a cup of tea, a bottle of milk, a packet of cigarettes, etc.

6) age — a boy of five, a man of middle age, etc.

7) size — a sailor of middle height, a building of enormous size, etc. 8) comparison — a wild cat of a woman (=a woman like a wild cat), an angel of a wife (=a wife like an angel), a devil of a boy (=a boy like a devil), etc.

+ a friend of mine, a book of my own, etc.

Nouns modified by descriptive of-phrases usually take the in­definite article. But the definite article may also be used and then it is accounted for by the context or by the situation.

Limiting attributes. As limiting of-phrases express a great variety of meanings and there is no point in classifying them -→ the choice of the article is affected by the nature of the of-phrase:

the house of my neighbour the wife of a miner the foot of the mountain the collar of a shirt the smoothness of a new machine the shot of a gun the development of science the roaring of the ocean

the invention of the radio the use of articles the name of John the city of New York the position of a teacher the colour of amber the shadow of a tree the outline of a boat the battle of Hastings

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In some cases the choice of the article is affected by the following factors:

1. If the head-noun denotes an object which is the only bearer of the property expressed by the of-phrase, the definite article is used: the president of the club, the glow of a lamp, the murderer of Caesar, the monitor of the group, etc.

2. If there are many objects of the same description, the indefinite article is used: a member of the club, a student of the group, a puff of wind, etc.

3. The definite article is used, alongside the indefinite, when there is a definite number of component parts: the (a) leg of the table, the (a) wheel of the car, the (an) ear of a dog.