SEMINAR 3B -- ARTICLES with COMMON NOUNS - the indefinite article -- the definite article -- zero article In discussing the use of the articles, we must distinguish between specific and generic reference: e.g. A lion and two tigers are sleeping in the cage. (= specific r. -- we have in mind something specific) X Tigers are dangerous animals. (=generic r. -- not particular tigers, but tigers in general) Note: generic ref. can be expressed in the following ways: A tiger can be dangerous. Tigers can be dangerous. The tiger can be dangerous. but not: Tiger can be dangerous. -- zero article is possible only with U nouns: Velvet makes and excellent curtain material. I. THE INDEFINITE ARTICLE -- A / AN 1) Classification a) general statements e.g. An architect is a person who designs buildings. / A rose is a flower. b) definitions e.g. A cat is a domestic animal. (or Cats are domestic animals. -- is also possible) c) origins e.g. He's a Frenchman. / an American. (compare: He's French.) d) occupation e.g. She's a doctor. / My father is an architect. e) religion e.g. She's a Catholic. (also: She's Catholic.) f) politics e.g. He's a Republican. 2) Quantity -- a / an is used to mean `only one' a) one -- we are not specifying any particular thing or person e.g. I'd like an apple. !! b) when st is mentioned for the first time -- since it hasn't been mentioned before, it is unfamiliar to the speaker or hearer e.g. I looked up and saw a plane. The plane flew over the trees. Compare: I am just about to move into an apartment quite near where you live. I am just about to move into the apartment directly above yours. c) reference to measurement - price -- e.g. 80 p a kilo / per kilo - distance + speed -- e.g. 40 km an hour / per hour - frequency -- twice a day / per day Other uses: - a / an after what / such with C nouns - exclamations -- e.g. What a surprise! What an interesting story! - to emphasize degree -- e.g. My boss is such an idiot! - what a lot ... in exclamations -- e.g. What a lot of flowers! What a lot of trouble! - pairs of nouns -- the nouns are considered to accompany each other naturally -- a / an is used before the first noun of a pair e.g. a cup and saucer a hat and coat a knife and fork - body parts - if they are multiple, they can be individually referred to with a: e.g. Jack has a broken finger. but Jack has bumped his head. - illnesses / conditions 1) the use of a / an is compulsory with: cold, headache, sore throat, broken leg, fever, temperature -- e.g. I've got a cold. 2) the use of a / an is optional with: catch (a) cold; have (a) backache, stomach ache, toothache, earache 3) in the plural -- no article is used e.g. measles, mumps 4) uncountable illnesses -- no article is used e.g. flu, hepatitis, cancer, pneumonia, diabetes, appendicitis II. THE DEFINITE ARTICLE -- THE - the marks a phrase as definite -- i.e. we refer to st that can be identified uniquely thanks to the knowledge of context or general knowledge shared by the speaker and hearer e.g. immediate situation -- the reference of `the' is derived from the `extralinguistic ` situation as in: The roses are beautiful. (= said in a garden) Have you visited the castle? (= said in a given town) Have you fed the cat? (= our cat) or larger situation -- the reference is based on general knowledge of the `larger situation' that speaker and hearer share as in: the Prime Minister (in a particular country everyone knows who we mean) the Pope, the moon, the sky, the sun, etc. 1) Classifying a) general statements e.g. The cobra is dangerous. (= a certain kind of ... / as a species) also: Cobras are dangerous. (= the whole class) A cobra is a very poisonous snake. (= as an example of the class) b) the group as a whole -- the + nationality adj. e.g. The British prefer staying at home. (= the British people in general) The Japanese admire the traditions of the Chinese. c) the group as a whole -- the + plural names e.g. The Price sisters have opened a boutique. The Europeans are a long way from political unity. The Liberals want electoral reform. d) specified groups -- the + collective noun or plural C e.g. the police, the public, the unions e) the + adjective e.g. the blind, the rich, the unemployed 2) Specifying - we use the when the listener or reader can already identify what we are referring to, i.e. the shows that the nouns has been specified by the context / situation or grammatically (anaphoric and cataphoric reference) a) anaphoric reference -- `anaphora' (=back reference) <- e.g. Singleton is a quiet village near Chichester. The village has a population of a few hundred people. In the first sentence the village was mentioned for the first time -- a quiet village In the following sentence we already know which village we are talking about -- we have already specified it in the first sentence. (=direct anaphora) the anaphoric ref. can also be indirect as in: e.g. I lent Bill a valuable book but when he returned it, the cover was filthy and the pages were torn. (= we didn't mention a cover and pages before, but we know that a book has a cover and pages) b) cataphoric reference (is `the opposite' of anaphoric = the identity will be established by what follows the head noun, i.e. an of-phrase, a relative clause or non-finite clause: e.g. I am trying to find the book that I wanted to show you. Where's the magazine I brought this morning? The letters on the shelf are for you. The girls sitting over there are my cousins. c) specifying with a limited context - the context is limited enough for the listener (or reader) to identify who or what is referred to e.g. people: Who's at the door? -- It's the postman. places: Where's Jenny? -- She's gone to the butcher's / to the supermarket. things: Pass me the salt, please. parts of a whole: a human body -- He has a pain in the chest. / I grabbed her by the arm. a room -- the ceiling, the door, the floor an object -- the back, the centre, the top a town -- the shops, the station an appliance -- the on/off switch Note: We also use the when we do not refer to a specific place or thing: e.g. go to the cinema / theatre / doctor's the country / mountains / seaside the paper (=newspaper) as in You'll probably see it in the paper tomorrow. te news / the radio / the press Locations which are `one of a kind': e.g. the earth / sky / sun / moon / solar system / the galaxy , the universe Uniqueness: e.g. the Pope, the President , the government, the Equator Other uses: - the in time expressions -- e.g. the beginning, the middle, the end, the first / last, the next, the following day, in the morning / afternoon / evening - seasons -- the is optional -- e.g. We usually have a holiday in (the) summer. But: if we refer to a particular season -- The spring of last year was cold. - dates -- the is spoken but not written e.g. I'll see you on May 24^th. (spoken as May the 24^th) I'll see you on 24^th May. (spoken as the 24^th of May) - fixed time expressions e.g. all the while, at the moment, for the time being, in the end, etc. - superlatives e.g. It's the worst play I have ever seen. - musical instruments -- I play the piano. - fixed phrases -- The sooner the better. - fixed expressions -- do the shopping - restrictive items -- e.g. sole, only, same -- She was the sole survivor - the + adjective -- the blind, the unemployed - ordinals -- the first III. ZERO ARTICLE - with plural countables: Girls do better than boys at school. - uncountables -- Butter makes you fat. - proper nouns -- John lives in London. The class as a whole -- general statements a) zero article + plural C nouns people: Women are fighting for their rights. places: Museums are closed on Mondays. food: Beans contain a lot of fibre. occupations: Doctors always support each other. nationalities: Italians make delicious ice cream. animals: Cats do not like cold weather. insects: Ants are found all over this area. plants: Trees don't grow in the Antarctic. products: Watches have become very accurate. b) zero article + U nouns (always singular) food: Refined foods like sugar should be avoided. drink: Water must be pure if it is to be drunk. substances: Oil is essential for the manufacture of plastic. collections: Money makes the world go round. colours: Red is my favourite colour. activities: Smoking is bad for the health. other activities: Business has been improving steadily this year. sports, games: Football is played all over the world. abstract: Life is short. politics: Capitalism is by-product of free enterprise. languages: English is a world language. Unique items - first names -- e.g. Elizabeth was my mother's name. - surnames -- e.g. These tools are made by Jackson and son. - full names --e.g. Elizabeth Brown - titles -- e.g. May I introduce you to Captain / Colonel / Major Rogers? - days, months, seasons, holidays (Christmas) - subjects -- e.g. Biology, Physics, Geography Other uses of zero article - times of day and night, esp. after the prepositions at, by, after, before e.g. at dawn / daybreak, sunrise, noon, midnight, dusk by day, night before morning - meals -- breakfast, lunch, tea, dinner, supper e.g. Dinner is served. / Michael's at lunch. / Let's have breakfast. But! When a meal is specified, we use articles as in: The breakfast I ordered still hasn't arrived. That was a very nice dinner. We had a nice dinner, just the two of us. (= a particular meal) - man -- as the `human race' or `mankind' e.g. This book is an attempt to trace the history of man / mankind. - nouns like school, hospital, etc. : bed, church, class, college, court, hospital, market, prison, school, sea, town, university, work - these nouns have the zero article when we refer to their primary purpose (= the activity that is associated with them -- we do not refer to actual buildings or places but to the `institutions' e.g. He was sent to prison for 7 years. The children went to school. He had an accident and was taken to hospital. It's time to go to bed now. But! When specified, we use articles as in: Ken went to the prison to visit his brother. Alison's mother went to the school to see her daughter's teacher. Jill has gone to the hospital to visit Jack. I sat down on the bed. - means of transport and communication e.g. travel by bicycle, bike, boat, bus, car, coach, travel by land, air, sea go on foot But! When the means of transport is specified, we use articles as in: I came here on the local bus. You won't go far on that old bike. communicate by radio / phone but be on the phone / talk on the radio - fixed phrases -- parallel structures -- two nouns placed together in a parallel structure e.g. arm in arm also: from top to bottom face to face in case of side by side keep in mind hand in hand by reason of eye to eye in turn inch by inch by heart day by day come to light man to man - `pairs' joined by `and' e.g. day and night father and son husband and wife light and dark pen and ink sun and moon - what / such + plural nouns or U e.g. What freedom young people enjoy nowadays! We had such problems getting through Customs. - unspecified quantity e.g. I have news for you. I have presents for children. Zero article with definite meaning - when a phrase specifies a unique role or task, e.g. only one person holds the particular position e.g. Mary is (the) captain of netball this year. As (the) chairman, I declare this meeting closed. John F. Kennedy was (the) President of the United States in 1961. Compare: Prime Minister Blair v. the Prime Minister - articles are usually omitted in headlines or on official forms e.g. `Crew deserts ship in harbour' Please state reason for application and give .......... Compare: be in town v. The town is very old. be in bed v. It's on the bed. go to church v. How far is the church? go to sea v. The sea looks calm. travel by bus v. She was on the bus. send it by post v. The post is late today. - abstract nouns e.g. She is studying European history. X .... the history of Europe. ................... human evolution X .... the evolution of man ................... medieval art X .... the art of the Middle Ages