Грамматика английского языка Морфология. Синтаксис (стр. 33 из 71)
The definite article is pronounced as [ði:] when stressed. When unstressed, it is pronounced as [ðǝ] before consonants and [ðɪ] before vowels:
| [ðǝ] | [ðɪ] |
| the dog the house the European the unit the manuscript | the apple the hour the x-ray the uncle the MP |
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:
a) the definite article may be preceded by the predeterminers alt and both:
Are you going to cook all the cakes yourself?
Both the answers were good.
b) 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, and I was such a nothing!
You are quite a scholar.
с) 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 the indefinite article
The main functions of the indefinite article are classifying, generic and numerical.
§ 187. In its classifying function the article serves to refer an object to the class or group of objects of the same kind.
We saw a speck in the distance. It was a ship.
I am a school teacher.
Somewhere a telephone began to ring.
The door opened and a man entered.
Janet lived alone in a small shabby house.
He was a man I would be glad to spend half my time in hell with.
The noun preceded by the classifying indefinite article may be accompanied by pre- or postmodifying attributes. The indefinite article is used so long as the reference to the class is preserved, as can be seen from the examples below.
I’ve read a novel.
It is a very interesting novel.
It is a novel by a modem writer.
It is a teenager novel about American boys.
It is an exciting novel which is very suitable for staging.
But: It is the novel our teacher mentioned at the last lesson.
Though mostly used with counts the indefinite article may be used in the classifying function with non-counts, unique and proper nouns.*
* For details see § 192, 198, 201.
| The moon rose early. | It was a very pale siver moon. |
§ 188. In its 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 the thing, animal, person, or notion mentioned, refers to any object of the same kind, as in:
An oblong has four sides, a triangle has three sides.
A tram runs on rails, a bus does not.
A horse has four legs.
A sonnet is a poem of fourteen lines.
A library is a collection of books.
The noun preceded by the generic indefinite article may be modified by an attribute which restricts the class represented by the object mentioned or narrows the scope of reference, but does not individualize it.
A complex sentence has two or more clauses.
A man who looks after the books in a library is called a librarian.
The indefinite article in its generic function is often used in proverbs and sentences expressing a general truth.
A friend in need is a friend indeed.
An elephant never forgets.
As a man sows, so he shall mow.
With the nouns in the plural in this case no article is used. It should be noted that the generic function of the indefinite article, though akin to the classifying function, is different not only in its meaning, but also in its role in the process of communication. In the majority of cases a noun with the indefinite article in its generic function is the starting point of the utterance, whereas a noun with the indefinite article in its classifying function used as subject or predicative presents a new item of information, which is the most important part of the utterance.
§ 189. In its numerical function the indefinite article retains its original meaning of the cardinal numeral one.
The Indian summer returned for a day.
Of course I won’t say a word.
An apple a day keeps the doctor away.
A stitch in time saves nine.
The numerical function of the indefinite article is evident with nouns denoting units of measure (time, distance, length, weight, etc.): 60 miles an hour, ten shillings a yard. The wireless had become a ton weight. We walked a mile or two.
The function of the indefinite article is also numerical in noun phrases with an ordinal numeral as premodifier, where the article suggests the meaning one more, another:
In this final chapter, we come to a third way in which one may view these parts of the sentence.
The indefinite article in its numerical function may signal a change in the meaning of a non-count making it a count. Thus an ice-cream, a coffee, a tea, a beer, a whisky, etc. mean a portion of, a glass of, a pint of, etc.:
David has ordered a second whisky.
The three main functions of the indefinite article are interrelated, one of them predominating in the context. Thus in the sentence I’ve bought a new dictionary the function of the article is classifying. The numerical idea is implied, but it is not conspicuous enough. If the speaker is interested in number he must say: I’ve bought one dictionary or I want only one dictionary.
On the other hand when the article is used in its numerical sense, the classifying function coexists with the numerical function. Thus in the proverb An apple a day keeps the doctor away the idea of number (one apple, one day) goes together with the idea of class (a kind of fruit, a unit of time),
In the generic function the ideas of oneness and class are combined, but there is no reference to a specific existing thing, person or notion. If we say A triangle has three sides we mean one triangle and a certain class of geometrical figures, but we do not refer the figure drawn on the blackboard to the class mentioned. To express the latter idea we must say The figure is a triangle. The same applies to the following sentences: I wanted to be a doctor where we deal with a classifying meaning of the article, but A doctor is an intelligent man - with generic.
§ 190. There are a number of set expressions with the indefinite article. In most of them the main functions of the indefinite article can be seen.
| at a time at a glance as a result (of) as a whole | to be (to feel) at a loss to have a mind (to do something) to have a good time to have a headache (a toothache, a sore throat) |
| in a good (evil) hour in a hurry (but: in haste) in a fury in a low voice in a whisper | It is a pity It is a pleasure It is a shame What a shame! What a pity! |
| at a distance of... (but: in the distance) at a depth (but: in the depth) at a speed of... | They were much of a size Birds of a feather flock together. many a time (not once, on many occasions) many a man (not one) |
The use of the definite article
§ 191. The definite article implies that the speaker or the writer presents a person, a thing or an abstract notion as known to the listener or the reader, either from his general knowledge, or from the situation, or from the context. Hence, the two main functions of the definite article are specifying and generic.
§ 192. The definite article in its specifying function serves to single out an object or a group of objects from all the other objects (things, persons, animals, abstract notions) of the same kind. The specification is carried out by means of (1) a restrictive attribute, of (2) the preceding context, (3) the situation or (4) the meaning of the noun.
1) A restrictive attribute is most useful in singling out or individualizing an object (such attributes are also called specifying or limiting). It may be expressed by a single word, a prepositional phrase, a participial phrase, or by a clause, all functioning as postmodifiers.
Somebody moved in the room above.
I’m convinced Davis is the man we are looking for (the very man).
The students in the next room are taking an examination.
That was the end of my first journey into the enchantment of the past.
The man standing by the window is my uncle.
I said nothing to Mr Smith. I think he was already rehearsing the story he would fell to Mrs Smith.
There are also postmodifying attributes which refer the object they modify to a class of similar objects, and in this case they require the indefinite article before the modified noun.
A letter written in pencil is difficult to read.
A letter which is written in pencil is difficult to read.
In like fashion premodifying attributes, especially expressed by adjectives, have either descriptive force in which case they do not influence the use of articles, or a restrictive force due to their meaning. Those are the limiting adjectives very, right, left, wrong, only, one, opposite, last, next (following), the pronominal adjective same, ordinal numerals. Their meaning specifies the object well enough to exclude a possibility of choice or change within a class.
We got into the wrong train.
Are we on the right road?
He is the only man for this position.
Morning light ... touched the opposite seat.
That’s the great Rita. The one and only Rita.
My first job was not a success. But the second job was a sensational success.
Apparent exceptions to the rule are caused by a certain shift in the meaning of premodifiers, which may acquire a new qualitative tinge. Thus an only child means a child who has no brothers or sisters, a first impression or a first attempt has its own qualitative peculiarities, a last look is a farewell look, a second, a third, a tenth means one more, another. In such cases the classifying force of the article prevails. See the examples below, the last of which also suggests reference to a class, namely to the class of books in their first edition.
I haven’t got four brothers. I’m an only son.
Alec turned up as if for a last look at the retreating figure.
It was a good first impression.
What made him spot Boot? It’s a sixth sense
He picked up a first edition of “The Torrents of Spring”.
Note:
There is no article if the numeral is part of a proper name: Fifth Avenue, Sixty-Sixth Street.
2) An object or a group of objects may be specified by reference to file preceding context (backward reference). This use of the definite article is qualified as anaphoric. The noun with the definite article may be a mere repetition of the noun mentioned before (see examples a) and b) below); it may be referred to the words or statement just mentioned (ex. c, d), or may be a final statement prompted by the context (e):
a) My wife always had a passion for owls. The passion’s grown since our marriage.
b) Three little kittens lost their mittens ... The three little kittens they found their mittens.
c) ‘My wife has left me.’ Dirk could hardly get the words out.
d) Dainty spoke aloud. The habit was certainly growing.
e) My daughter’s getting married at the week-end, but I don't think I shall go.
—You don’t like the man?
3) One of the most usual ways of singling out an object or a group of objects is situational specification. Though the object is mentioned for the first time, no attribute or context is necessary for the speaker (or the writer) to point it out and for the listener (or the reader) to understand what object is meant.
After visiting a theatre we may say: I liked the acting and I enjoyed the music too. After a flower exhibition: The flowers were splendid. In many everyday situations: Go to the kitchen. Open the door. Pass the butter. Keep off the grass.
When we say Let’s go to the river, depending on the place we live in, it may be the Neva, the Thames, the Amazon, etc. With reference to a certain school we may say: The bell rang and the teacher came in, or Miss , Smith came in.
If the situational reference is not clear enough to the listener, the speaker should employ another specifier as in the following: “Hilary, would you mind if we fixed the day?” “What day?” “The day for me and Crystal to get married.”
4) The definite article in its specifying function is used with unique objects or notions. They are the sun, the moon, the earth, the sea, the world, the universe, the horizon, the equator, the south, the north, the west, the east.
The sun sank below the horizon.
The sky had cleared...
The moon is the heavenly body that moves round the earth.
He sailed round the world.
The use of the definite article with nouns denoting unique objects is similar to the situational use, only unique objects suggest situations on a larger scale. Nouns denoting unique objects are also similar to proper nouns, especially to those originated from common nouns, such as the Tower, the Hermitage, the British Museum.
Though in the majority of cases proper nouns are used without an article, thanks to their origin, various historical processes and traditional usage, there are a number of proper nouns which are preceded by the definite article (for more examples see the list in § 194).
Nouns denoting unique objects may be preceded by the indefinite article in its classifying function when some aspect or phase of the object is meant or the word is used figuratively.
It’s a high sky tonight, big and pale.
The sun shone in an unclouded sky.
Night had fallen and I was guided by a full moon.
She in turn had discovered in Cal Finley a world of which she had never dreamed before.
It has always been a dream of her life.
§ 193. The definite article in its generic function refers the following noun to the whole class of objects of the same kind.
The lion is the king of the animals.
The trout - oh the trout – he’s the real king of fish.
Only the poet or the saint can water an asphalt pavement in the confident anticipations that lilies will
reward his labour.
Since 1925 Mr Warren has made an outstanding contribution to American letters in the fields of
education, poetry, criticism, and the novel.