English Articles in Use. Артикли: Объяснение, Употребление, Тренинг

Ю. М. Сергеева

English Articles in Use

Артикли: объяснение, употребление, тренинг

Учебное пособие

Москва 2012 УДК 811.111’36(075.8) ББК 81.432.1923.2 С322

Рецензенты: Г. Н. Гумовская, проф., д-р филол. наук Е. А. Никулина, проф., д-р филол. наук

Ответственный редактор: М. Я. Блох, проф., д-р филол. наук

С322 Сергеева Ю. М. English Articles in Use. Артикли: объяснение, употребление, тренинг. – oooМ.: .Прометей 2012. – 204 с.

Настоящее пособие представляет собой свод основных правил употребления артиклей с различными типами имен существительных в зависимости от выполняемой ими синтаксической функции в предложении. Функционально-прагматический подход позволяет объяснить, почему тот или иной артикль требуется в конкретной коммуникативной ситуации. Учебное пособие предназначено для студентов и преподавателей лингвистических вузов, а также для широкого круга читателей, изучающих английский язык.

ISBN 978-5-7042-2360-3

n2 ="2%!= ...... 6 Chapter 1. The article and the category of determination. Types of attributes ...... 8 1.1. The article as a nominal determiner ...... 8 1.2. Descriptive and limiting attributes ...... 8 1.2.1. Types of attributes ...... 8 1.2.2. Attributes expressed by adjectives ...... 9 1.2.3. Attributes expressed by the pronoun other . . . 11 1.2.4. Attributes expressed by numerals ...... 12 1.2.5. Attributes expressed by nouns in the common case ...... 13 1.2.6. Attributes expressed by nouns in the possessive case ...... 14 1.2.7. Attributes expressed by participles ...... 15 1.2.8. Attributes expressed by the infinitive ...... 15 1.2.9. Attributes expressed by the gerund...... 15 1.2.10. Attributes expressed by prepositional nominal phrases ...... 16 1.2.11. Attributes expressed by subordinate clauses . . 18 1.3. The place of the article in a nominal phrase . . . 19 Chapter 2. The indefinite article...... 22 2.1. Forms of the indefinite article ...... 22 2.2. The indefinite article with common countable nouns.The functions of the indefinite article . . . 23 2.2.1. The classifying function of the indefinite article. 23 2.2.2. The generic function of the indefinite article . . 24 2.2.3. The numerical function of the indefinite article . 25 2.3. The indefinite article with material nouns ...... 26 2.4. The indefinite article with abstract nouns . . . . . 26 2.5. The indefinite article with unique objects ...... 28 2.6. The indefinite article with some semantic groups of nouns ...... 28 2.6.1. The indefinite article with nouns denoting seasons. 28 2.6.2. The indefinite article with nouns denoting parts of the day ...... 28 2.6.3. The indefinite article with names of meals . . . . 29 2.6.4. The indefinite article with names of diseases . . 30 2.6.5. The indefinite article with nouns bed, school, hospital, church, prison ...... 30 2.7. The indefinite article with proper names ...... 31

3 Chapter 3. The definite article ...... 33 3.1. The definite article with common nouns ...... 33 3.1.1. The specifying function of the definite article . . 33 3.1.1.1. The limiting attribute...... 34 3.1.1.2. The contextual situation ...... 35 3.1.1.3. The definite article with unique objects ...... 35 3.1.2. The generic function of the definite article . . . . 36 3.1.2.1. The definite article with countable nouns . . . . . 36 3.1.2.2. The definite article with collective nouns . . . . . 37 3.1.2.3. The definite article with substantivized adjectives . 38 3.2. The definite article with material nouns ...... 39 3.3. The definite article with abstract nouns ...... 40 3.4. The definite article with some semantic groups of nouns ...... 40 3.4.1. The definite article with nouns denoting seasons . 40 3.4.2. The definite article with nouns denoting parts of the day ...... 41 3.4.3. The definite article with names of meals . . . . . 42 3.4.4. The definite article with names of diseases . . . 42 3.4.5. The definite article with nouns bed, school, college, university, hospital, church, prison, jail, table ...... 42 3.4.6. The definite article with the noun sea ...... 43 3.5. The definite article with proper names ...... 43 3.5.1. The definite article with geographical names . . 43 3.5.2. The definite article with miscellaneous proper names ...... 45 3.6. The situational use of the definite article with proper names ...... 49 Chapter 4. The meaningful absence of the article ...... 51 4.1. The zero article in the function of absolute generalization ...... 51 4.2. The zero article with material nouns ...... 51 4.3. The zero article with collective nouns ...... 52 4.4. The zero article with abstract nouns ...... 52 4.5. The meaningful absence of the article with some semantic groups of nouns ...... 54 4.5.1. The zero article with nouns denoting seasons . . 54 4.5.2. The zero article with nouns denoting parts of the day ...... 54 4.5.3. The zero article with nouns denoting names of meals ...... 55 4.5.4. The zero article with names of diseases . . . . . 56 4.5.5. The zero article with names of sciences and school subjects ...... 56 4.5.6. The zero article with names of sports and games ...... 57

4 4.5.7. The zero article with nouns school, college, hospital, etc ...... 57 4.5.8. The zero article with nouns town, space, society . 58 4.6. The zero article with proper names...... 59 4.6.1. The zero article with geographical names . . . . 59 4.6.2. The zero article with miscellaneous proper names ...... 60 4.6.3. The zero article with names of persons ...... 62 4.7. Contextually bound absence of the article . . . . . 63 Chapter 5. Articles with nouns in various syntactic functions . . 64 5.1. Syntactic structure and actual division of a sentence ...... 64 5.2. Articles with nouns in the function of the subject . . 65 5.3. Articles with nouns in the predicative function . . 67 5.4. Articles with nouns in the function of an object . 70 5.5. Articles with nouns in apposition ...... 72 5.6. Articles with nouns used as adverbial modifiers . 73 5.6.1. Articles with nouns used as an adverbial modifier of place ...... 73 5.6.2. Articles with nouns used as an adverbial modifier of time ...... 75 5.6.3. Articles with nouns used as an adverbial modifier of manner ...... 76 5.6.4. Articles with nouns used as an adverbial modifier of comparison ...... 77 5.7. Articles with nouns used as direct address . . . . 77 5.8. Articles with nouns used as parenthesis ...... 78 Exercises to chapter 1. Limiting and descriptive attributes . . 79

Exercises to chapters 2, 3, 4. The indefinite article. The definite article. The zero article ...... 112

Exercises to chapter 5. Articles with nouns in various syntactic functions ...... 177

Bibliography ...... 203

5 От автора Студенты, изучающие английский язык, часто испыты- вают затруднения, решая, где и какой артикль употребить, поскольку в русском языке данное грамматическое явление отсутствует как таковое. Пытаясь избежать этой проблемы, они либо вообще не употребляют никакие артикли с имена- ми существительными, либо заменяют их притяжательны- ми и неопределенными местоимениями. В ряде случаев это помогает, но далеко не всегда. Студенты также говорят, что правила употребления артиклей не кажутся им логичными, и часто жалуются, что в некоторых ситуациях возможен лю- бой из трех вариантов: неопределенный, определенный, ну- левой артикль, и это очень запутывает. Да, варианты возможны. Да, коммуникативных ситуаций великое множество. Да, некоторые правила требуют неод- нократного повторения и, не побоимся этого слова, зазубри- вания. Да, правильное употребление артиклей в английском языке достигается не за один год. Но разве человека, желаю- щего овладеть грамотной литературной и разговорной речью на иностранном языке, могут остановить незначительные трудности на пути к поставленной цели? Конечно, нет! Настоящее пособие предлагает студентам-лингвистам и всем изучающим английский язык реальную помощь в ус- воении основных правил употребления артиклей с различны- ми типами имен существительных, в зависимости от выпол- няемой ими синтаксической функции в предложении. При таком подходе артикль воспринимается не как чужеродная грамматическая единица в структуре высказывания, а как его органическая часть. Два раздела грамматики – морфоло- гия и синтаксис демонстрируют в данном случае свое логич- ное взаимодействие и помогают учащимся сделать правиль- ный выбор. Поскольку наличие определения при имени существитель- ном играет огромную роль в выборе артикля, первая глава пособия представляет подробное описание всех возможных вариантов атрибутивных сочетаний и устанавливает связь между типом определения и постановкой артикля. Функцио- нально-прагматический подход позволяет объяснить, почему тот или иной артикль требуется в конкретной коммуникатив- ной ситуации. В пособии предлагаются основные модели употребления артиклей с именами собственными, включая имена людей, географические названия, названия государственных орга-

6 От автора

низаций и коммерческих структур, вокзалов и аэропортов, учебных заведений разных типов, театров и музеев, газет и журналов, и т. д. При этом все названия, приведенные в ил- люстративных примерах, реальные, существующие в совре- менном английском языке. Большое внимание уделяется употреблению артикля с от- дельными семантическими группами имен существительных, традиционно вызывающими значительные трудности у изу- чающих английский язык. Времена года, части дня, назва- ния приемов пищи, вещества, абстрактные понятия и другие подклассы существительных подробно рассмотрены на стра- ницах этой книги. Упражнения, предлагаемые в настоящем пособии, по сво- ей цели разбиты на три группы: упражнения на первичное закрепление материала (подстановочные и переводные), упражнения на развитие коммуникативных навыков и кон- трольные упражнения, позволяющие систематизировать пройденный материал. Лексико-грамматическое наполне- ние упражнений позволит студентам существенно расширить свой словарный запас. В заключение отметим, что артикль – это способ соотносить предметное понятие с речевой ситуацией, и избирается он каж- дый раз согласно конкретной ситуации общения. При этом существует свод правил, определяющих желательность употребления того или иного артикля в определенных случаях, и настоящее пособие призвано помочь студентам сделать правильный выбор в соответствии с логикой раз- вития дискурса. Автор

7 Chapter 1

The article and the category of determination. Types of attributes

1.1. The Article as a Nominal Determiner Among grammatical categories of the English noun an important place is occupied by the category of determination which requires a compulsory correlation of the noun with a certain determiner – a word that somehow specifi es its contextual meaning. Determiners are placed before a noun to clarify its nominal referent. The word «people» by itself is a general reference to some group of human beings. If someone says «these people», we know which group they are talking about, and if they say «a lot of people» we know how big the group is. Determiners of the noun are represented by articles and some classes of pronouns – indefi nite, demonstrative, possessive, interrogative. In certain contextual situations determiners are interchange- able. Thus to indicate a particular object the defi nite article or the pronoun this / that may be applied. To simply name an object (to single it out of the class of similar objects) we use the indefi nite article, the indefi nite pronouns some / any or the numeral one. The article is the most universal and multifunctional means of determination. The system of English articles includes three grammatical forms. The indefi nite article serves to refer an object to the class of similar objects regardless of its individual features. The indefi - nite article has developed from the numeral one and that is why it mostly occurs before countable nouns in the singular. The defi nite article is used to specify and identify an object. Originating from the O.E. demonstrative pronoun that it occurs before countable and uncountable nouns in the singular or in the plural. The zero article is the meaningful absence of the article which expresses absolute generalization. 1.2. Descriptive and limiting attributes 1.2.1. Types of attributes Since the choice of the article depends in most cases on the context we should take into consideration the types of attributes

8 CHAPTER 1 modifying the noun because they constitute an important part of the contextual situation. There are two classes of attributes: limiting and descriptive. A limiting attribute points out such a quality of an object (a number of objects) which makes it distinct from all other objects of the same class or kind. Nouns modifi ed by limiting attributes are used with the defi nite article in its specifying function. Is this the tin you were looking for? — It was in the very place where you put it, in the shed. He locked the door leading to the hall. A descriptive attribute expresses a characteristic feature of an object or gives some additional information about it. This attribute does not single out an object and does not affect the use of articles; therefore nouns with descriptive attributes may be used with both the indefi nite and the defi nite article. Compare the following: Bart tossed an empty cigarette packet over the rail. On the evening of Labour Day, the empty fi eld near the mills was no longer empty. He had met a young woman at the party, a moving-picture actress. He knew pretty well how to get rid of the young woman clam- oring to be his wife. The above-given examples prove the fact that taken by them- selves most attributes are neutral and only in certain contextual conditions they acquire the descriptive or the limiting force. Attributes are expressed by separate words belonging to different parts of speech, by word combinations or subordinate clauses. Attributes may stand in preposition or in postposition to the noun they modify. The most typical attributes expressed by single words are adjectives, nouns in the common case, nouns in the possessive case, cardinal and ordinal numerals, certain classes of pronouns, and verbals – the infi nitive, the gerund and the participle.

1.2.2. Attributes expressed by adjectives Attributes expressed by adjectives may be either limiting or descriptive which depends solely on the context. Most adjectives are descriptive attributes and thus do not affect the choice of the article which is accounted for by the situation but not by the attribute. The noun modifi ed by one and the same adjective can be used with the indefi nite and the defi nite article:

9 CHAPTER 1

It was a hot summer and the lodging houses were full in Epsom. It was the hot summer of their last meeting. Adjectives in the superlative degree, however, are always limiting attributes. That’s the most difﬁ cult task I’ve ever fulﬁ lled. He’s the best-educated man in our company.

Note 1. When the word most is an adverb of degree (крайне, чрезвычайно, очень) and is used to intensify the meaning of the adjective the whole combination is a descriptive attribute and, consequently, requires the indeﬁ nite article: She is a most lovely girl. It was a most unpleasant talk for all of them.

Note 2. When most precedes the countable noun in the plural or the uncountable noun in the singular and it means the great- est number of (большинство), the word combination is used with the zero article: Most legendary ﬁ gures are remembered long after their time. – Память о большинстве легендарных личностей жива и после их смерти. Most good wine improves with keeping. – В большинстве своем хорошее вино делается с годами лишь лучше.

Note 3. Memorize set phrases a best suit (выходной костюм) and a best seller (ходкая, популярная книга).

There are adjectives in English which almost always serve as limiting attributes due to their semantics: right (тот, который нужен, правильный), wrong, same, only, very, main, principal, left, right (правый), central, following, coming, present, former, latter, last, next. You are the very man I need in such a situation. You might have dialed the wrong number. Are you anxious about the coming events? The only difference in their habits was that he used his fork with the left hand.

Note 4. Adjectives last and next before nouns denoting peri- ods of time (day, night, morning, week, year, etc.) are used with the zero article: I went to the Alps last winter, and I am going there next year too. If the situation refers to the past the adjective next can be used with the deﬁ nite article which is, however, optional:

10 CHAPTER 1

He decided to re-read the play the next day after he had thought about it for twenty-four hours. If the adjectives last and next are followed by the cardinal numeral the article should be deﬁ nite: Find out what happened to my daughter in the last six months.

Note 5. The adjective only is a descriptive attribute and is used with the indeﬁ nite article before nouns child, son, daughter. Are you an only child? He was an only son of wealthy parents and so heir to everything.

Note 6. Adjective pronouns all and whole are considered descriptive attributes. Consequently, the choice of the article depends fully on the context. Thus whole in the meaning of «один» is combined with the indeﬁ nite article but in the meaning of «весь целиком» — with the deﬁ nite article. The wedding feast lasted a whole week (одну неделю). We spent the whole evening playing chess (целый вечер). Adjectives proper, previous, usual, opposite, necessary, lower, upper, so-called, adjacent, alleged etc. may be both limiting and descriptive attributes, though the latter is less frequent. But all the previous criticism of her conduct was as nothing compared with the buzz of gossip that now went through the town. These are just the usual papers. Sometimes the adjective is postpositional to the noun and in this case serves a limiting attribute to it. Postposition is typical of such adjectives as absent, present, proper, and also of some participles: involved, concerned, etc.

Note 7. Memorize the following set phrases with postpositional adjectives. Consider the use of the zero article with the noun: president elect, heir apparent, postmaster general, attorney general, envoy extraordinary, notary public, princess royal, etc.

1.2.3. Attributes expressed by the pronoun other The noun in the singular or in the plural form can be modiﬁ ed by the pronoun other. The deﬁ nite article is used in the following cases: 1) when two similar objects are juxtaposed:

11 CHAPTER 1

My house is on the other side of the street. Have you seen the other glove of mine? 2) when two groups of similar objects are juxtaposed. In this case the combination «other + the noun» has the meaning «the rest, the remaining» (все остальные). If the speaker, however, is not sure whether all the remaining objects are meant the zero article is used. When I came home only two of my friends were there. The other guests had already left. Some people like plain chocolate, other people prefer bon- bons.

The indeﬁ nite article is spelt as one word with the pronoun other and has the following meanings: different from the one meant (другой): The dress is too tight on you, try another one. You are too good a specialist for this job. You should ﬁ nd another one. one more of the same kind, additional (еще один): Would you have another drink? I waited for another moment and then clapped the door open.

Note 1. The same rule works when other is used as a noun pronoun. She has two sons: one goes to school and the other is still a baby. If this pen won’t write, try another. That may be your opinion but the others think differently. You should consider their point of view. Some people were sure he had died, others thought that he had left the country.

1.2.4. Attributes expressed by numerals Cardinal numerals are always descriptive attributes and thus the noun is used with the zero article. Two boys came running along the street. She put three spoonfuls of sugar into a second cup of tea. The use of the deﬁ nite article in such word combinations depends solely on the context, namely on the fact if the object is already mentioned or if it has a limiting attribute. Everything they had done in the three weeks since they had come back brought him disappointment only.

12 CHAPTER 1

She lay awake watching the two girls chatting to each other in lowered voices. For the fi rst two days of the fi ve, she was in a state of shock. Ordinal numerals are usually limiting attributes. For the fi rst time I saw him uncertain and worried. But on the fi fth day he took the car to the third fl oor, stepped out and never came back.

Note 1. The noun is used with the zero article when the ordinal numeral follows it: He put volume one of the novel back into the bookcase. Turn to page sixty-two to check your results. The meeting is held in Room four.

Note 2. The ordinal numeral in the meaning «one more», «another» requires the indeﬁ nite article: He knew he should have a third try. He had to look a second time to be sure that she was not in truth a shadow.

Note 3. Memorize the following set phrases: a fi rst night, a fi rst (second, third) prize, a second breath, a fi fth wheel. Has it slipped your memory that I’ve got a fi rst night to- night? Everyone seemed to have a specifi c role except me. I felt like a fi fth wheel.

Most idiomatic expressions of adverbial character are used with the zero article: (at) ﬁ rst hand, at ﬁ rst sight, on second thought, second to none, in seventh heaven, etc.

1.2.5. Attributes expressed by nouns in the common case Attributes expressed by nouns in the common case are usually descriptive and thus the indeﬁ nite article is required. There was a telephone line running along the road. He leaned the sacks one on each side of a tree trunk. How much do you pay for a music lesson? The use of the deﬁ nite article is generally due to the context. Sometimes it is affected by the semantics of the noun which is a proper name. He called the observation post but no one answered.

13 CHAPTER 1

He came up the street bank by the Dawson barracks with shivering heart and shaking knees. «He might have been given the Nobel Prize at one time», the man in the taxi thought.

1.2.6. Attributes expressed by nouns in the possessive case If the attribute is expressed by the noun in the possessive case the choice of the article usually depends on this noun. When it signiﬁ es «belonging» the noun in the possessive case always precedes other modiﬁ ers to the head noun. The article with the noun in the possessive case (N’n) per- forms the following functions: 1) specifying function. In this case the article refers to a particular person or object and is used according to the general rules. The woman wanted to know what Basil thought of the boy’s character. The greenish yellow of the sun’s last light still lingered in the west. Note 1. The zero article is used when the noun in the possessive case is a proper name or a substantivized adverb. Aunt Pitty’s apprehensions quieted when she saw that Rhett was on his best behaviour. I haven’t read today’s newspapers yet.

2) classifying or generic function. In this case the article refers to a whole class of similar objects and may be both defi nite (generic meaning) and indefi nite (classifying meaning). It’s beneath a man’s dignity to listen and give importance to rumours. He would abandon a hero’s or a martyr’s end gladly. He justly said no one knew better than he the hardship of the author’s trade. He began to experience the almost forgotten feeling that has- tens the lover’s feet. In certain cases the article refers to the head noun (N’n) and the noun in the possessive case serves as a descriptive attribute to it. The indefi nite article is used with the head noun in the singular form, while the zero article precedes the noun in the plural form or the uncountable noun. They found on the dressing-table an unpaid dressmaker’s bill.

14 CHAPTER 1

She was ashamed to ask the girl to do servant’s work. I suppose two ﬁ fteen minutes’ breaks will be enough.

1.2.7. Attributes expressed by participles The attribute may be expressed by the present or the past form of the participle. Participles are both limiting and descriptive attributes depending solely on the context and they can either precede or follow the noun. In postposition we usually fi nd participial phrases rather than single participles. He felt like a child brought to his fi rst school. The knot tightening my lungs held for another second and then loosened. What would he do with the remaining years? She wore a fur-trimmed gray coat. However some participles that are used only in postposition always serve as limiting attributes and, consequently, the noun requires the defi nite article. All the people concerned voted against his project.

1.2.8. Attributes expressed by the infinitive Attributes expressed by the infi nitive are usually descriptive and require the indefi nite or the zero article. I hardly suppressed an intention to laugh. Have you got questions to ask? Is there a place nearby for us to talk quietly? The use of the defi nite article is always contextually bound. However, that is not the point to discuss. I tried to breathe, but the effort to inhale knotted my chest even tighter.

1.2.9. Attributes expressed by the gerund The gerund used attributively may either precede or follow the head noun. The gerund preceding the noun doesn’t require a preposition and has a general meaning of purpose or function thus differ- ing from the participle which denotes an action performed by the noun. The gerund in this case is a descriptive attribute and the choice of the article depends solely on the context. Is there a swimming pool nearby? It’s nice to have a swim on such a hot day. The swimming pool doesn’t cost all the money you’ve inves- ted in its construction.

15 CHAPTER 1

Note. The following combinations of the gerund and the noun are most commonly used: a walking stick, walking shoes, an amusing story, a swimming pool, a dancing hall, a publishing house, a booking ofﬁ ce, closing time, revolving doors, a working method, etc.

The gerund following the noun usually requires a preposition. The use of the gerund in this case is lexically restricted since it can be combined with a limited number of abstract nouns whose meanings are ampliﬁ ed or made more precise by the gerund. The choice of the article depends on the context as the gerund is a descriptive attribute here. The most frequent is the combination with the preposition of; there are about one hundred ﬁ fty nouns that follow the pattern Noun + of + Gerund. I don’t want you to make a habit of coming late. The prospect of travelling with those people made me regret my hasty decision. He plunged into this business in the wild hope of making a fortune. All of us experienced a strange feeling of being cheated. The gerund as a descriptive attribute may be combined with other prepositions such as for, in, at, about, to. I have a real passion for dancing. He felt natural irritation at being disturbed so early in the morning.

1.2.10. Attributes expressed by prepositional nominal phrases Nouns used attributively are combined with various prepositions. Due to the context prepositional phrases may be both descriptive and limiting attributes. The most common attributive phrases are combinations with the preposition of whose descriptive or limiting status depends on the meaning of their constituents. The indeﬁ nite article is used with the head noun if a nominal of-phrase is a descriptive attribute and has the following meanings: 1. quality or characteristics of an object: a question of importance, a feeling of disappointment, a picture of a friend, a sigh of relief; 2. measure: a distance of twenty miles, a weight of ﬁ ve pounds, a temperature of 25 C;

16 CHAPTER 1

3. size: a man of medium height, a manor of great size; 4. age: a girl of twelve, a woman of middle age; 5. origin: a native of Scotland, a descendant of a rich family; 6. material: a vase of crystal, a coat of wool, a chain of gold, a house of bricks; 7. composition: a crowd of people, a herd of deer, a bunch of roses, a fl ight of steps, a pile of books; 8. a container with its contents: a pot of coffee, a glass of beer, a box of chocolates, a packet of cigarettes; 9. a certain quantity of a substance: a grain of rice, a lump of sugar, a bar of chocolate, a slice of bread; 10. comparison: a gem of a housekeeper, a devil of a child, a peach of a girl; 11. two similar objects or an object consisting of two uniform parts: a pair of gloves, a couple of sweets; 12. in a construction «the Double Genitive»: a son of my friends’, an opera of Mozart’s. The noun in the above-given cases is combined with the indefi nite article. The use of the defi nite article is always depend- ent on the context. Jess and I have been talking about the possibility of his going back into production one of these days. All other of-phrases are limiting attributes which express the unique objects / notions, render the meaning of belonging or give a more precise defi nition to the noun. Consequently, the noun is used with the defi nite article.

Note. Memorize some typical of-phrases in the function of identiﬁ cation: the wife of a doctor, the manager of a ﬁ rm, the po- sition of a teacher, the name of Peter, the city of Moscow, the foot of the mountain, the bank of the river, the shadow of a tree, the shot of a gun, the face of a girl, the use of articles, the invention of a wheel, etc.

The head noun in such combinations may be used with both the defi nite and the indefi nite article. If the referent of the noun is the only bearer of a property expressed by the of-phrase it is used with the defi nite article: the monitor of the group, the murderer of John Lennon, the president of the club. The indefi nite article with the head noun underlines the idea that several objects or notions have the ascribed property: a member of the club, a student of the group.

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Both articles may occur when the head noun refers to a part of an object and the number of these parts is semantically limited: the (a) leg of the table, the (a) wheel of the car, the (a) paw of the cat.

1.2.11.Attributes expressed by subordinate clauses Attributive subordinate clauses are both descriptive and limiting attributes. Two basic types of attributive clauses should be distinguished: а) subordinate clauses which are semantically alienated from the head noun and thus can be easily detached and transformed into separate sentences. In oral speech they are marked by a pause, in written speech they are sometimes (not obligatorily) marked by a comma that separates them from the principal clause. These clauses are called non-defi ning, they are always descriptive and, consequently, don’t affect the choice of the article before the antecedent. The use of the article in this case is determined by the context or by the other attributes modifying the noun. Men have always wanted a personal God to whom they can turn in distress for comfort and encouragement. She was offered a cigarette that she refused with indignation. People who live in glass houses should not throw stones. She gave the man, who was sitting in the chair by the win- dow, an indifferent glance. в) subordinate clauses whose semantic connection with the antecedent is so tight that they cannot be removed from the sentence or else the whole structure is violated. They are joined to the principal clause either asyndetically or by a certain connec- tor. Attributive clauses of this type are called defi ning and they may be both descriptive and limiting attributes depending on the context. When the attributive clause is descriptive the indefi nite article is used with the antecedent He wasn’t a man she could fall in love with. Is this the book you’ve been looking for? She had an opportunity that may be offered to very few of us. He didn’t look at the man he was speaking of. A special type of attributive clauses – appositive clauses are usually limiting attributes, though in certain contextual conditions (in fi ction, mostly) the antecedent is used with the indefi - nite article. Appositive clauses disclose the essence of the head noun and as a rule they are combined with abstract notions feeling, idea, hope, thought, impression, fact, sense, etc.

18 Юлия Михайловна Сергеева

English Articles in Use Артикли: объяснение, употребление, тренинг

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