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Unit 1
The Article
General Notion
The article is a structural part of speech used as a determiner with nouns. Since there are no articles in our native languages sometimes it is difficult to understand the rules of their usage. Why there is no article in Ukrainian or Russian? Because these languages are synthetic ones. We can easily determine any part of speech regarding their inflexions: рука, людина, вікно, лагідний, добре, працювати.
In English however, words of different parts of speech can be grammatically homonymous: a work – to work, a play – to play, so we need an article to determine the noun.
Moreover, in Ukrainian, there is no fixed word-order. It is possible to say: Вчора вчитель пояснював учням нову тему. або Вчитель пояснював нову тему учням вчора. In English it would be of fixed order. Yesterday the teacher explained the pupils a new topic.
While comparing these examples we can speak about something already known to the hearer (the theme) and something new (the rheme). The nouns which appear in the sentence as the theme are usually used with the definite article, and the nouns which are considered as the rheme are usually used with the indefinite article.
Peter has a cat. (Rheme)
The cat is black. (Theme)
As we see there are two articles in Modern English: the indefinite article and the definite article.
The indefinite article has the forms a and an.
· The form a is used before words beginning with a consonant sound:
a book, a pen, a student
· Some words start with a vowel letter but begin with a consonant sound, so we use a before these words, too: a university (/ə ju:nI"v3:sItI/), a European (/ə jU@r@"pI@n/), a one-parent family (/ə "wVn "pe@r@nt/)
· Abbreviations said as words are also used with the form a: a NATO general, a FIFA official
· The form an is used before words beginning with a vowel sound: an opera, an apple. These include words that begin with a silent letter “h”: an hour, an honest child; and abbreviations said as individual letters that begin with A, E, F, H, I, L, M, N, O, R, S or X: an MP, an FBI, an IOU
The article is pronounced / @ /, / @n /; when stressed it is pronounced / eI /, / {n /.
The definite article has one graphic form the, which is pronounced in two ways: / Di/ before a vowel sound and / D@ / before a consonant sound.
The indefinite article has developed from the Old English numeral an (one), and as a result of its origin it is used only with nouns in the singular. The definite article has developed from the Old English demonstrative pronoun and in some cases it has preserved this demonstrative meaning in Modern English. The use of the definite article shows that a particular object is meant.
These two articles are related to other determiners in the following way: the = this, that, the same; a (an) = some, any, such.
The absence of articles (sometimes called “zero” article) with class nouns in the plural, with abstract nouns and nouns of material has grammatical significance: it shows that the nouns are used in a general sense.
Practice
Exercise 1. Put the numbers in the sentences below into the correct row according to the pronunciation of “the”. The first one has been done for you.
/ðə/: _______________________________
/ði /: _1______________________________
Get the (1) address from the (2) post-office.
Only the (3) other afternoon, climbing up from the (4) Underground, I found the (5) staircase barred.
Compare that to the (6) UK figure of about 1000 deaths.
The (7) porter at the (8) door looked a shade bleak.
He is now the (9) enemy of God as well the (10) opponent of man.
The (11) ruse is basically the (12) same as the (13) one used by Odysseus.
They lived only five minutes from the (14) university.
Exercise 2. Complete these sentences by putting “a” or “an” in the spaces provided.
1. It is always fatal to ask _____ expert. 2. Secretive as _____ boy of six, secretive as _____ old man of seventy. 3. _____ brilliant young woman with _____ M.A. degree. 4. She dislikes him as _____ being, as _____ creature. 5. I prefer management on _____ one-to-one basis. 6. _____ hour _____ day would be enough.
Exercise 3. Put the following words or phrases in the correct category according to their initial sound. The first one has been done for you. When you have finished, practise saying them together with “a”, “an”, and “the”.
| arm BBC ear eye FBI agent finger | hand head honest man honour leg MP | neck nose one-man band toe ugly man UK | umbrella uncle uniform unit university useful idea |
Pronounced with an initial consonant sound; use “the” / D@ / or “a” / @ /: ______________________________________________________
Pronounced with an initial vowel sound; use “the” /Di / or “an” /@n /: _ arm_ ________________________________________________________
Exercise 4. Write “a” or “an” in the spaces.
| 1. ____unreasonable decision 2. ____ unit of work 3. ____honorable man 4. ____UFO 5. ____happy girl 6. ____ elephant 7. ____ BBC programme | 8. ____ universal problem 9. ____ eucalyptus tree 10. ____ X- ray 11. ____ T- shirt 12.____ H- bomb 13. ____ hospital 14. ____ UNESCO worker |
Unit 2
The Use of the Indefinite Article with Class Nouns
Class nouns are used with the indefinite article:
1. When the speaker mentions a noun (which is countable) for the first time:
For lunch I had a sandwich and an apple.
It is also used in sentences beginning with “there is/was”:
There is a newspaper on the table.
2. When the speaker presents the object expressed by the noun as belonging to a certain class. In this case the indefinite article has the meaning of “який-небудь”, “якийсь”, “один” (in the meaning of “деякий”):
A lady is calling you up, sir.
This is the nominating meaning as we give a name to an object we have in mind:
A man and a woman sat opposite us, but they did not talk.
We saw a house with a lawn in front of it.
When we want to emphasize that we can’t say exactly which person or thing we are talking about because we don’t know or can’t remember, we can use some instead of a/an with a singular noun:
I was asked a really difficult question by some student.
In the plural no article is used in this case. But if the idea of number is implied in the case of the nominating meaning plural nouns may be preceded by words like some, several, a few or by a numeral:
Two (some) men and two (a few) women sat opposite us
I liked the room because there were flowers in it.
"I have brought you some flowers..."
We sometimes use some or zero article with very little difference in meaning:
“Where were you last week?” “I was visiting (some) friends. ” It makes no difference whether we are referring to particular friends (with some) or friends in general (with zero article)
3. With a predicative noun, when the speaker states that the object denoted by the noun belongs to a certain class (it is one of a class and has the meaning of “один з багатьох”):
Miss Sharp's father was an artist.
My husband is a sailor.
Tom is a very nice person.
This may be called the classifying meaning:
Her brother was a student at Balliol College.
His aunt, a woman of uncertain age, was also present at the ceremony.
In the plural neither the article nor the pronoun some is used:
Her brothers were students at Balliol College.
They are good children, no doubt.
After the conjunction as a predicative noun is often used without an article:
She was engaged as governess.
4. When the noun is used in a general sense. What is said of one representative of a class can be applied to all the representatives of the class. The article has the meaning of “ every”:
A good dog deserves a good bone.
A drowning man catches at a straw.
An actor must learn to live with criticism.
This is the generalizing meaning the indefinite article. It indicates that the following noun denotes a typical member of a class:
A cat is a domestic animal. (= Every cat is a domestic animal.)
A tiger is dangerous. (= Every tiger is dangerous.)
Plural nouns in the generalizing meaning are used without any articles:
Cats are domestic animals. Tigers are dangerous.
This use is common in explanations of meanings and in some dictionary definitions:
In grammar, a noun is a word which is used to refer to a person, a thing, or an abstract idea.
Note 1. You cannot use this pattern when you want to talk about the location or existence of a type of animal, thing or person; for example, you cannot say: “ A ring-tailed lemur lives in Madagascar”; you would have to say “Ring-tailed lemurs live in Madagascar”.
Note 2. “Any” sometimes has a similar but more emphatic meaning:
The greatest threat to any actor is the presumption that knowledge can be automatically transposed into experience.
5. There are cases when the indefinite article preserves its old original meaning of “one”:
He had hardly spoken a word.
In such cases we can speak of the numeric meaning of the indefinite article:
An hour in the morning is worth two in the evening.
This meaning is generally found with:
· nouns denoting time, measure and weight:
A week or two passed.
"I'll overtake you in a minute," said Godfrey.
· in certain expressions of quantity:
a lot of, a couple, a great many, etc.
· in the pattern a…of with possessives, as in:
She’s a colleague of mine.
That’s a friend of Bill’s
· after a negative not:
not a word, not a thought, etc.
· in some set-phrases: one at a time, at a draught
· the numerals hundred, thousand, million and the nouns dozen, score:
My new car cost a thousand pounds.
· in expressions of price, speed, ratio etc.:
| 5p a kilo 10p a dozen | four times a day 60 kilometers an hour (a, an = per) |
Sometimes we can use either a/an or one:
We’ll be in Australia for one (or a) year.
Wait here for one (or a) minute and I’ll be with you.
Using one gives a little more emphasis to the number. However, we use one rather than a/an if we want to emphasize that we are talking about only one person or thing rather than two or more:
Do you want one sandwich or more?
Are you staying just one night?
With nouns in the plural some is used:
Oliver's sobs checked his utterance for some minutes.
Note 1. We use one, not a/an in the pattern one…other/ another:
Close one eye, and then the other.
Bees carry pollen from one plant to another.
Note 2. We use one with the words day, week, month, year, night, winter, etc. or with specific day or month to say when something happened usually in narration to mean a particular, but unspecified day, evening, winter, etc.:
One summer, the family decided to go to the Crimea.
We can use one day to refer to the future:
One day, you will regret this.
6. Before singular countable nouns after such and in exclamations after what:
What a lovely day today!
It’s such an interesting idea, isn’t it?
But: What pretty girls!
7. Nouns with the indefinite article are used after quite and rather:
It’s quite a long story and not a nice one.
He was rather a curious man to look at.
Sometimes quite and rather can be placed after the indefinite article (especially in AmE):
He is a rather clever man.
It’s a quite important problem.
8. Nouns with the indefinite article follow many (the verb is used in the singular):
Many a true word is spoken in jest.
Many an evening he sat staring at the fire.
9. So, as, too, how, however followed by an adjective precede nouns with the indefinite article:
Youth lasts so short a time.
You have too modest an opinion of yourself.
I can’t miss the chance, however big a risk to run.
How honest a man is he?
10. The indefinite article is also used in various descriptions:
He’s got a long face and a turned up nose.
Practice
Exercise 1. Determine the meaning of the indefinite article in the following sentences. Translate into Ukrainian, rendering the meaning of the indefinite article where possible.
1. But I dare say you don't remember an old woman like me? 2. After a pause, Lord Henry pulled out his watch. 3. She glanced at Peter and saw that a tear was trickling down his nose. 4. A voice replied, telling him to keep out of the moonlight. 5. Why is it a girl who has to be so silly to catch a husband? 6. I remember now, I thought I felt a bone, and I swallowed a large mouthful of bread to send it down. 7. A traveller must be able to walk long distances. 8. He had met a young woman at a party, named May Macy, a moving-picture actress. 9. Bart tossed an empty cigarette packet over the rail, his mouth hard, his eyes shadowed. 10. Not a word was spoken, not a sound was made. 11. A fighter is supposed to get beaten up, isn't he? 12. He hesitated a moment at the door and tapped on it. 13. The girl had started through a door to an inner office. 14. Can a bird fly faster than an aeroplane? 15. Bill had just finished an all-afternoon conference with a media representative. 16. Edward left his employment with them nearly a year ago. 17. A week or two passed, but he hadn't got a job. 18. It is dark here and I cannot see what you have brought; is it a book or a magazine? 19. I meant I was a youthful thing and unimportant, and that there was no need to include me in the conversation. 20. Sally's seed of her future soul was her love for her mother, an aged bedridden woman.
Exercise 2. Insert a/an, some or any where necessary.
1. ____ letter of or to ____ soldier can be sent without ____ stamp. 2. ____ drug-store in the USA and Canada is ____ shop where one can get not only ____ medicines but also ____ drinks and snacks. 3. ____ days passed, but there weren’t ____ signs of ____ change coming. 4. There remained ____ toast, ____ rolls, and ____ bun on the plate. 5. Shall I treat you to ____ apple or ____ pear? – I always prefer ____ apples to ____pears. 6. Give me ____ nail. I bought ____ picture and want to have it fixed. 7. The other day I spoke to ____ geologists who told me that ____ new deposit of diamonds had been found in this region. 8. ____ man’s jacket usually has ____ breast pocket. 9. I expect to get ____ letter from them in two weeks. 10. When ____ tankmen return from the army to their native village they very often become ____ drivers or ____ mechanics.
Exercise 3. Correct the sentences if necessary or put a/an. Mark sentences in which both one and a/an are possible.
1. I teach four days one week. 2. Jenny’s baby is only one week old. 3. Have you got one match, please? 4. You won’t believe this, but it cost over one thousand pounds. 5. One summer, we must visit Sweden again. 6. They cost $10 one kilo. 7. I’ve known him for one year or so. 8. She’s already written one novel since she retired. 9. Help! There is one mouse in the cupboard! 10. She’s one cousin of the king’s. 11. When you get to my age, you just take one day at a time. 12. Cross-country skiing is easy. Just put one foot in front of the other. 13. Can I have one little more rice? 14. One large quantity of petrol escaped from the tank. 15. We hadn’t got one baseball bat, so we had to use one tennis racket. 16. I had one last look around the house, locked the door and left.
Exercise 4. Which is correct or more likely, a/an or one? If both a/an and one are possible, write them both.
1. It weights over _____ hundred kilos. 2. I only asked for _____ pizza – I didn’t want three of them. 3. I wouldn’t allow _____ child of mine to be treated in that way. 4. It only took us _____ week to drive to Greece. 5. I’ve always wanted to own _____ silver-coloured car. 6. _____ sandwich isn’t enough. I usually eat four or five. 7. Policies differ from _____ state to another. 8. Less than three quarters of _____ hour later, she was at home. 9. All of the competitors completed the race, with just _____ exception. 10. She left home late _____ morning and hasn’t been seen since. 11. The best way to learn _____ musical instrument is to find _____ enthusiastic teacher. 12. Somewhere in the distance, _____ bell rang.
Exercise 5. Work out these simple problems.
1. The plane flew 1.800 miles in three hours at a speed of ____________.
2. The plums were __________________, so I bought two kilos for 80p.
3. His annual salary is $ 30.000, so he earns __________________.
4. The meetings are held _______________, every Monday and Thursday.
5. A five-day forty-hour working week means on average ___________.
6. We traveled twenty kilometers in fifteen minutes, so our speed was _________.
Exercise 6.Look at the noun groups underlined in the sentences below. Where you think the speaker or writer is familiar with the items referred to, complete the sentences by putting “it” in the spaces provided. Where you think the writer or reader is not familiar with the items referred to, put “one”.
1. I'm looking for an atlas. Do you know where I can get ______?
2. I've lost a button. I don't suppose I'll ever find _______.
3. Our son wants a bicycle but I don't think he should have _______ yet.
4. “Here's a hundred pounds. ” – “Thanks, but I won't need _______ “
5. I bought a new television last week but my wife doesn't like _______.
6. “Would you like a beer?” – “Yes. I'd love _______”
7. She wants a new car but he says they don't need _______.
Exercises 7. Look at these sentences. Decide if you can replace “one” with “a ” without changing the meaning, putting “yes” or “no” in the spaces provided.
1. It measured one quarter of an inch. ______
2. The distance is one kilometre, four hundred metres. ______
3. 5110; that's five thousand, one hundred and ten. ______
4. He drank one coffee and two orange juices. ______
5. There's only one thing we need now. ______
Now, with these sentences, decide if you can replace “a” with “one”.
1. I only asked for half a kilo. ______
2. He works eighty hours a week. ______
3. The river is a mile wide. ______
4. That seems a good idea. ______
5. A millimetre is a thousandth of a metre. ______ ______ ______
Exercise 8. Change into sentences with “what” and “such”. Insert article where necessary.
Example: Mary, is, pretty girl.
What a pretty girl Mary is.
Mary is such a pretty girl.
1. She, is, good cook.
2. She, has, expensive furniture.
3. We, are having, fine weather.
4. This, is, hot climate.
5. It, is, cold day.
6. They, are gathering, useless information.
7. This car, has, powerful motor.
8. She, has, long eyelashes.
9. They, are, helpless people.
10. This, is, fancy restaurant.
Exercise 9. Give examples of interrogative and exclamatory sentences beginning with what, following the model. Pay attention to the order of words.
Model:
| What | awful heat! a fine day! an intricate piece of machinery! a pleasant-looking young girl! wretched weather! |
| What | article is it? sort of man is he? kind of hooks do you like? kind of work were you offered? |
Exercise 10. Make up sentences with the following words. Pay attention to the place of article.
1. Beautiful picture, so, I, have never seen.
2. Difficult question, too, is, this.
3. Puzzling question, is, it, rather.
4. Rather, is, long story, it.
5. Poem, by Robert Burns, many, set to music, is.
6. Have never read, interesting book, I, so.
7. Such, have never read, interesting book, I.
8. Too, is, short string, this.
9. Is, quite, little room, it.
10. Many, of this specialist, article, in magazines, was published.
11. Ordinary thing, is, quite, it.
Exercise 11. Explain why the indefinite article is used with one and the same noun repeated several times in the following extracts.
Jack: Lady Bracknell, I hate to seem inquisitive, but would you kindly inform me who I am?
Lady Bracknell: You are the son of my poor sister, Mrs. Monscriff, and consequently Algernon's elder brother.
Jack: Algy's elder brother. Then I have a brother after all! I knew I had a brother! I always said I had a brother. Cecily — how could you have ever doubted that I had a brother! Algy, you young scoundrel, you have never behaved to me like a brother in all your life.
Exercise 12. Translate the following sentences into English.
1. Містер Твістер ніколи не виходив з дому без калош та парасольки. 2. У маленькій кімнаті книжкова полиця зручніша, ніж шафа. 3. Нещодавно я познайомився з одним моряком; він щойно повернувся з навколосвітньої подорожі. 4. Він любить пити не з чашки, а тільки зі склянки. 5. У морському параді взяли участь підводні човни й авіаносець. 6. Я не палю сигари. Не могли б ви пригостити мене цигаркою. 7. Не проїхали ми й кілометру, як щось трапилося з колесом. 8. Ви можете дати мені почитати якийсь журнал? – В мене є зараз журнали, але не думаю, що вони вас зацікавлять. 9. Скільки людей може вмістити такий зал, як цей? 10. Така проблема має вас зацікавити. 11. Мені потрібно купити поштову марку. 12. Це була висока біла будівля. Позаду будівлі розташовувався великий сад. 13. Вона не промовила ні слова у відповідь. 14. Фіалка не пахне так солодко, як конвалія. 15. Ти купив яблуко дитині? 16. Вона зробила крок назустріч йому. 17. Вона була досить молодою жінкою і такою привабливою. 18. Це дуже важка для тебе гра. 19. В цій книжці є цілком докладний опис подій. 20. Ти навчаєшся в такій видатній школі. 21. Багато цікавих питань було обговорено під час зустрічі.
Exercise 13. Translate the following sentences into English.
1. Час зробити перерву та перекусити. – Гарна думка! 2. Якщо хочеш зробити доповідь англійською мовою, тобі потрібен словник. 3. Мій друг – гід. Він дуже гарний перекладач. 4. Я не начальник, я звичайний службовець. 5. Дочка моєї сестри дуже мила дитина. 6. Він відомий критик. Між іншим, він ще і не поганий письменник. 7. Коли я була дитиною, в нашому домі завжди була тварина. 8. Це було велике місто. Це було дуже сучасне місто. 9. Хью – розумний хлопчик. До того ж він дуже ввічлива дитина. 10. У Стівена є друг в Америці і дядько в Австралії. 11. Вчора я написав листа і пішов гуляти. 12. Я не можу піти з тобою на прогулянку. В мене побачення. 13. В неї ангельське обличчя і приємний голос. 14. Мері не була привабливою дитиною. В неї було худе сердите обличчя і рідке світле волосся. 15. Це дуже гарне питання. Ти завжди ставиш розумні питання. 16. Півтора року досить, щоб закінчити цю роботу. 17. Лікар має бути добрим, уважним та знаючим. 18. Бібліотека – це установа, де можна взяти книжки на тиждень, або навіть на місяць. 19. Ніколи раніше я не зустрічав такої доброї людини. 20. Яка велика кімната! Які зручні меблі!
Unit 3
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