Special difficulties in the use of articles

· nouns day, night, morning, evening.

WITHOUT ARTICLE	A/AN	THE
· if day and morning = 'light'; night and evening= 'darkness' an night and eveningmean 'darkness' Day is meant for work, night for sleep. · day, at night, from morning till night.It is easier to work by day than at night. · the nouns morning and evening are modified by the adjectives early and late. It was early morning.	· the noun is modified by a descriptive attribute. I spent a sleepless night.	· the nouns are modified by a particularizing attribute or when the situation makes them definite. He will never forget the day when he met her. · in the morning · in the afternoon · in the evening.

· names of seasons.
1) without articles if they show a certain time of the year (It was spring. I like spring) and modified with early and late
2) with definite article - modified by a particularizing attribute or when the situation makes them definite. It happened in the spring of 1930. The spring was cold and rainy.

· 3) the indefinite article is used when these nouns are modified by a descriptive attribute. It was a cold spring.

· school, college, bed, prison, Jail, church, town, university

1) When these nouns denote concrete objects the articles are used according to the general principle. The school was large and light. A new hospital was built last year. I live in a small town.

2) When they lose their concrete meaning and express the purpose for which the objects denoted by these nouns serve, no article is used.
school - учеба I go to School №4.

hospital - лечение She was taken to hospital.

bed - сон или болезнь It's time for you to go to bed.

prison - заключение He was sent to prison.

church - вера/молиться She is very religious and goes to church.

town - городская местность I'll go to town tomorrow.

· The names of meals

· Names of meals are used without articles. When did you have dinner? Is dinner ready?

· The definite article is used when the nouns are modified by a particularizing attribute or when the situation makes them definite.
The dinner we had today was very substantial.

· The indefinite article is used if the name of a meal is modif'ied by a descriptive attribute. After a hearty breakfast the four gentlemen sallied forth to walk to Gravesend

· The names of languages.
Names of languages when they are not followed by the noun language are used without articles: She knows English (but she knows the English language).

Note the peculiar use of the definite article in: (!) It is a translation from the English (the French etc.), (2) What is the English (the French etc.) for 'сосна'?
The definite article is used if the noun is modified by a particularizing attribute: The English of America differs from the English of England.

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