ARTICLES – A FEW TIPS
For the non-native speaker of English complete mastery of the articles a / an and the generally comes last of all. Nonetheless, the great majority of mistakes could be avoided by keeping in mind a few basic points. Some of the following will be more familiar than others:
I COUNTABLES AND UNCOUNTABLES
a. Is the word countable? If it is countable, it generally takes an article when the word is in the singular:
‘The cat was asleep on the mat.’
‘ A cat was asleep on a mat.’
Here both cat and mat are countable
A/ an can only be used with singular countable nouns (a cat).
A/an = ‘one’ or ‘any’
‘ When I went out , I saw a lady walking with a huge dog.’
‘ We live in a small house.’
‘ I’ve got an idea.’
‘ You had better call an ambulance.’ (any ambulance will do)
‘ How can we best evaluate a politician?’ (any politician)
A/an cannot be used with the plurals.
‘ I am afraid of spiders. (Not: ………a spiders.)
‘ She was wearing blue trousers. (Not: …….a blue trousers)
A/an cannot be used with uncountable words (these are things that we can divide but not count: ‘a bottle of water’, but not ‘one water’.
SO: Plural nouns and uncountable nouns can be used with no article (cats, water), but singular countable nouns cannot!!!!!!!!!
The plural of ‘a’/’an’ is nothing (‘zero’)
Compare the following sentences:
a. A gifted sportsman may be compared to an artist.
b. Gifted sportsmen may be compared to artists.
II. TALKING ABOUT THINGS IN GENERAL (GENERALISATIONS)
When we talk about things in general (e.g. all music, or all literature), we usually use a plural or uncountable noun with no article.
Carrots are my favourite vegetable.
I love music, poetry and art.
A singular noun can also be used to talk about things in general, but it may sound highly sententious (moralizatorski)
Compare the following alternatives:
1a. A portable telephone is within everyone’s easy reach.
1b. Portable telephones are within everyone’s easy reach.
2a. A small child is very impressionable. (podatny na wpływy, łatwowierny).
2b. Small children are very impressionable.
When we use an article with the plural or uncountable noun, the meaning is not general, but particular. Compare:
‘I like cars, girls, food and drink.’ (I like them all)
‘The cars in that garage belong to the girls who live next door. (Particular cars and girls)
‘ She loves life.’ (in general)
‘ She is studying the life of Chopin. (A particular life).
‘ Books are expensive’ (All books)
‘ Move the books off the chair and sit down. (Particular books).
Note that ‘society’ is usually used without an article when it means ‘the society that we live in”, and ‘space’ has no article when it means ‘the empty space between the stars’.
‘ Society turns people into criminals and then locks them up.’
‘ Man has just taken his first steps into space.
‘Most’ (when it means ‘the majority of”) is used without an article.
‘ Most birds can fly” (Not: The most birds, and not: Most of the birds)
However, when ‘most’ is used as a pronoun, it can be used before another determiner.
‘ I have eaten most of the salad.’
‘ I am happy most of the time.’
‘ Most of the people I know are good.’
Some expressions are ‘half-general’ – in the middle between general and particular. If we talk about ‘eighteenth-century music’ or ‘poverty in Britain’, we are not talking about all music or all poverty, but they are still rather general ideas (compared with ‘the music we heard last night’ or ‘ the poverty I grew up in’). In these ‘half-general’ expressions, we usually use no article. However, articles are often used when the noun is followed by ‘of’. Compare:
eigtheenth-century art the art of the eigteenth century
African butterflies the butterflies of Africa
III. ‘BACK-POINTING’ THE
The often takes up what has already been mentioned:
‘When I went out, I saw a lady walking a huge dog. The lady was frail
and elderly and the dog seemed very much in charge.’
IV. The ……. of ……
If the word ‘of’ occurs anywhere, then there is an especially great likelihood that it will be preceded by ‘the’:
Contrast the following sentences:
1a. Reality is often depressing.
1b. The reality of daily life is often depressing.
2a. Success generally requires much effort.
2b. The success of the enterprise depends on you.
3a. British history spans many centuries.
3b. The history of Britain spans many centuries.
This patern may also extend to proper nouns:
4a. Rome is built on seven hills.
4b. The Rome of the Caesars was built of marble.
5a. Alexander died at the age of 32.
5b. The Alexander of medieval legend is very different from the historical Alexander.
V. TALKING ABOUT PARTICULAR THINGS. The difference between ‘a’ and ‘the’.
When we talk talk about particular things (not things in general), there is an important difference between the articles.
‘Shut the door!’ ( It’s obvious which one – there is only one open.)
‘ I had trouble with the car this morning. (I mean my car, of course)
‘ How did you like the film? (The listener knows which film is meant)
‘ Those are the girls who live next door. (The end of the sentence makes it clear which girls are meant)
Things can be particular (not general), but ‘indefinite”. If we say “Pass me a piece of bread” or “Let me buy you a drink’, the piece of bread or the drink are not definite – it could be any one of several pieces of bread, any one of several kinds of drink. If we say ‘ I met a friend of yours yesterday”, it could also be any one of several- the listener doesn’t know which one. In cases like these, we do not use ‘the’. With singular countable nouns, we use ‘a/an’.
.
‘ I’ve lost a button’
‘ Shall we go and see a film?’
‘ There is a letter for you.’
‘ Could I have a 10p stamp, please?
‘ I’ve got a headache.’
With uncountable and plural nouns, we express this ‘indefinite’ meaning by using either some/any or no article.
‘ Would you like some cheese?”
‘ I haven’t got any problems.’
‘ We need beer.’
‘ I think we’ve got mice.’
We also use a/an when we say that a person or a thing is a member of a particular class group, or when we say what people or things are like.
‘She’s a doctor.’
‘ A sailor is a man who works in ships.’
‘ What’s that? – It’s an adjustable spanner.’
‘ You’re a very beautiful girl.’
No article is used with uncountable and plural words in this case; some and any are not used.
‘What’s that? – It’s petrol.’
‘They’re original Russian icons.’
‘You’re fools.’
When we mention something for the first time, we will probably use an indefinite article ( or some or no article with uncountables and plurals) because our listener knows nothing about it. But when we mention the same thing again, it becomes definite ( because now he knows which one we mean).
‘ A man came up to a policeman and asked him a question. The policeman didn’t understand the question, so he asked the man...
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