Semantic peculiarities of the English article and ways of its translation
Ministry of Education and Science of Ukraine.S. Skovoroda
Kharkiv National Pedagogical Universityof English Philology
Semantic peculiarities of the English article and ways of its
translation
PaperShama M.,of the Foreign
Philology Faculty,5 E/CSupervisor:of Sciences (Philology),Professor of the
Department of English Philology M.V.: Candidate of Sciences
(Philology),Professor of the of English L.M.
Kharkiv - 2007
Content
Introduction
Part I. Article as a part of speech.
Theoretical and practical aspect
1.1 Definition
.2 The historical development of
articles
.3 Article determination
.4 The functions of articles
1.4.1 The use of the Indefinite
article
1.4.2 The use of the Definite article
.4.3 Omission of the articleII.
Lexico-grammatical aspects of translation of the definite and indefinite
articles
2.1 The Category of Definiteness and
Indefiniteness
.2 Rendering of the contextual
meaning of the definite and indefinite articles
.2.1 Realization of the contextual
meanings of the definite article
.2.2 Realization of the contextual
meanings of the indefinite articleIII. Methods of teaching articles
3.1 Article in a school programme
.2 Teaching articles in the 5th form
.3 Teaching articles in the 6th form
.4 Translation exercises for the
students of the foreign language departments
Literature
Introduction
Though the article is the part of speech that contains only
two words it presents a great difficulty for a student of English. A foreigner
can always be told by his wrong use of article. Mistakes in the use of articles
are considered to be the most difficult to be corrected. Numerous works devoted
to this part of speech have certainly contributed to its better understanding
but a great number of problems are still waiting for their further study and
solutions [45, c.49]. One of these problems deals with the contextual use of
articles and the ways they may be translated into other languages in general
and into Russian and Ukrainian in particular[28, c.74; 39, 59].research is
topical for a number of reasons. First, no matter how many studies have been
made in this area the problems relevant to its translation haven’t been studied
properly. Second, further development of linguistics and other areas relevant
to this branch of science call for new approaches to the study of even most
traditional aspects of modern grammar. In addition, the study of articles and
their contextual meaning and ways they are translated into other languages is
of great value of teaching methods [39, c.83].object of this research is
English articles.subject of the research is a study of use of English articles
in various contexts and its translation into Ukrainian.goal of our work is to
make a systematic study of English articles, their contextual use and ways they
are translated into Ukrainian.compliance with the goal the following objectives
are to be solved:
1. To determine the place of the English articles in
the system of the English language and to cover some theoretical questions
concerned with the object of the research.
2. To study a typical use of articles and its special
difficulties.
. To analyze contextual meanings of the English
articles and ways of their translation into Ukrainian.
. To develop a set of exercises aimed at improving
students’ skills in the use of the English articles.goal and the objectives of
the research determine the structure of our work. consists of an introduction,
3 parts, conclusion and a list of literature.than 50 manuals, articles and
other types of educational and research papers served as the material for our
analyses. Besides, the use of articles in the works of W.S. Maugham, J. London
and their translation served for our analyses in the practical part of the
work.set of linguistic methods including a descriptive, analytical, contextual
analysis was used in the course of our study. In addition a translational
method was intensively used while analyzing the contextual peculiarities of the
article and determining typical ways of their translation into Ukrainian.results
obtained in the course of our research have been reported at a number of
students’ conferences in the Kharkiv Pedagogical university and were widely
used in the course of my teaching practice school N172.first part of the work
deals with the general theoretical principles relevant to the English article
and to the description of its traditional difficulties. Part II is devoted to
the study of contextual semantic characteristics of English articles and the
ways they are translated into Ukrainian. Teaching aspects of the article are
discussed in part III. Here a set of exercises aimed at improving students’
skills in the use of the English articles is also offered.
Part I. Article as a part of speech.
Theoretical and practical aspects
.1 Definition
issues relevant to the nature of the English article have
been the focus of attention of early descriptive English Grammar books since
the 16th century and it is intensively studied nowadays.the 16th -18th
centuries the article was considered as a noun determiner. There was, however,
a different point of view when the article was included into the adjective.
Besides, there existed different approaches to English articles. According to
G. Mironets, the article was considered as part of the Noun, as a separate part
of speech and as a particle. The terms ”definite” and ”indefinite” were first
used by J.Howell in 1662 [45, c.56].
Being aware of numerous points of
view regarding the status of the article in the English language we share the
view presented by B. Khaimovich and B. Rogovskaya who considered the article a
separate part of speech. They consider that the two words a(an), the form a
separate group or class characterized by:
a) the lexico-grammatical meaning of
”(in)definiteness”,
b) the right-hand combinability
with nouns,) the function of noun specifiers [52, c.214]lexical meaning of
a(n) in Modern English is a very weak reminder of its original meaning (OE.
an=one). In spite of the long process of weakening there remains enough of the
original meaning in a(n) to exclude the possibility of its being attached to a
”plural” noun.lexical meaning of the in Modern English is a pale shadow of its
original demonstrative meaning.general lexico-grammatical meaning of these
words, as usual, is not identical with their individual lexical meanings. It
abstracts itself from the meaning of ”oneness” in a(n) and the ”demonstrative”
meaning in the. Perhaps, the names of the articles (”definite”, ”indefinite”)
denote the nearest approach to this lexico-grammatical meaning, which, for lack
of a better term, might be defined as that of ”definiteness-indefiniteness”
[52, c.215].article is a form word that serves as a noun determiner. It is one
of the main means of conveying the idea of definiteness and
indefiniteness.suggests that the object presented by the following noun is
individualized and singled out from all the other objects of the same kind,
whereas indefiniteness means a more general reference to an object [20,
c.75].lexical meaning of the English articles is determined by its historical
development. That is why after considering the historical development of the
English articles their rendering into Ukrainian and Russian becomes obvious.
Under the influence of the historical processes that took place both in
phonetical and grammatical structure of the English language the article as a
part of speech has undergone major changes. Its origin goes deep into the
history of the English language both definite and indefinite articles. This
explains the fact that when translating articles we get equivalents (in other
languages) of various types. That is why we consider it necessary to present
all stages of the historical formation of the English article.
.2 The historical development of the
English articles. The definite article
The infinitive in Northumbrian often
loses its final -n and ends in -a: drinca 'drink', sinza 'sing'. The 1st person
singular present indicative ends in -u, -o (for West-Saxon -e): ic drincu 'I
drink', ic sinzo 'I sing'. The 2nd person singular present indicative and the
2nd person singular past indicative of weak verbs often ends in -s (for
West-Saxon -si): pu drinces 'thou drinkest', pu lufodes 'thou lo-vedst'. This
means that the initial consonant of the pronoun 'pu did not join on to the verb
forms. The 3rd person singular present indicative also, often ends in -s: he
drinces 'he drinks'. The plural indicative present often takes the ending -as
for West-Saxon -ap: hia drincas 'they drink'.cause of this spread of the
-s-ending is not clear. It may have been partly influenced by the form is of
the verb wsan.1st participle sometimes has the suffix -ande (for West-Saxon
-ende). This is due to Scandinavian influence.plural present indicative of the
verb wesan is arun (for West-Saxon sind).strong verbs become weak in
Northumbrian. Thus class I verbs: stizan 'ascend' has stizede; zripan 'catch'
zripede, hrinan 'touch' hrinade; class II verbs: reocan 'smell' has reohte,
supan 'taste' supede; class III: bindan 'bind' has binde, drinzan 'insist'
drinzde, swinzan an 'swing' swinzde, war pan 'throw' worpade, strxz-dan 'sow'
strx^de, frejnan 'ask' fre^nade; class VI verbs: hebban 'lift' has hefde; class
VII verbs: slsepan 'sleep' has slsepte, ondrsedan 'dread' ondnedde, sceadan
'divide' sccadade.these phenomena show that in Northumbrian a reduction of
inflections was taking place in the ОС period already. This was probably partly due to Scandinavian
influence.and head word.attribute usually precedes its head word, e. g. enzlisc
zewrit 'English text', onzemanz oðurum mistlicum and
manizfealdum bis^um 'among other various and manifold affairs', hu zesælizlica tida 'what happy
times', se foresprecena hunzur 'the above-mentioned famine', ealle оðrе bec 'all other books', æfter forðyrnendre tide 'after the
passing time'. However, a numeral attribute may follow its head word, e. g. his
suna twezen 'his two sons', ðone naman anne 'the name
alone'; also ða bee ealle 'all the books'.attribute
often follows its head word when used in direct address: wine mm 'my friend',
fre-drihten min 'my lord', Beowulf leofa 'dear Beowulf. An attribute consisting
of the pronoun se and an adjective also follows its head word: Sidroc eorl se
alda 'earl Sidroc senior'.genitive attribute usually precedes its head word:
para cyninza zetruman 'the kings' troops', Norðmanna land 'the Northmen's
land', Seaxna peod 'the Saxons' people', monizra manna mod 'many people's
mood'. But sometimes it comes after its head word: on oðre healfe pære ea 'on the oilier side
of the riverstudying the declension of substantives in ME, we have to consider
the Southern dialects, on the one hand, and the Midland and Northern, on the
other.the Southern dialects, distinction between genders and between strong and
weak declensions was to some extent preserved, but differences between various
types of strong declension were obliterated. Later, distinction of genders was
weakened in connection with the development of the definite article, which lost
its declension altogether.
Parenthesis means that the sound in
question could drop. A second form coming after a comma means that alongside of
the first form due to phonetic development a second one appeared, due to
analogy.feminine substantives, weak declension endings (-en, -ene) spread from
the weak to other declension types; in the singular the -ii-cnding was dropped,
and all eases of the singular number had the endmg -e. The -e was also joined
on to substantives with a long root syllable, which had no ending in Hie
nominative singular, such as iir 'honour', synn 'sin'. Only a few substantives
remain outside this tendency, such as hond 'hand', might 'might', cow 'cow'.a
result of these changes the following system of declension arose:
The -en-ending of the plural was also
extended to two neuter substantives which had in OE belonged to the -es-stems,
viz., child 'child' and el 'egg'. In OE the nominative plural of these
substantives had been cildru and æzru; now they were changed
into children and eiren.declension of substantives with a root stem, which had
mutation in the dative singular and in the nominative and accusative plural,
developed in ME Southern dialects in the following way:
The substantive boc 'book' lost its
mutated forms: its plural is boken, bakes. The substantive burh 'borough' lost
mutation in the dative singular and in the nominative and accusative plural.
The dative singular form byriz > buri, biri, beri survived only as the
second component of compound nouns - names of towns, which originally had the
form of the dative case, such as Canterbury <OE Cantwarabyriz, dative of
Cantwaraburz; Atter-bury < at pæer byriz 'at the city'.and
midland dialects.Northern and Midland dialects all distinctions between
different stems of strong declension and between strong and weak declension,
and those between genders disappeared. The genitive singular ending of the ston
and dor type substantives spread to all substantives; this also applies to the
nominative and accusative ending -es (< OE -as) of the nominative and
accusative plural ot the ston type substantives; it also spread to the genitive
plural of all substantives.14-century literary English (Chaucer and Gower),
developed from Midland dialect, the following declension system is found:
Substantives in -f and -th keep the
alternation of voiceless and voiced consonants, e.g. lif 'life', gen. sing,
lives, plural lives; path 'path', gen. sing, pathes [ð], plural pathes [ð].substantives with a root
stem, which had mutation in the nominative and accusative plural, have the
following system of declension-
Thus mutation is grammaticalized as a
sign of plural number.neuter substantives preserved their nominative accusative
plural form without an ending: thing, yer, hors, shep, swin, der. As will be
readily seen, some of them are names of animals. Some masculine and feminine
substantives also preserved plural forms without ending, e.g. winter, night.
Gradually, however, the -es-ending penetrates into these words: thinges, yeres,
monthes.substantives which belonged to the weak declension preserve their
-n-plural: oxe - oxen; eye, ye - eyen, yen; fo - fon; to - ton. The substantive
sceoh 'shoe', which had been a strong declension substantive in OE, acquired an
-n-plural in ME: sho - shon. The weak en-ending also spread to the substantives
brother -brethren, doghter - doghtren, and stister - snstren. Meanings which
had been expressed by case endings now devolve to prepositions, in the first
place of (for the genitive), to and wip for the dative.pronoun.OE forms of the
demonstrative pronoun (or definite article) se, seo were changed into pe, peo
on the analogy of the forms derived from the root p-. In Early ME forms like
pe, peo, pat functioned both as demonstrative pronoun and as article. Since the
14th century, however, the form pat was only preserved as a demonstrative
pronoun form., the declension system of the pronoun was undergoing changes. The
form pos (from OE pas, nominative and accusative plural of the OE demonstrative
pronoun pes) became the plural of pat.
Early ME declension.
However, in the 13th century
declension of the definite article tends to disappear. Thus, while we find in
Layamon's Brut (about 1200) phrases like to pan kinge (OE to pæm cyninze), mid pan flode
(OE mid pæm flode), the Апогеи Riwle has, alongside of of pen epple
(OE of рагт æpple) mid te word (te
assimilated from pe after mid; OE mid рæт worde). Similar changes occur in other case and gender
forms. In Late ME the definite article finally becomes invariable.
The other demonstrative pronoun, OE pes, developed in the
following way in ME: singular this (from the OE nominative and accusative
singular pis), plural thise, these; singular that (from the OE nominative and
accusative singular neuter pæt), plural tho, thos
The Adjective.declension of
adjectives underwent substantial changes in ME. Declension of adjectives had
always been determined by agreement with substantives in number, gender and
case. In Germanic languages the use of strong and weak adjective declension
depended on whether the adjective was preceded by the definite article or a
similar word, or not. The disappearance of grammatical gender in ME substantives
and the reduction of case endings led to a considerable change in adjective
declension, too. Besides, the characteristic weak-declension ending -en was
dropped. So the only case ending in adjectives came to be -e, and the highly
developed OE paradigm was reduced to the following system:
In the Northern dialects, declension of adjectives was
completely lost: the only surviving case ending -e was dropped, and the
adjectives became invariable. the other dialects adjectives in -e became
invariable, such as newe, trewe.
The indefinite article.
Numeralsfrom 1 to 3 are declined.from
4 to 19 are usually invariable, if used as attributes to a substantive, but
they are declined if used without a substantive. Numerals denoting tens have
their genitive in -es or in -a, -ra, their dative in -um.
The word 'both' bezen, bu, ba is
declined in the same way as twezen, tu, twa.consisting of tens and units are
denoted in the following way: 22 twa and twentiz, 48 eahta and
feowertiz.pronoun sum 'some' is sometimes used in a meaning close to the
articles as in the sentence: wses sum bropor '(there) was a (certain) brother'
pa stod him sum топ set purh swefn 'then
(there) stood a (certain) man near him in his dream'., however, a substantive
in an indefinite application is not accompanied by any determinative, as in the
sentence he was swype spediz man 'he was a very rich man'.a few words the
consonant v when followed by another consonant changed into u, as in hafoc,
gen. sing, hafces > havkes > haukes and on the analogy of the genitive
haukes a new nominative hauk was derived; nafozar > navgar > nauger
'auger'.word eventually lost its initial n- as a result of what is called
metanalysis: the phrase a nauger was, as it were, reinterpreted as an auger,
with the intial n- of the substantive apprehended as a final n of the
indefinite article.are more examples of this kind of metanalysis. A substantive
might either lose or acquire an initial n-. Thus OE ejete 'newt' acquired an
initial n- owing to a reinterpretation of an ewte as a newte in ME. The ME
substantive ekename 'additional name', 'nickname' also acquired an initial n-:
an ekename > a nekename. The ME substantive naperon (from French naperon),
on the other hand, lost its initial n-: a naperon > an apron.similar phenomenon
is also found in some substantives whose final -s, originally belonging to the
stem, was apprehended as a plural ending. Thus, OE ælmesse 'alms' (from Lat.
alimosina from Greek eleemosyne 'pity') yielded ME alines > MnE alms; ME
richesse (from French richesse) yielded MnE riches, apprehended as a plural
form; OE byrzels 'grave' - ME buriel, MnE burial (it was also influenced by its
synonym funeral, of French origin); French cerise, cherise yielded ME and MnE
cherry.
In ME an indefinite article arose. As in many other
languages, it had its origin in the numeral an 'one'. First signs of such
development were already seen in OE. Then long a in an unstressed position was
shortened, and there appeared an unstressed variant an. When the long ”a”
changed into long open 9 the numeral became on; the divergence in sound between
the stressed and the unstressed form furthered the separation of the article
from the numeral.
When on or an was followed by a word
beginning with a consonant, the -n was dropped, and there arose the variants o,
a. With the numeral, this alternation was later abandoned, and the form ”on”
came to be used in all environments. With the indefinite article, the
alternation of an and a depending on the initial sound of the following word
has been preserved until today.that the word the has its counterpart in the
word a(n) it is possible to say that English has an article system represented
by two words: a/an and the.OE, as we have seen, an article appeared when the
meaning of the demonstrative pronoun was weakened. In this way a new
grammatical category within the system of substantives came into being: the
category of determination, represented by the opposition: article/absence of
article.ME we see a further development in this field: a second article appears
here from the OE numeral an. This development must be interpreted as a split in
the category of determination, its marked member now splits into two varieties:
the definite represented by the article the (from OE se, with substitution of
initial s- by th- influenced by other case forms, which were derived from the
root p-in OE already). Thus, the whole system of determination may be
represented in the following way: 1st opposition: no article (unmarked) vs.
article (marked); 2nd opposition: within the second item of the 1st opposition:
definite article the vs. indefinite article a(n). The difference between OE and
ME in this respect can well be illustrated by comparing the OE examples given
above with the following example from Chaucer's Canterbury Tales, with the same
substantive man:was an esy man to yive penaunce 'He was an easy man to absolve
sins'.the indefinite article a was used in a context in which in OE there had
been no article at all.conclusion, the article a(n) has become a part of the system
having the same position as the article the, is confirmed by the fact such
sentences as he was easy man have become impossible by Chaucer's time [1,
c.174].
.3 Article determination
The Article is a determining unit of
a specific nature accompanying the noun in communicative collocation. Its
special character is clearly seen against the background of determining words
of half-notional semantics [50, c. 179]. Whereas the function of the
determiners such as this, any, some is to explicitly interpret the referent of
the noun in relation to other objects or phenomena of a like kind, the semantic
purpose of the article is to specify the nounal referent, as it were,
altogether unostentatiously, to define it in the most general way, without any
explicitly expressed contrasts.becomes obvious when we take the simplest
examples ready at hand. Cf.: Will you give me this pen, Willy? (i.e. the pen
that I am pointing out, not one of your choice.) - Will you give me the pen,
please? (i.e. simply the pen from the desk, you understand which). Any blade
will do, I only want it for scratching out the wrong word from the type-script.
(i.e. any blade of the stock, however blunt it -may be.) - Have you got
something sharp? I need a penknife of' a blade. (i.e. simply a blade, if not a
knife, without additional implications.) Some woman called in your absence, she
didn't give her name (i.e. a woman strange to me). - A woman called while you
were out, she left a message (i.e. simply a woman, without a further
connotation.)peculiarity of the article, as different from the determiners in
question, is that, in the absence of a determiner, the use of the article with
the noun is quite obligatory, in so far as the cases of non-use of the article
are subject to no less definite rules than the use of it.into consideration
these peculiar features of the article, the linguist is called upon to make a
sound statement about its segmental status in the system of morphology. Namely,
his task is to decide whether the article is a purely auxiliary element of a
special grammatical form of the noun which functions as a component of a
definite morphological category, or it is a separate word, i.e. a lexical unit
in the determiner word set, if of a more abstract meaning than other
determiners.problem is a vexed one; it has inspired an intensive research
activity in the field, as well as an animated discussion with various pros and
cons affirmed, refuted and re-affirmed. In the course of these investigations,
however, many positive facts about articles have been established, which at
present enables an observer, proceeding from the systemic principle in its
paradigmatic interpretation, to expose the status of the article with an
attempt at demonstrative conviction.arrive at a definite decision, we propose
to consider the properties of the English articles at four successive stages,
beginning with their semantic evaluation as such, then adding to the obtained
data a situational estimation of their uses, thereafter analysing their
categorial features in the light of the oppositional theory, and finally
concluding the investigation by a paradigmatic generalization.
A mere semantic observation of the
articles in English, i.e. the definite article the and the indefinite article
a/an, at once discloses not two but three meaningful characterizations of the
nounal referent achieved by their correlative functioning, namely: one rendered
by the definite article, one rendered by the indefinite article, and one
rendered by the absence (or non-use) of the article. Let us examine them
separately.definite article expresses the identification or individualization
of the referent of the noun: the use of this article shows that the object
denoted is taken in its concrete, individual quality. This meaning can be
brought to explicit exposition by a substitution test. The test consists in
replacing the article used in a construction by a demonstrative word, e.g. a
demonstrative determiner, without causing a principal change in the general
implication of the construction. Of course, such an "equivalent"
substitution should be understood in fact as nothing else but analogy: the
difference in meaning between a determiner and an article admits of no
argument, and we pointed it out in the above passages. Still, the replacements
of words as a special diagnostic procedure, which is applied with the necessary
reservations and according to a planned scheme of research, is quite
permissible. In our case it undoubtedly shows a direct relationship in the
meanings of the determiner and the article, the relationship in which the
determiner is semantically the more explicit element of the two. Cf.:look at
the apple-tree! - But look at this apple-tree! The town lay still in the Indian
summer sun. - That town lay still in the Indian summer sun. The water is
horribly hot. - This water is horribly hot. It's the girls who are to blame. -
It's those girls who are to blame.justification of the applied substitution, as
well as its explanatory character, may be proved by a counter-test, namely, by
the change of the definite article into the indefinite article, or by omitting
the article altogether [50, c.181] The replacement either produces a radical,
i.e. "non-equivalent" shift in the meaning of the construction, or
else results in a grammatically unacceptable construction. Cf.: ... - Look at
an apple-tree! - Look at apple-tree! ... - A water is horribly hot. - Water is
horribly hot.indefinite article, as different from the definite article, is
commonly interpreted as referring the object denoted by the noun to a certain
class of similar objects; in other words, the indefinite article expresses a
classifying generalization of the nounal referent, or takes it in a relatively
general sense. To prove its relatively generalizing functional meaning, we may
use the diagnostic insertions of specifying-classifying phrases into the
construction in question; we may also employ the transformation of implicit
comparative constructions with the indefinite article into the corresponding
explicit coparative constructions. Cf.:passed a water-mill. - We passed a
certain water-mill. It is a very young country, isn't it? - It is a very young
kind of country, isn't it? What an arrangement! - What sort of arrangement!
This child is a positive nightmare. - This child is positively like a
nightmare.procedure of a classifying contrast employed in practical textbooks
exposes the generalizing nature of the indefinite article most clearly in many
eases of its use. E.g.:door opened in the wall. - A door (not a window) opened
in the wall. We saw a flower under the bush. - We saw a flower (not a
strawberry) under the bush.for the various uses of nouns without an article,
from the semantic point of view they all should be divided into two types. In
the first place, there are uses where the articles are deliberately omitted out
of stylistical considerations. We see such uses, for instance, in telegraphic
speech, in titles and headlines, in various notices. E.g.:received room
reserved for week-end. (The text of a telegram.) Conference adjourned until
further notice. (The text of an announcement.) Big red bus rushes food to
strikers. (The title of a newspaper article.)purposeful elliptical omission of
the article in cases like that is quite obvious, and the omitted articles may
easily be restored in the constructions in the simplest
"back-directed" refilling procedures.. - The telegram is received, a
room is reserved for the weekend. ... - The conference is adjourned until
further notice. ... - A big red bus rushes food to the strikers.free elliptical
constructions, there are cases of the semantically unspecified non-use of the
article in various combinations of fixed type, such as prepositional- phrases
(on fire, at hand, in debt, etc.), fixed verbal collocations (take place, make
use, cast anchor, etc.), descriptive coordinative groups and repetition groups
(man and wife, dog and gun, day by day, etc.), and the like. These cases of
traditionally fixed absence of the article are quite similar to the cases of
traditionally fixed uses of both indefinite and definite articles (cf.: in a
hurry, at a loss, have a look, give a start, etc.; In the main, out of the
question, on the look-out, etc.).the elliptical constructions and fixed uses,
however, we know a really semantic absence of the article with the noun. It is
this semantic absence of the article that stands in immediate meaningful
correlation with the definite and indefinite articles as such.is widely
acknowledged, the meaningful non-uses of the article are not homogeneous;
nevertheless, they admit of a very explicit classification founded on the
countability characteristics of the noun. Why countability characteristics? For
the two reasons. The first reason is inherent in the nature of the noun itself:
the abstract generalization reflected through the meaningful non-use of the
article is connected with the suppression of the idea of the number in the
noun. The second reason is inherent in the nature of the article: the
indefinite article which plays the crucial role in the semantic correlation in question
reveals the meaning of oneness within its semantic base, having originated from
the indefinite pronoun one, and that is why the abstract use of the noun
naturally goes with the absence of the article.essential points of the said
classification are three in number.. The meaningful absence of the article
before the countable noun in the singular signifies that the noun is taken in
an abstract sense, expressing the most general idea of the object denoted. This
meaning, which may be called the meaning of "absolute
generalization", can be demonstrated by inserting in the tested
construction a chosen generalizing modifier (such as in general, in the
abstract, in the broadest sense). Cf.:(in general) begins with the beginning of
human society. Steam-engine (in general) introduced for locomotion a couple of
centuries ago has now become obsolete.. The absence of the article before the
uncountable noun corresponds to the two kinds of generalization: both relative
and absolute. To decide which of the two meanings is realized in any particular
case, the described tests should be carried out alternately. Cf.:laughed with
great bitterness (that sort of bitterness - relative generalization). The
subject of health (in general - absolute generalization) was carefully avoided
by everybody. Coffee (a kind of beverage served at the table - relative
generalization) or tea, please? Coffee (in general - absolute generalization)
stimulates the function of the heart.. The absence of the article before the
countable noun in the plural, likewise, corresponds to both kinds of
generalization, and the exposition of the meaning in each case can be achieved
by the same semantic tests. Cf.:, planets and comets (these kinds of objects:
relative generalization) are different celestial bodies (not terrestrial
bodies: relative generalization). Wars (in general: absolute generalization)
should be eliminated as means of deciding international disputes.distinguish
the demonstrated semantic functions of the non-uses of the article by
definition, we may say that the absence of the article with uncountable nouns,
as well as with countable nouns in the plural, renders the meaning of
"uncharacterized generalization", as different from the meaning of
"absolute generalization", achieved by the absence of the article
with countable nouns in the singular.much for the semantic evaluation of the
articles as the first stage of our study.to the situational assessment of the
article uses, we must point out that the basic principle of their
differentiation here is not a direct consideration of their meanings, but
disclosing the informational characteristics that the article conveys to its
noun in concrete contextual conditions. Examined from this angle, the definite
article serves as an indicator of the type of nounal information "which is
presented as the "facts already known", i.e. as the starting point of
the communication. In contrast to this, the indefinite article or the
meaningful absence of the article introduces the central communicative nounal
part of the sentence, i.e. the part rendering the immediate informative data to
be conveyed from the speaker to the listener. In the situational study of
syntax the starting point of the communication is called its "theme",
while the central informative part is called its "rheme".
In accord with the said situational functions, the typical
syntactic position of the noun modified by the definite article is the
"thematic" subject, while the typical syntactic position of the noun
modified by the indefinite article or by the meaningful absence of the article
is the "rhematic" predicative. Cf:.
The day (subject) was drawing to a
close, the busy noises of the city (subject) were dying down. How to handle the
situation was a big question (predicative). The sky was pure gold (predicative)
above the setting sun.should be noted that in many other cases of syntactic
use, i.e. non-subjective or non-predicative, the articles reflect the same
situational functions. This can be probed by reducing the constructions in
question on re-arrangement lines to the logically "canonized"
link-type constructions.you would care to verify the Incident (object), pray do
so. -If you would care the incident (subject) to be verified, pray have it
verified. I am going to make a rather strange request (object) to you. - What I
am going to make is a rather strange request (predicative) to you. You are
talking nonsense (object), lad. - What you are talking, lad, is nonsense
(predicative).essential contextual-situational characteristic of the articles
is their immediate connection with the two types of attributes to the noun. The
first type is a "limiting" attribute, which requires the definite
article before the noun; the second type is a "descriptive"
attribute, which requires the indefinite article or the meaningful absence of
the article before the noun. Cf.:events chronicled in this narrative took place
some four years ago. (A limiting attribute) She was a person of strong will and
iron self-control. (A descriptive attribute) He listened to her story with
grave and kindly attention. (A descriptive attribute)role of descriptive
attributes in the situational aspect of articles is particularly worthy of note
in the constructions of syntactic "convergencies", i.e. chained
attributive-repetitional phrases modifying the same referent from different
angles. Cf.:longing for a house, a fine and beautiful house, such a house I
could never hope to have, flowered into life again.have now come to the third
stage of the undertaken analysis of the English articles, namely to their
consideration in the light of the oppositional theory. The oppositional
examination of any grammatically relevant set of lingual objects is of especial
importance from the point of view of the systemic conception of language, since
oppositions constitute the basis of the structure of grammatical paradigms.in
mind the tacts established at the two previous stages of observation, it is
easy to see that oppositionally, the article determination of the noun should
be divided into two binary correlations connected with each other
hierarchically.opposition of the higher level operates in the whole system of
articles. It contrasts the definite article with the noun against the two other
forms of article determination of the noun, i.e. the indefinite article and the
meaningful absence of the article. In this opposition the definite article
should be interpreted as the strong member by virtue of its identifying and
individualizing function, while the other forms of article determination should
be interpreted as the weak member, i.e. the member that leaves the feature in
question ("identification") unmarked.opposition of the lower level
operates within the article subsystem that forms the weak member of the upper
opposition. This opposition contrasts the two types of generalization, i.e, the
relative generalization distinguishing its strong member (the indefinite
article plus the meaningful absence of the article as its analogue with
uncountable nouns and nouns in the plural) and the absolute, or "abstract"
generalization distinguishing the weak member of the opposition (the meaningful
absence of the article).described oppositional system can be shown on the
following diagram (see Fig. 2).
It is the oppositional description of the English articles
that involves the interprctation of the article non-use as the zero form of the
article, since the opposition of the positive exponent of the feature to the
negative exponent of the feature (i.e. its absence) realizes an important part
of the integral article determination semantics. As for the heterogeneity of
functions displayed by the absence of the article, it by no means can be taken
as a ground for denying the relevance or expediency of introducing the notion
of zero in the article system. As a matter of fact, each of the two essential
meanings of this dialectically complex form is clearly revealed in its special
oppositional correlation and, consequently, corresponds to the really existing
lingual facts irrespective of the name given to the form by the observer.
The best way of demonstrating the
actual oppositional value of the articles on the immediate textual material is
to contrast them in syntactically equivalent conditions in pairs. Cf. the
examples given below.nounal positions for the pair "the definite article -
the indefinite article": The train hooted (that train). - A train hooted
(some train).nounal positions for the pair "the definite article - the
absence of the article": I'm afraid the oxygen is out (our supply of oxygen).
- Oxygen is necessary for life (oxygen in general, life in general).nounal
positions for the pair "the indefinite article - the absence of the
article": Be careful, there is a puddle under your feet (a kind of
puddle). - Be careful, there is mud on the ground (as different from clean
space)., correlative nounal positions for the easily neutralized pair "the
zero article of relative generalization - the zero article of absolute
generalization": New information should be gathered on this subject (some
information). - Scientific information should be gathered systematically in all
fields of human knowledge (information in general).the basis of the
oppositional definition of the article it becomes possible to explicate the
semantic function of the article determination of nouns for cases where the
inherent value of the article is contrasted against the contrary semantic value
of the noun or the nounal collocation.particular, the indefinite article may
occasionally be used with a nounal collocation of normally individualizing
meaning, e.g.:
Rodney Harrington laughed out loud as he caught a last
glimpse of Allison Mackenzie and Norman Page in his rear-vision mirror (Gr.
Metalious). After all, you've got a best side and a worst side of yourself and
it's no good showing the worst side and harping on it (A. Christie).
Conversely, the definite article may
occasionally be used with a nounal collocation of normally descriptive meaning,
e.g.:still went in the evenings to bathe in the silent pool (S. Maugham).indefinite
article may occasionally be used with a unique referent noun, e.g.:Latimer from
beyond her murmured: "The sun here isn't a real sun" (A.
Christie).zero article may occasionally be used with an ordinary concrete noun
the semantic nature of which stands, as it were, in sharp contradiction to the
idea of uncountable generalization, e.g.:glasses had a habit of slipping down
her button nose which did not have enough bridge to hold them up (S.M. Disney).
He went up a well-kept drive to a modern house with a square roof and a good
deal of window (A. Christie).all these and similar cases, by virtue of being
correlated with semantic elements of contrary nature, the inherent categorial
meanings of the articles appear, as it were, in their original, pure quality.
Having no environmental support, the articles become intensely self-dependent
in the expression of their categorial semantics, and, against the alien
contextual background, traces of transposition can be seen in their
use.established the functional value of articles in oppositional assessment, we
can now, in broader systemic contraposition, probe the correlation of the
meanings of articles with the meanings of functional determiners. As a result
of this observation, within the system of the determiners two separate subsets
can be defined, one of which is centred around the definite article with its
individualizing semantics (this - these, that - those, my, our, your, his, her,
its, their), and the other one around the indefinite article with its generalizing
semantics (another, some, any, every, no). The type of the division is such as
to show the integration of the article meanings into the total semantic volume
of the determiners. In other words, the observation inevitably leads us to the
conclusion that the article determination of the noun as a specific grammatical
category remains valid also in such cases when the noun is modified not by the
article itself, but by a seminotional determiner. This is clearly seen in
equivalency confrontations such as the following:unhappily the wife wasn't
listening. - But unhappily his wife wasn't listening.whispering voices caught
the attention of the guards. - Those whispering voices caught their
attention.could a woman do in a situation like that? - What could any woman do
in that sort of situation?least I saw interest in her eyes. - At least I saw
some interest in her eyes.a word had been pronounced about the terms of the
document. - No word had been pronounced about those terms.demonstration of the
organic connection between the articles and seminotional determiners, in its
turn, makes it possible to disclose the true function of the grammatical use of
articles with proper nouns. E.g.:
"This," said Froelich,
"is the James Walker who wrote "The Last of the Old Lords'" (M.
Bradbury). Cf.: This is the same James Walker.came out to Iraq with a Mrs.
Kelsey (A. Christie). Cf.: The woman was a certain Mrs. Kelsey.was like seeing
a Vesuvius at the height of its eruption. Cf.: The sight looked to us like
another Vesuvius.
"I prophesy a wet August,"
said Old Moore Abinger (M. Dickens). Cf.: Next August will be a wet month,
unlike some other Augusts in retrospect.the exemplified grammatical uses
transpositional features are revealed similar to those the article acquires when
used with a noun characterized by a contrary semantic base. On the other hand,
the analysis of these cases clearly stamps the traditional proper name
combinations with embedded articles, both of the onomastic set (Alexander the
Great, etc.) and the toponymic set (The Hague, etc.) as lexicalized
collocations that only come into contact with the periphery of
grammar.essential grammatical features of the articles exposed in the above
considerations and tests leave no room for misinterpretation at the final, generalizing
stage of analysis. data obtained show that the English noun, besides the
variable categories of number and case, distinguishes also the category of
determination expressed by the article paradigm of three grammatical forms: the
definite, the indefinite, the zero. The paradigm is generalized for the whole
system of the common nouns, being transpositionally outstretched also into the
system of proper nouns. Various cases of asymmetry in the realization of this
paradigm (such as the article determination of certain nouns of the types
singularia tantum and pluralia tantum), similar to, and in connection with the
expression of the category of number, are balanced by suppletive collocations.
Cf.: 0 progress - a kind of progress, some progress - the progress; 0 news - an
item of news - the news, etc.semi-notional determiners used with nouns in the
absence of articles, expose the essential article meanings as in-built in their
semantic structure.
Thus, the status of the combination of the article with the
noun should be defined as basically analytical, the article construction as
such being localized by its segmental properties between the free syntactic
combination of words (the upper bordering level) and the combination of a
grammatical affix with a notional stem in the morphological composition of an
indivisible word (the lower bordering level). The article itself is a special
type of grammatical auxiliary.[41, c. 164]
The pronunciation of the articles
The pronunciation of the articles and
the spelling of the indefinite article depend upon the initial sound of the
following word. The indefinite article is spelled as a before consonant and as
an before vowel sounds. When stressed it is pronounced respectively as [ei] or
[am]. However, since the articles are usually unstressed, the pronunciation of
the indefinite article is generally reduced to the neutral vowel [ə]
before consonants, and to [n] before vowel sounds, which depends entirely on
the pronunciation and not the spelling of the following word, as can be seen in
the table below.
[ə] [ən]
a dog an
applehouse an hourEuropean an eagleunit an uncleyear an
x-raymanuscript an MP
The definite article is pronounced as
[ði:] when stressed. When unstressed, it is pronounced as [ðə] before consonants and [ði] before vowels:
[ðə] [ði]
the dog the
applehouse the hourEuropean the x-rayunit the unclemanuscript 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 all 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!were
such a queen, and I was such a nothing!are quite a scholar.) the indefinite
article is placed after adjectives preceded by the adverbs too, as, so: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
[46, c.84].
.4 The functions of articles
The use of the the Indefinite Article
. With countable nouns, both concrete
and abstract, the indefinite article is used when we want to name an object
(thing, person, animal, abstract notion), to state what kind of object is
meant:.g. He gave her a cigarette and lighted it.came a tap at the door,
and a small elderly manthe room, wearing a cloth cap.function may be called the
nominating function. It is the main function of the indefinite article with
countable nouns.at the same time, owing to its origin from the numeral one, the
indefinite article always implies the idea of oneness and is used only before
nouns in the singular (including such words as alms, barracks, bellows, works,
headquarters, etc. which may be singular in meaning).of the above mentioned
structural meanings the indefinite article may have some other functions, which
are to be regarded as its additional meanings (or additional functions). As
will be seen, they always result from the principal function. We may trace the
following additional meanings in the indefinite article.indefinite article may
express indefiniteness, since when we just name an object it is often
indefinite in our mind..g. He's got a job now.was going to tell us a story.this
additional meaning is not necessarily expressed by the indefinite article. Thus
we may hardly speak of the indefiniteness of the object in the following
examples:’re a scientist and your attitude should be realistic. ’ve a brother
in Dorset and 1 could stay with him.indefinite article may have the classifying
meaning since by naming an object we often refer it at the same time to a class
of similar objects and thus contrast it to other classes of objects. This
function is clearly manifest when the noun is used as a predicative or in
apposition, also when it is introduced by as or like..g. She is a war
orphan.saw Ann talking with her cousin, a shy youth of twenty. city looked to
him as brilliant as a precious stone. told him that he could not treat Charles
like a child.it would be far-fetched to speak of the classifying meaning in
such cases as:has a father whom he goes to see quite often. are going to a
concert tonight.just naming an object the speaker is likely to make reference
to an object that is new to the hearer. So the indefinite article is often used
to introduce a new element in the sentence. Since a new element is, as a rule,
important and attracts attention, a noun with the indefinite article frequently
becomes the centre of communication and as such is marked by strong stress.
This additional meaning expressed by the indefinite article may be called the
communicating function. It is often found alongside of the main nominating
function and sometimes becomes very prominent..g. That evening he made a confession.
think he is a stupid fellow. His anger had taken on a different tone.contrast
to this, the definite article, which usually indicates that a definite object
is meant and that it is not new to the hearer, often serves to show that the
noun is not the centre of communication. Compare the following sentences:door
opened and a young girl came in. door opened and the young girl came in.the
first sentence we do not know who is behind the door and a young girl is the
new element in the sentence. Whereas in the second sentence we already know
that there was a girl behind the door and the new information contained in the
sentence is that she now came in. The two variants differ in intonation: in the
first sentence a young girl is marked by stronger stress whereas in the second
one came in becomes more prominent.the communicating function of the indefinite
article is important and sometimes becomes very prominent, it is to be regarded
only as an additional meaning: we may find sentences in which a noun with an
indefinite article does not serve as the centre of communication and is not
marked by strong stress (a) and, vice versa, a noun with a definite article
marked by strong stress may become the most important element of communication
(b):
a) A camel can carry heavy
loads.
An engagement should come on a girl
as a surprise, pleasant or unpleasant, as the case may be.
b) It was the first spring day.
Schumann was the composer he liked
best.naming an object the speaker sometimes implies that any other representative
of the class would do. Thus the indefinite article approaches to any in
meaning:.g. Then he said: "1 know it's not so easy for a woman to refuse a
gift." Under the circumstances a normal girl would be heartbroken.not
Betty.boy's first toy is very important. It colours his whole afterlife.the
indefinite article acquires the additional meaning of a certain, which is also
closely connected with its main function:.g. But James obscurely felt that he
was committed to a line of action and must go through with it. "You're
pretty confident up to a point, aren't you?" he asked.other additional
meanings of the indefinite article are less important, as they are not often
found and their use is, in the main, restricted to certain patterns and set
phrases.indefinite article always implies the idea of oneness and it sometimes
becomes quite prominent. The indefinite article is then said to be used with
numeric force. It occurs in the following cases:
a)
a
hundred, a thousand, a minute, a mile, etc.;
b)
after
the negative not: not a word, not a trace, not a thought,etc.;
c)
in
some set phrases: one at a time, at a draught (as in: heemptied his glass at a
draught), a stitch in time saves nine, etc.
In certain patterns and set phrases
the indefinite article acquires the meaning of the same, as in:are much of a
size.are of an age.of a feather flock together.the following pattern the
indefinite article is said to acquire distributive force: once a month, twice a
week, three times a year, etc.should be pointed out that all the above
mentioned additional meanings of the indefinite article result from its main
nominating function and from the meaning of oneness which is always implied
with countable nouns. Depending on the context those meanings may or may not be
expressed by the article. Sometimes more than one additional function finds its
expression in the sentence. Thus in I am a teacher the classifying and the
communicating meanings are clearly seen; in He bought a book indefiniteness is
expressed along with the communicating function.it is only the nominating
function alongside of the idea of oneness that is always uppermost when the
indefinite article is associated with countable nouns.
. With uncountable nouns, the
indefinite article serves to bring out a special aspect of the notion expressed
by the noun. In this case its function may be called aspective..g. A dull
burning anger rose in his chest. He had almost a supernatural courage. Her
presence stirred him usually to a shy swift eagerness.this case the noun is
usually qualified by an attribute which also brings out a special aspect,
though occasionally it may be used without any attribute:.g. There was a warmth
between them, a sense of waiting.its aspective function the indefinite article
is devoid of the idea of oneness, which may be proved by the fact that we do
not find such plurals as burning angers or supernatural courages. aspective use
of the indefinite article is mainly characteristic of literary style. In
bringing out a special aspect of the notion expressed by the noun the author
usually strives for expressiveness, desiring to attract the attention of the
reader to this or that particular noun. With the attention focused on the noun,
the latter generally becomes the centre of communication and thus the aspective
function of the indefinite article is usually found side by side with its
communicating function.
. With nouns which have no reference
to the category of countabil-ity (i.e. nouns denoting unique things and
notions) the indefinite article has the same meaning as with uncountable nouns:
it is used in its aspective function and at the same time its communicating
function becomes very prominent..g. The moon hung in the sky, a young silver
moon in the pale summer night.was sure in those days that a brilliant future
was awaiting his son.use of the Definite Article.
. When used with countable nouns,
both concrete and abstract, the definite article has two distinct functions.)
It may be used with singular and plural nouns to show that the noun denotes a
particular object (thing, person, animal, abstract notion) or a group of
objects as distinct from the others of the same kind. We may also say that the
definite article serves to single out an object or several objects from all the
other objects of the same class. This function is called the defining function
of the definite article. e.g. Ann herself had no doubt of the reason behind Mr.
March's invitation. I called at her house on my way home one night, just after
we had all received the letters asking us to dine; 1 found Ann alone. For the
first time in the years 1 had known her, her courage would not answer her. As
we stood on the steps, we felt the smell of fallen leaves coming from the
garden.the demonstrative force which is inherent in the definite article owing
to its origin becomes quite prominent. This occurs in a number of phrases, such
as nothing of the kind, at the time, at the moment, under the circumstances,
etc.it has been said, the definite article serves to indicate that the noun
with which it is associated is not the centre of communication, i.e. that the
attention of the speaker is not focused on that object. But it has also been
pointed out that the definite article may be associated with a noun which is
the centre of communication.) The definite article may also have the generic
function with countable nouns.nouns in the singular it serves to indicate that
the noun becomes the symbol of the class, that it is meant as its composite
image:.g. The tiger has always had the reputation of being a man-eater.was a
streak of the gambler in her.nouns in the plural it is used in this function
only when the idea of collectivity is emphasized:.g. "I shan't have time
for your moral sensitivity, "he said, "until've beaten the fascists and
got a decent world."
. With uncountable nouns the function
of the definite article may be called restricting. The definite article
restricts the abstract notion expressed by an uncountable noun to a concrete
instance (a); it also restricts the material denoted by a concrete uncountable
noun to a definite quantity, portion or to a definite locality
(b):.g. a) I did not wish to betray
the anxiety 1 felt.rested in the certainty that his duty was done.)
"Robert, "said Aunt Lin, coming in pink and indignant, "did you
know that you left the fish on the hall table and : it has soaked through to
the mahogany?" As we came out into the cold damp air she shivered.
. When the definite article is
associated with nouns which have no reference to the category of countability
it has its defining function. It naturally refers to a definite object, as the
noun denotes a thing or notion that is unique:.g. The moon set, and in the sky
the countless stars shone with their terrifying brilliance.each knew that this
quarrel was different from those in the past.of the Article (The Zero
Article)absence of the article (the zero article) has only one function with
common nouns and this is synonymous with the main structural meaning of the
indefinite article: it is the nominating function.function of the absence of
the article may be found with countable nouns in the plural; it is parallel to
the use of the indefinite article with singular nouns. But while the indefinite
article is associated with the idea of oneness, the zero article always implies
more-than-oneness:.g. As Robert got out of the car Marion came round the corner
of the house, wearing gardening gloves and a very old skirt. her friends came
to tea, my mother would give me some pennies to buy apples or a magazine.
sleeps very soundly. She had a splitting headache and took an aspirin and
sleeping pills. road led across a stream and then through woods and open
clearings.the indefinite article, the zero article may convey some additional
meanings. It may sometimes express indefiniteness and perform the classifying
and the communicating functions.nominating function of the zero article is also
found with uncountable nouns, both abstract and concrete (names of
materials):.g. Last night I felt friendship and sympathy for Henry, but today
he has become an enemy. he is so interested in justice he might do something
about that.asked for water and drank thirstily. place smelled of dust.grammars
point out the introductory function of the indefinite article and the anaphoric
function of the definite article. It is not correct, however, to regard the use
of the indefinite article with nouns mentioned for the first time and the use
of the definite article to refer back to an object which has already been
mentioned as structural meanings inherent in the articles themselves. We rather
deal with certain situations here in which the nominating function of the
indefinite article and the defining function of the definite article are
manifest.above description of the various functions of articles and their significant
absence may be summed up in the table.can be seen from the table, the use of
the articles depends on the character of the noun. But in English there are
many polysemantic nouns which may be countable in one meaning and uncountable
in another. As a result, the functions of the articles vary in accordance with
the different meanings in which a noun appears.
|
Countable nouns
|
Uncountable
nouns
|
Nouns having no
reference to the category of countability
|
The indefinite
article
|
With singular
nouns - the nominating function + oneness Additional functions: 1)
indefiniteness 2) classifying 3) communicating 4) any 5) a certain 6) numeric
7) the same 8) distributive
|
The aspective
function Additional functions: communicating
|
The aspective
function Additional functions: communicating
|
The definite
article
|
With singular
and plural nouns 1. the defining function 2. the generic function
|
The restricting
function
|
The defining
function
|
Absence of the
article
|
With plural
nouns - the nominating function + more-than-oneness Additional functions: 1)
indefiniteness 2) classifying 3) communicating
|
The nominating
function
|
|
Note. The above description of the
functions of articles shows that their use is built up around a number of
oppositions. There arc two main types of these.. Oppositions based on the
category of number:
This opposition is found when the
article is associated with uncountable nouns or nouns having no reference to
the category of countability.
We find the two above given kinds of
opposition within the same function of the indefinite article and the zero
article, i.e. the nominating function.. Oppositions based on the structural
meaning of the articles:
, we find one more special kind of
opposition where the indefinite article in its aspective function is opposed to
both the definite article and the zero article, neither of which possesses aspective
force [29, c.87].
.4.1 The use of the indefinite
articlenouns are used with the indefinite article:
. 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 'какой-нибудь, какой-то, один' (in the meaning of 'некий').has a watch of her own.the green
surface of the lake a little boat, with white wingsfluttering, rocked in the
dewy breeze. (Voynich)beside them grew a rose-bush covered with scarlet hips.
(Voynich)the plural no article is used in this case. If the idea of number is
implied the noun is preceded by the pronoun some.liked the room because there
were flowers in it.
"I have brought you some
flowers..." "1 hate to wear flowers." ( Voynich)
. With a predicative noun, when the
speaker states that the object denoted by the noun belongs to a certain
class.Sharp's father was an artist. (Thackeray)
"Is your brother an agreeable
man, Peggotty?" "Oh, what anman he is!" (Dickens)works as a
chemist. (Cronin)the plural neither the article nor the pronoun some is
used.are good children, no doubt. (E. Bronte) "... they were business men
when I was in the nursery." (Voynich)the conjunction as a predicative noun
is often used without an article.was engaged as governess.
3. 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 drowning man catches at a straw.the
plural neither the article nor the pronoun some is used. Real friends should
have everything in common. (Wilde)
4. There are cases when the
indefinite article preserves its old original meaning of 'one'.
A stitch in time saves nine.had
hardly spoken a word since they left Riccardo's door ... (Voynich)meaning is
generally found with:
(a) nouns denoting time, measure
and weight.
A week or two passed. (Ch. Bronte)
"I'll overtake you in a
minute," said Godfrey. (Eliot)
(b) the numerals -hundred,
thousand, million and the nouns
dozen, score.seems to have half я dozen languages at his finger-tips.
(Voynich)nouns in the plural some is used. Oliver's sobs checked his utterance
for some minutes. (Dickens)
.4.2 The use of the definite
articlenouns are used with the definite article:
. When the noun denotes an object or
objects which the speaker singles out from all the objects of a given class. An
object is singled out in the following cases:
(a) when the speaker and the
hearer know what particular object is meant. No special indication is
necessary.
How did you like the play?have got
the magazine.
У меня есть этот журнал (журнал у меня).
Note. - It should be borne in mind
that there is a difference between knowing what object is spoken about and
knowing the object itself.
. A. I do not care to speak to the
girl. I have never seen her.'t you speak to her? B. But I do not know the girl
either. . A. Who told you about it?
в: a girl.
A. What girl?. My sister.
In the first dialogue the speaker and
the hearer do not know the person at all, but they know whom they mean, so the
definite article is used. In the second the speaker knows the person, but he
presents her to the hearer merely as one of a class, so the indefinite article
is used.
(b) when the speaker uses an
attribute pointing out a particular object.
This is the house that Jack built.
(c) when the situation itself
makes the object definite.
The wedding looked dismal. The bride
was too old and the bridegroom was too young. (Dickens)an object is singled out
from all the objects of a given class the definite article retains its
demonstrative meaning, and the English use the definite article much oftener
than the demonstrative pronouns this or that. Thus the Russian sentence Дайте мне эту книгу
should be rendered in English by Let me have the book.a rule the definite
article is not translated into Russian. However, there are cases when it must
be rendered by этот.told me before you wished
to be a governess; but, my dear, if you remember, I did not encourage the idea.
(Ch. Bronte) ... я не одобрила эту мысль.
2. When the noun denotes a
thing unique (the sun, the moon,
the universe) or a class.
The sun was getting warmer.
(Abrahams) The bourgeoisie is cowardly. (London)indefinite article can be used
when we mean a certain aspect in which the sun, moon and sky appear to us, a
certain state of the sun, the moon, the sky. In this case an attribute is
used.pearl-white moon smiles through the green trees. (Ch. Bronte)
3. With nouns used in a generic
sense.
A noun used in a generic sense
denotes a genus taken as a whole, a thing taken as a type, a genre.tiger has
always had the reputation of being a man-eater. The telephone was invented in
the 19th century. The tragedy and the comedy first appeared in Greece.the noun
man is used in a generic sense no article is used.felt that his trust in man
had been cruelly destroyed. (Eliot)the noun woman is used in a generic sense it
is used with the definite article or occasionally without an article.had always
been interested in that mysterious being - the. (Bennett)is man's helpmate.noun
used in a generic sense should not be confused with a noun used in a general
sense.noun used in a general sense denotes an object regarded as an individual
representative of a class.detective story helps to while away the time.
(Every or any detective story is
meant here.)noun in a generic sense denotes the whole class.Doyle is a master
of the detective story. (The detective story is regarded here as a certain
genre.)notes on the use of the Definite Article. definite article is used:
(1) with nouns modified by
adjectives in the superlative degree.
Miss Tox had the softest voice that
ever was heard. (Dickens)
(2) with nouns in word-groups the
first component of which is some, many, none, most and the second a noun with
the preposition of.
Most of the gentlemen looked both
angry and uncomfortable. (Voynich)
(3) with nouns modified by the
pronoun same and the adjectives wrong (не тот), right (тот), very (именно тот, тот самый).
То all invitations he replied with the same courteous and
positive refusal. (Voynich)do wish we had not opened the door of the wrong
room. (Jerome)
"Ah! Mr. Burton!" exclaimed
the Director, "the very person I wanted." (Voynich)
«... именно тот (как раз тот) человек, который мне
нужен». Signora
Grassini hated Gemma for the very expression of her face.
Синьора Грассини ненавидела Джемму за само выражение
ее лица.
(4) with substantivized
adjectives and participles
Only the simple and the humble were
abroad at that early hour. (Bennett)conveyed some of his love of the beautiful
to Cowperwood. (Dreiser)listeners noted something beyond the usual in his
voice. (Galsworthy). - With countable abstract nouns the use of the articles is
the same as with class nouns.is a capital idea if only one could carry it out.
(Voynich)use of articles with class nouns modified by attributes.definite
article is used when a noun is modified by an attribute which shows that a
particular object is meant, i. e. by an attribute which might be called a
particularizing attribute [20, c. 67] A particularizing attribute is used to
single out an object from all the objects of the class, to point out one
particular object or group of objects. The use of a particularizing attribute
implies the idea of 'тот, который'; 'именно тот, этот'.particularizing attribute can be
expressed by an of-phrase or an attributive clause. It is always used in
post-position.knocked at the door of a very neat house. (Marryat)letters that I
have here have come to me quite by accident. (Dreiser)particularizing attribute
should not be confused with a descriptive attribute.descriptive attribute is
used to describe an object or to give some additional information about it.a
fortnight I got a long letter, which I considered odd. (E. Bronte)post on her
left was occupied by Mr. Erskine of Treadley, an old gentleman of considerable
charm and culture. (Wilde)use of a descriptive attribute does not affect the
use of the article. The same articles would be used if there were no attribute
whatever.day in January he called at the seminary to return a book which he had
borrowed. (Voynich)have just spoken to the woman, who seems to have changed her
mind. (Bennett)went side by side, hand in hand, silently toward the hedge,
where the May flower, both pink and white, was in full bloom. (Galsworthy)the
first example the indefinite article is used with the noun book because the
object denoted by it is presented as belonging to a class. The noun woman is
used with the definite article because the speaker and the hearer know what
particular person is meant. The noun hedge is used with the definite article
because the situation makes the object definite.) Nouns of material nouns of
material used in a general sense, when a certain material as such is meant, no
article is used.is wholesome.hearing what had happened, she (Katie) ran for
warm water... (Voynich)a definite part of the substance is meant (when the noun
is modified by a particularizing attribute or is made definite by the
situation), the definite article is used.gulped down a glass of the sherry
which Cornelius hadbrought. (Heym)meat was good and White Fang was hungry.
(London)an indefinite part of the substance is meant, some is used.took some bread
and cheese with us, and got some goat's milk up there on the pasture.
(Voynich)of material denoting different sorts of material are countables and
the articles are used according to the general use of articles with class
nouns.pleasure to give a good wine to a young woman who looked so well.
(Galsworthy)use is very rare.) Abstract nouns abstract nouns are used in a
general sense, no article is used.there is life there is hope.abstract nouns
are modified by a particularizing attribute or when the situation makes the
idea definite, they are used with the definite article.(Cowperwood) was the
courage and force of his father, the spirit and opportunity of his brothers,
the hope of his children, the dignity and significance of the Cowperwood name.
(Dreiser) Last night I heard Carmen and enjoyed the music.1. - It should be
borne in mind that abstract nouns modified by an attribute in pre-position are
used without articles unless they are modified by particularizing attributes:
English literature, Russian art. Soviet music.2.- The abstract noun weather is
never used with the indefinite article. What fine weather! It is burning
weather. (Ch. Bronte)the noun weather is used in a general sense, the definite
article is used.are people who say that the weather can influence people's
mood. (Bennett)nouns can be used with the indefinite article. In this case the
abstract noun denotes a certain kind (оттенок) of a quality, feeling, state, etc. The noun nearly always
has a descriptive attribute.clever you are, Mr. Hopper. You have a cleverness
quite of your own. (Wilde)her eyes there was an eagerness, which could hardly
be seen without delight. (Austen)indefinite article is used with the nouns
period, population, distance, height, salary, etc. followed by of + numeral + noun.was
out of the city for a period of ten days. (Dreiser)proper nouns ) Names of
persons.
1. Names of persons are used
without articles. looked at Lanny and Celia. (Abrahams)
2. Names denoting the whole
family are used with the definite article.
The Dashwoods were now settled at
Berton. (Auston)
3. When names of persons are
used, to denote a representative of a family, the indefinite article is used.
"Florence will never, never,
never be a Dombey," said Mrs. Chick. (Dickens)
4. Names of persons modified by
a particularizing attribute are used with the definite article.
You're not the Andrew Manson I
married. (Cronin)tall blond man of forty is not much changed in featurethe
Godfrey Cass of six-and-twenty. (Eliot)
5. Names of persons used as
common nouns take the article according to the general rule on the use of
articles.
Swithin smiled and nodding at
Bosinney said, "Why, you are quite a Monte Cristo." (Galsworthy)has
been called the Raphael of music.
6. Nouns denoting military
ranks and titles such as academician, professor, doctor (both a profession and
a title), count, lord, etc. followed by names of persons do not take the
article. In such cases only the proper noun is stressed: Colonel'Brown,
Doctor'Strong. Common nouns denoting professions followed by names of persons
are generally used with the definite article. In this case both nouns are
stressed.
The painter Gainsborough has left
many fine pictures.. However if the name of a person is nearly always used with
the common noun denoting his profession, the word group becomes an indivisible
unit and the article may be omitted: judge Brown.
7. Nouns expressing
relationship followed by names of persons do not take the article: Aunt Polly,
Uncle James,
She turned to Cousin Clixam.
(Bennett)expressing relationship not followed by a proper noun and the nouns
nurse, cook, baby do not take the article when used by members of the family.
"I'd like to see Mother,"
said Emily. (Galsworthy)other people's relations are meant, the article is
used. The son is as clever as the father.
8. The use of articles with
names of persons modified by adjectives is varied.
In most cases no article is used with
names of persons modified by the adjectives old, young, poor, dear, little,
honest, lazy.
... she is the widow of poor Giovanni
Bolla ... (Voynich) He saw that old Chapin wanted to moralize a little.
(Dreiser)modified by other adjectives and participles names of persons take the
definite article.thought Amelia worthy even of the brilliant George Osborne.
(Thackeray)astonished Tom could not say a word.
. Names of persons modified by the
adjective certain are used with the indefinite article.heard it from a certain
Mr. Brown.) Geographical names.. Geographical names like all the other proper
nouns are used without articles: England, France, Moscow, London.same holds
good when a geographical name is modified by an attribute in pre-position:
Soviet Russia, North America, Latin America, Central Asia.. - The word groups
the Soviet Union, the United States are always used with the definite article.
2. Geographical names modified
by a particularizing attribute are used with the definite article.
The Philadelphia into which Frank
Algernon Cowperwood was born was a city of two hundred and fifty thousand and
more. (Dreiser)
3.
With
names of oceans, seas, rivers the definite article is used: the Pacific Ocean
(the Pacific), the Black Sea, the Thames, the Ohio River.
4.
Names
of lakes do not take the article if the word lake is used, which is nearly
always the case; if it is not mentioned we find the definite article: Lake
Windermere, Lake Ontario, the Ontario.
5.
With
names of mountain chains the definite article is used: the Urals, the Alps.
With names of mountain peaks no
article is used: Elbrus, Everest.
6. With names of groups of
islands the definite article is used: the Hebrides, the Bermudas.
With names of single islands there is
no article: Madagascar.
7. The names of the following
towns, countries and provinces are used with the definite article: the Hague,
the Netherlands, the West Indies, the Ruhr, the Riviera, the Crimea, the
Ukraine, the Caucasus, the Congo. The Lebanon is generally used with the
definite article, occasionally without the article.
8. Names of streets and squares
are used without articles: Oxford Street, Wall Street, Trafalgar Square,
Russell Square.
There are a few
exceptions: the High Street, the Strand.) Names of hotels, ships, newspapers
and magazines.of hotels, ships, newspapers and magazines are used with the
definite article.he added that the Independent had accepted and was about to
publish two poems which he had been able to write because of her.
(Dreiser)three men came to the turning at the corner of the Grosvenor Hotel.
(Hichens)) Names of cardinal points.the names of cardinal points the definite
article is used: the North, the South, the West, the East.the expressions from
East to West, from North to South no article is used.) Names of months and
days.a rule names of months and days are used without articles.is a spring
month. My day off is Friday.these nouns are modified by a particularizing
attribute the definite article is used.May of 1949 will always rest in my
memory.Trotwood came on the Friday when David was born.of days are used with
the indefinite article when we mean one of many Mondays, Fridays, etc.Crusoe
found his servant on a Friday.do not remember exactly when he came from Moscow,
but Isure it was on a Monday.of months are used with the indefinite article
when modified by a descriptive attribute.cold May is the usual thing in
Leningrad.) The use of articles with nouns modified by proper nouns.a noun is
modified by a proper noun in the genitive case no article is used.met Robert's
father.noun modified by a proper noun in the common case is used with the
definite article.summer I visited the Tretyakov Gallery.
The sailor led him back to the little irregular square by the
Medici Palace. (Voynich)
USE OF ARTICLES WITH NOUNS IN SOME
SET EXPRESSIONS)The use of the indefinite article with nouns in set
expressions.
1. in a hurry - второпях
|
Things done in a
hurry are done badly.
|
2. to have a
mind to do something (a great mind, a good mind) - иметь желание что-либо сделать, быть склонным что либо сделать
|
I have a great
mind to have a serious talk with her.
|
3. to fly into a
passion - прийти в бешенство
|
If you
contradict him, he will fly into a passion.
|
4. to get in a
fury (in a rage) прийти в ярость
|
If you
contradict him, he will get in a fury (in a rage).
|
5. to take a
fancy to (chiefly with names of living beings)- проникнуться симпатией, почувствовать расположение
|
I wonder why she
took a fancy to the little girl.
|
6. in a low
(loud) voice - тихо(громко)
|
Don't speak in a
low voice.
|
7. a great many
(with countables) - много
|
I have spoken to
him a great many times.
|
8. a great deal
(with uncountables) - много
|
We can't skate
today, there is a great deal of snow on the ice.
|
9. it is a pity
- жаль
|
It is a pity you
did not go to the concert last night.
|
10. it is a
shame - стыдно
|
It is a shame
not to know these elementary things.
|
11. it is a
pleasure - приятно
|
It is a pleasure
to read beautiful poetry.
|
12. as a result
- в
результате
|
As a result of
the inhabitants strenuous efforts the damaged city was soon rebuilt.
|
13. to have a
good time - хорошо провести время
|
Last night we
went to an evening party and had a very good time.
|
14. to be at a
loss - быть в недоумении
|
She was at a
loss what to say.
|
15. at a glance -
сразу, с первого взгляда
|
She saw at a
glance that something had happened.
|
)The use of the definite article with
nouns in set expressions.
1. it is out of
the question - об этом не может
быть и речи
|
Will you go to
the theatre tonight?" "It's out of the question you have lots of things
to do."
|
2. to take the
trouble to do something - потрудиться
|
You had a
difficult text to translate and you did not take the trouble to consult the
dictionary.
|
3. in the
original - в оригинале
|
You know English
well enough to read Dickens in the original.
|
4. to play the
piano (the violin, the harp) - играть на рояле (скрипке, арфе)
|
She plays the
piano very well.
|
5. to keep the
house - сидеть дома
|
She has a cold
and will have to keep the house for a couple of days.
|
6. to keep the bed -
соблюдать постельный режим
|
She has a bad
cold and will have to keep the bed for a couple of days.
|
7. on the whole
- в
целом
|
On the whole Tom
is a pleasant fellow, but sometimes he has whims.
|
8. the other day
(refers to the past) - на днях
|
I met him the
other day.
|
9. on the one
hand. on the other hand - с одной стороны.с другой стороны
|
On the one hand
he certainly excites suspicion, but on the other hand we have not enough
evidence against him. (Qppenheim)
|
10. to tell (to
speak) the truth говорить правду; To tell the truth, - по правде говоря
|
He always speaks
(tells) the truth.
|
11. to be on the
safe side - для верности
|
I am almost sure
of the pronunciation of this name, but to be on the safe side let us consult
the pronouncing dictionary.
|
) Nouns in set expressions used
without an article.
1. out
of doors - на дворе, на улице, вне дома
|
The children
spent most of the time out of doors.
|
2. to take to
heart - принимать близко к сердцу
|
Don't take
things too much to heart.
|
3. to take
offence - обижаться
|
If he had heard
your remark, he would have taken offence.
|
4. to give (to
get, to ask) permission - дать (получить, просить) разрешение
|
I asked
permission to keep the book a little longer.
|
5. to lose heart - терять мужество, приходить в уныние
|
Не found the subject very difficult at first, but he
did not lose heart.
|
6. at present - в настоящее время
|
He went on
working hard and finally mastered it. You may go home, we don't want you at
present.
|
7. from morning
till night - с утра до вечера
|
Не worked in his little garden from morning till
night.
|
8. from head to
foot - с головы до ног
|
She was dressed
in furs from head to foot.
|
9. from
beginning to end - с начала до конца
|
The whole story
is a lie from beginning to end.
|
10. at first sight - с
первого взгляда
|
Не fell in love with her at first sight.
|
11. by chance -случайно
|
They met quite
by chance.
|
12. by mistake -
по
ошибке
|
I have brought
the wrong book by mistake.
|
13. for hours - часами
|
Не could read for hours.
|
14. for ages - целую вечность
|
I have not seen
you for ages.
|
15. by land, by
air, by sea - cyшей, по воздуху, морем
|
I like
travelling by sea.
|
16. to go to sea
- стать моряком
|
My sister wants
to be a doctor, and my brother wants to go to sea.
|
17. on deck - на палубе
|
We spent hours
on deck.
|
18. to keep house - вести
хозяйство
|
Her sister keeps
house for her.
|
19. at sunrise -
на
рассвете
|
We left the town
at sunrise.
|
20. at sunset - на закате
|
We arrived at
the village at sunset.
|
21. at work - за работой
|
Whenever I come,
he is always at work.
|
22. at peace - в мире
|
We want to be at
peace with all countries.
|
23. by name - по имени
|
His cat,
Snowball by name, was playing on the carpet.
|
24. in debt - в долгу
|
Mr. Micawber was
always in debt.
|
) The use of
articles with predicative nouns.stated above a predicative noun is used with
the indefinite article if the speaker states that the object denoted by the
noun belongs to a certain class.a predicative noun is modified by a
particularizing attribute, the definite article is used.is the student you
wanted to speak to.a predicative noun denotes a post which can be occupied by
one person at a time, either no atricle or the definite article is used..
Henderson is manager, not under-manager any longer. (Lindsay) Montanelli was
director of the theological seminary at Pisa. Comrade N. is the dean of our
faculty.article is used with predicative nouns after the verbs to turn, to
commence, to appoint, to elect.
turned traitor.
Компейсон стал предателем.
Shakespeare
commenced actor.
Шекспир начинал как актер.appointed him head-teacher.
Его назначили старшим преподавателем.predicative noun sometimes has an
adjectival character, especially when it is followed by the adverb enough. In
this case no article is used.Bolla isn't fool enough to believe that sort of
stuff?
(Voynich)
Неужели Болла настолько глуп,
чтобы поверить подобному
вздору?a predicative noun in an adverbial clause
of concession is placed at the head of the clause, no article is used.as he
was, David understood that Creakle was an ignorant man Хотя Давид был ребенком,
он понимал,
что
Крикль - невежественный человек.nouns son and daughter used predicatively
take the definite article when modified by an of phrase, though there may be
several sons and daughters in the family.was the son of a fisherman. Becky
Sharp was the daughter of an artist.) The use of articles with nouns in
apposition.in apposition and nouns forming part of an apposition are used with
the indefinite article if the speaker states that the object expressed by the
noun in apposition belongs to a certain class.want to introduce you to Comrade В., a
great friend of mine.the plural no article is used.want to introduce you to
Comrades B. and D., great friends of.in apposition or nouns forming part of an
apposition are used with the definite article if they are modified by a
particularizing attribute.В., the student you have mentioned, has
come.the noun denotes a well-known person or work of art, the definite article
is generally used., the great Russian poet, died in 1837., the immortal tragedy
by Shakespeare, was written in theyears of the 17th century.if the person or
the work of art is not widely known the indefinite article is used., a comedy
by Shakespeare, is hardly ever staged.article is generally used with a noun in
apposition when the apposition expresses a post which can be occupied by one
person at a time. Occasionally the definite article is used.Petrov, director
(the director) of the Medical Institute, is going to deliver a lecture.Smirnov,
dean (the dean) of the English department, has left for Moscow.nouns used in
address take no article. Come downstairs, child. (Voynich)) Place of the
article.usual place of the article is before the noun if it is not modified by
an attribute; if the noun is modified by an attribute, the article is placed
before the latter. However, there are cases when the article follows the
attribute.
1. The definite article follows
the attribute expressed by thepronouns both, all.
Both the stones were interesting. All
the stones were interesting.
2. The indefinite article
follows the attribute expressed by an adjective after so, too, as.
Mr. Pickwick could not resist so
tempting an opportunity ofhuman nature. (Dickens)compel me to tell you that
this is too serious a matter totreated in such a fashion. (Dreiser)was as black
a house inside as outside. (Dickens)
3. The indefinite article follows
quite, such, what (what in exclamatory sentences).
She is quite a child.'ve never heard
of such a thing.a wonderfu' piece of luck!indefinite article either precedes or
follows rather.enquiry envolved the respected lady in rather a delicate.
(Dickens)stop and interchange a rather heated look. (Dickens)) Ways of
expressing the meaning of the English articles in Russian.meaning of the
English article may sometimes be expressed in Russian by means of:
(a) cases.
Pour the water into the glass.
Налейте воду в стакан. some water into the glass.
Налейте воды в стакан.
(b) word order.
A woman came up to me and asked what
time it was. Ко мне
подошла женщина и спросила, который час. The woman has come. Женщина пришла.
(c) the words один, какой-то, какой-нибудь (the indefinite article), этот, тот самый (the definite article).
A man is waiting for you downstairs.
Вас внизу ждет какой-то человек.
Do you know Nina? Yes, I do. I like
the girl immensely.
Вы знаете Нину? Знаю. Мне очень нравится эта девушка.
Special difficulties in the use of
articles.) The use of articles with the nouns day, night, morning,
evening.nouns day, night, morning, evening are used without articles:
(a) if day und morning mean
'light' and night and evening mean 'darkness', or if they denote a certain part
of the day.
The sun had gone and night had come.
(Abrahams)is meant for work, night for sleep.was evening. The river was before
them. (Dreiser)
(b) in the expressions by day. at
night, from morning till night. It is easier to work by day than at night.
The definite article is used when
these nouns are modified by a particularizing attribute or when the situation
makes them definite.will never forget the day when he met her. The night was
warm and beautifully still. (Voynich)definite article is also used in the
expressions: in the morning, in the afternoon, in the evening.indefinite
article is used when the noun is modified by a descriptive attribute.spent a
sleepless night.the nouns morning and evening are modified by the adjectives early
and late, no articles are used because these adjectives do not describe the
morning or night, but only show the time.was early morning when the train
pulled into the little siding. (Abrahams)) The use of articles with names of
seasons.of seasons are used without articles if they show a certain time of the
year.was spring. I like spring.definite article is used when these nouns are
modified by a particularizing attribute or when the situation makes them
definite.happened in the spring of 1930, The spring was cold and
rainy.indefinite article is used when these nouns are modified by a descriptive
attribute.was a cold spring.names of seasons are modified by the adjectives
early or late, no articles are used.was early spring.) The use of articles with
the nouns school, college, bed, prison, jail.nouns school, college, bed,
prison, jail are used without an article when they lose their concrete meaning
and express the purpose for which the objects denoted by these nouns
serve.these nouns denote concrete objects the articles are used according to
the general principle.
(a) School, college.be at school |
> to be a schoolboy (schoolgirl)
go to school be at college - to be a student of a college to leave school - to
finish or drop one's studiesbegins at five.went to College in the North. (Gow
and D'Usseau)history since he left school had been indicated in the last.
(Thackeray)was at seventeen that he decided to leave school.go to the school -
not as a pupil (the building is meant)leave the school - to leave the buildingwent
to the school yesterday to attend a parents' meeting.left the school at 7
o'clock.worked at a school in Siberia.
(b) Bed.
to go to bed - ложиться спатьbe in bed - лежать в постелиnow you had better go to
bed. Good-night. (Voynich)be in the bed
> an article of furniture is
meantbe on the bed portrait was on the wall beside the bed. (Voynich)
(c) Prison, jail.
to be in prison (in jail) - to be a
prisonerbe sent to prison
> as a prisoner
to be put in prison . Dorrit was in
prison many years. Mr. Dorrit was sent to prison for debt.last they had heard
of him was that he was in jail for having killed a person in a fight.
(Abrahams)be in the prison
>not as a
prisoner (the building is meant) go to the prison. Dorrit's family lived in the
prison.prison proper dated from 1822. (Dreiser)) The use of articles with the
noun town.noun town when used with prepositions does not take an:
(a) when we mean the nearest town
(if we live in the country) or the town we liv.e in.
You cannot go to town to-morrow.
(Austen) What can you have to do in town...? (Austen)
(b) when the noun town is opposed
to the noun country.
He was not used to country life,
having spent twenty years in town.the noun town is used with the definite or
indefinite article.want to go to the town where I was born.) The use of
articles with the names of meals.of meals are used without articles.did you
have dinner?dinner ready?is cooking dinner.they were at breakfast, the letters
were brought in. (Austen)have finished breakfast, ring the bell. (Ch.
Bronte)definite article is used when the nouns are modified by a
particularizing attribute or when the situation makes them definite.dinner we
had to-day was very substantial. The dinner was a success.indefinite article is
used if the name of a meal is modified by a descriptive attribute.a hearty
breakfast the four gentlemen sallied forth to walk to Gravesend. (Dickens)) The
use of articles with names of languages.of languages when they are not followed
by the noun language are used without articles:knows English.the peculiar use
of the definite article in: (1) It is a translation from the English (the
French, etc.), (2) What is the English (the French, etc.) for 'сосна'?definite article is used if the
noun is modified by a particularizing attribute:English of America differs from
the English of England.the noun language is mentioned the definite article is
used: the English language, the German language.of articles with nouns modified
by certain adjectives, pronouns and numerals. ) Most.
(a) Most + adjective.definite article
is used when most serves to form the superlative degree of an adjective.
This is the most interesting chapter in the book.
The use of the indefinite article
shows that a high degree of a quality is meant. Most has the same meaning as
very, exceedingly.found that the old maid had been a most devoted daughter and
sister. (Ch. Bronte)- Occasionally the form of the superlative degree does not
express comparison, but a high degree of a quality.listened with the most
profound attention. He listened with the deepest attention.same phenomenon is
found in Russian:
(b) Most + of + noun.definite people
or things are meant the noun is used with the definite article and most is followed
by the preposition of.of the flowers in the garden were planted by the
schoolchildren.of the gentlemen looked both angry and uncomfortable.
(Voynich)say most, not most of the, when we do not mean definite people or
things. The noun is used in a general sense.flowers smell sweet.) Few, a few,
the few; little, a little, the little.means 'мало', it has a negative meaning.few means 'несколько', it has a positive meaning. few means 'те немногие (которые)'.
He was a very good man. There are few
like him in the world to-day. (Abrahams)left after a few moments. (Dreiser)need
not fear to hear the few remaining words we have to say. (Dickens)means 'мало', it has a negative meaning.little
means 'некоторое количество', it has a positive meaning. little means 'небольшое количество (которое)'.
We can't go skiing to-day. There is
too little snow.have a little time. Let us take a walk in the garden.'t waste
the little time you have.) Two, the two; three, the three, etc.means 'два'.two means 'оба, те два'.students entered the room.two
friends travelled together.
The two books you lent me proved very interesting.
d) The second, a second.second is an
ordinal numeral meaning 'второй'.second attempt proved
more successful than the first.second means 'another, one more'. Having eaten
the gruel, Oliver asked for a second portion.the third, a third, the fourth, a
fourth, etc. we see the same difference in meaning.made an experiment which
proved his theory. He made a second, a third, a fourth experiment with the same
results.second time means 'once more'.rang the bell, but nobody answered it, so
I had to ring a second time.) Another, the other.pronoun another has two
meanings:
(a) 'какой-либо другой'.
Give me another pen, I don't like
this one.
(b) 'еще один'.
I am thirsty; 1 should like another
cup of tea. The other means 'определенный другой'. There are two books here, take one
and I'll take the other.) Last, the last.modified by the adjective last are
always used with the definite article except in the expressions last month, last
year, last week, last summer (winter, autumn, spring).last word remained with
George.summer, in Switzerland, he was quite well. (Voynich)) Next, the
next.means 'будущий' when referring to time:
next month, next week.next means 'следующий': the next room, at the next lesson. Next time means 'в следующий раз'.
We shall discuss this matter next
time.reference to time viewed from the past both next and the next mean 'следующий'.spent a fortnight in Kiev. The next
week was spent in Odessa (or: Next week was spent in Odessa).) A number, the
number.number of means 'many'. It is rendered in Russian by много, ряд.number means 'число, количество'.father and a number of
his cronies were in the dining-room. (Dreiser)number of mistakes he makes is
startling.
1.4.3 Omission of the article
Sometimes the article is not used
where we naturally expect to find it in accordance with the rules. No change of
meaning is observed in these cases.article is often omitted in newspaper
headings, telegrams, in stage directions.Blast Kills Woman. (Dally Worker) Girl
Gymnast Keeps Title. (Moscow News)article is often omitted with homogeneous
members closely connected with each other and joined by the conjunction and. In
most cases they go in pairs.breakfast was taken away, and that meal over, it
was the general custom of uncle and niece to separate. (Ch. Bronte)[20]analyses
of theoretical and practical aspects of the English articles enabled to make
the following conclusions:
1. Considering the process of
the historical development of the English articles there appeared two concepts
according to the first of which the article is the notional part of speech and
according to the second it is one of the forms of Adjectives. Most scientists
supported the first point of view in the 19th century, but at the same time
there existed a theory that included the article into the class of Pronouns or
into the class of Adjectives. In the 20th century the article was not
considered to be a notional part of speech by a wide range of scientists. In
our work we support the thought that the article is a notional part of speech
as it posesses three characteristics (the lexico-grammatical meanings of
”(in)definiteness”; the right-hand combinability with nouns; the function of
noun specifiers) which make us believe that the English article is a notional
part of speech.
2. The syntactical role of the
article consists in marking off a noun or a noun phrase as a part of the
sentence.
. The morphological value of
the article lies in indicating the substantivization of other parts of speech,
mainly adjectives or participles, also pronouns, adverbs, numerals.
. The main functions of the
indefinite article are: classifying, generic and numerical.
. The two main functions of
the definite article are specifying and generic.
. The absence of any article,
which is sometimes referred to as the zero article, is as meaningful as their
actual use. It is regularly observed with countable nouns in the plural, with
non-counts used in a general sense, with proper nouns.
. The omission of an article
differs from the absence of an article in that it is stylistically or
traditionally determined.
article translation contextual indefinite
Part II. Lexico-grammatical aspects
of translation of the definite and indefinite articles
to a concrete detailed analyses of
ways and methods of rendering English articles into Ukrainian it is very
important to mention the category of Definiteness and Indefiniteness as it can
give a considerable semantic shade of meaning.
.1 The Category of Definiteness and
Indefiniteness
noun in English and Ukrainian, as in
other languages, possesses the semantic category of definiteness and
indefiniteness [39, c.412].In other words, when a noun (even a proper name) or
family/geographical name is taken out of its context to which it belonged, its
meaning may not be definitely understood, i.e. identified. Thus, the proper
names Mykola, Petro or Anatoliy when used for the first time (eg. I met
Petro/Mykola yesterday evening) may not be definite enough for the listener or
collocutor who may inquire: which Petro/Mykola? Your friend/cousine
Petro/Mykola? You mean your co-student Petro/Mykola? etc. Even when one uses
the geographical name like Beskyd the real meaning of this proper noun may not
be clear to the listener who has not enough preliminary information about the
used name. This is because "Beskyd" may be the name of a mountain in
the Carpathians as well as a tourist camp or a hotel there. Similarly
identified must also be many other nouns in Ukrainian despite its being a
predominantly synthetic by structure language. Thus, it may be sometimes far
from easy to unanimously identify the real meaning, for example, of such a
seemingly transparent for every Ukrainian listener name as Київ. Even in the sentence as Він мешкав деякий час у Києві (when used in oral
speech) and when the listener does not see this noun written, it may mean the
city named Київ or the "Київ" hotel (then it is in inverted
commas in Ukrainian). Similarly when one hears the English king's name Charles,
one would naturally inquire which king Charles? The first, the third or the
fifth? Only when the substantivized numeral is added (Charles the First or
Charles the Third, etc.), will the King's name become definite (clearly and finally
indentified).
The category of definiteness and indenfiniteness may be
identified in English and Ukrainian both at language level (when the noun is
out of a concrete context) and at speech level, i.e. in oral presentation or in
a written microtext. The main means of making the noun definite in English is
to use the definite or indefinite (zero) article or any other determining or
identifying adjunct. For example: Bristol (zero article) means the town of
Bristol, whereas the Bristol is the name of a hotel or an inn, ship, etc.
Similarly even with such a proper noun as Україна which, when used without the definite
article, means the country of Ukraine, but when presented in inverted commas it
will mean anything: готель "Україна", концертний зал "Україна" or an agricultural
en terprise/joint venture "Україна". The definite article may also determine, i.e. make
definite some other groups (or single) nouns as, for example, those denoting
generic nouns or unique objects on the globe, or even in the universe as in the
following sentences: The lion is a wild animal. The sun is a bright celestial
body. The Bible is a holy book of all Christians.
The category of definiteness may be
also indicated by syntactic, i.e. lexico-syntactic means. Namely, by an
appositive noun or a substantivized numeral, an adjective or any other adjunct:
Cf.: the Tory government, King Henry V, the first Summet meeting, уряд Topi, король Генріх П'ятий, готель "Колос", дівчина - парашутистка, nepша зуcmpiч у eepxax, четвертий універсал уряду УHP, etc. Hence, the
categories of definiteness and indefiniteness may be expressed both by
pre-posed and postposed identifiers simultaneously (as in the last example четвертий > універсал < уряду УHP). Or such an example: the noun
congress or its Ukrainian variant з’їзд when used out of a
context remains absolutely nonrelated to any concretely identified event. Even
when preceded by a numeral (the first or the second congress) it remains far
from semantically identified. Only when explicated by one more identifier - the
first congress of ecologists, the noun congress becomes more or less
exhaustively identified. Similarly in Ukrainian where the noun з'їзд becomes definite (or indefinite)
when it is explicitly identified: з'їзд екологів, з'їзд екологів України, черговий/ позачерговий з'їзд екологів України, etc.category of indefiniteness
apart from being indicated in English by the indefinite article a/an, may also
be made explicit by the indefinite pronouns any, some, etc., and by the numeral
one as well as by the indefinite article plus an adjectival, participial or any
other adjunct. Eg: There is some boy wants to see you. (King) "Was there a
Mr Palgrave?" (H.E. Bates) - "there's a marvelously good restaurant
called L'Ocean about six or seven
miles down the coast". (Ibid.) Cf. in Ukrainian: Там ніякого Micmepa Палгрейва не було?expression of
indefiniteness in Ukrainian is likewise realized with the help of the
indefinite pronouns якийсь
(якась, якесь), through the indefinite numeral один (одна, одне) or via the indefinite pronouns якийсь/ якась, якесь, plus the adjuncts expressing the
characteristic features of the person or object. Eg: Якийсь Петренко там чекає на вac. Був собі один чоловік і мав він два сини. Навіть один страшний день війни запам'ятався кожному навіки.English where
indefiniteness is expressed via the corresponding markers, in Ukrainian it may
sometimes be expressed also through grammatical shifting of the indefinite noun
into the final position of the sentence [39, c.417]. For example:
The door opened
and the teacher entered the classroom.
|
Двері відчинилися і
вчитель увійшов до класу.
|
To express indefiniteness, the noun
will be shifted to the final position:
The door opened
and a teacher entered the classroom.
|
Двері відчинилися і
до класу ввійшов учитель.
|
Therefore, the category of definiteness and indefiniteness is
equally pertained to both contrasted languages [28, c.95].
2.2 Rendering of the contextual
meaning of the definite and indefinite articles
researchers do not pay enough
attention to the translation of the articles. But nevertheless some of them
(I.V.Korunets, V.I.Karaban) [28,39] consider that when rendering the lexical
meaning of the definite and indefinite articles into Ukrainian one should
consider that they are meaningful and attention should be payed to their
functional meanings in the sentences or word-combinations. of the researches
who supports the idea of the necessity of translating definite and indefinite
articles is Korunets. He thinks that the article, both the definite and
indefinite, is a functional word serving to identify or determine the noun (cf.
to work-the work), the superlative degree of its quality (the tallest tree) or
the order of nouns in a word-group (the first step) or in a row of similar
nouns. In some prepositional phrases and word-combinations the definite and
indefinite articles, however, may change their lexico-grammatical nature
(become a particle), as in the expression the more, the better (чим більше, тим краще), or acquire some peculiar
grammatical, functional and lexical meaning (the Browns/Petrenkos подружжя Браунів/ Петренків);
the article
may be lexicalized as in the Alps/the Carpathians Альпи/Карпати, at the baker's/butcher's у пекаря/ м'ясника (в хлібному
/м'ясному магазині). Such and the like lexicalized articles, naturally, in no way
weaken or lose their determining, i.e., grammatical function. As a result,
their lexical meaning is inseparable in these cases from their functional
meaning. The determining and lexicalizing nature of the definite and indefinite
articles also manifests itself in several set expressions (cf. in the cart, in
a word, what a pity, all of a sudden, etc.)
1). On several other occasions the
definite/indefinite article may acquire some lexical meaning in contextual
environment (only for a time) and thus serve as a peculiar means of «expressive
connotation»1 . This kind of articles is each time endowed in different
contextual environments with some quite different meaning, which may be,
nevertheless, of implicitly different semantic and lexico-grammatical/
logically-grammatical type, as for instance, that of a demonstrative,
possessive, identifying, indefinite or some other pronoun: Cf.: He lived more
poorly than an artisan. (S. Maugham) Жив він бідніше за будь-якого ремісника. Carot never sold a
picture. (Ibid) Каро
не продав жодної картини/ні однієї картини.
) That of an adjunctive/identifying
adjective and a specifying or modal particle:... and she had acquired a
reputation for neatness and (Maugham) і вона здобула за ретельно виконану
роботу солідну репутацію. She would have called him a fish. (Carrol) Боні назвала б його просто
карасем.
) A distinctly nominal or rather
nominalizing meaning. The latter can be explicitly illustrated in the following
sentence. He (Mr. Gills) took it (the bottle) up and having surveyed and smelt
it said with extraordinary expression: «The?» «The», returned the instrument
maker. (Ch. Dickens)real meaning of thus emphasized article can be disclosed
only in the sentence that follows, where Mr. Gills fills the glass with liquour
and drinks it. Without the broader context it would certainly be impossible to
guess what this definite nominalizing article stands for in the extract. Nor is
it always easy for our students to identify in some sentences the rhematic and
the thematic function of article; and to express their meaning. Therefore, the
occurrence of lexically meaningful articles is not occasional or accidental,
for it is predetermined by context. Due to this, the number of lexically
meaningful articles in different speech substyles often varies. Their
occurrence can also depend on the personal taste of the author who may be more
or less inclined to use them in his narrative. But whatever their quantity, none
of the lexically meaningful articles should be ignored о overlooked in the passage under
translation and its meaning must be correctly rendered in the target
language.order to faithfully convey each kind of the aforementioned meaningful
articles, the student will be advised first of all to subject the whole
passage, which is to be translated, to a thorough content analysis in order to
select possible lexical substitutes for the article in the target language. The
substitutes in languages like Ukrainian (Russian), which have no functionals of the kind, can differ
by their logico-grammatical nature, as well as be contextually synonymous
Because of this the choice of the contextually equivalent substitutes depends
much on the translator who, when selecting a fitting lexical equivalent for the
article, has to take some factors into consideration These include first of all
the semantic factor playing a predominant role, and the stylistic factor
eliminating an unnecessary repetition of the same equivalent substitute in
sentences close by. In other words, the co-occurrence of the same synonymous
substitutes must b strictly regulated. Besides, the translator has to keep it
in mind, that some contextual meanings of the definite article may seem similar
1.1 those of the indefinite
article and vice versa. Hence, the translator should be no less attentive to
the style of his target language pas sage which in its turn will help him
achieve a faithful translation of sentences or the passage as a whole, where
both the defining and the nominalizing lexically charged articles are
used.conveying the lexical meanings of the definite and indefinite articles
into Ukrainian, attention should be paid to their functional meanings in the
sentence/word-combinations. Thus, the meanings of the definite article are
usually expressed through different Ukrainian attributive pronouns, adjectives,
participles, adverbs or cardinal/ordinal numerals. The meaning of the numeral
one, on the other hand, is always expressed only through the indefinite
article, which is historically derived from this part of speech. Cf.: Most of
felllows in the Quarters share a studio. (Maugham) Багато
хлопців з латинського кварталу орендують
гуртом одну студію.
The nominalizing articles are mostly
rendered through the parts of speech having the functions of attributes to the
noun: «... I believe that a young person in a city tea-shop has left her
situation. (Maugham) ...Гадаю, в одній із кав'ярень якась офіціантка зникла.emphatically
used articles, on the other hand, have usually particles for their contextual
equivalents in Ukrainian: But I must content myself with a few paragraphs.
(Maugham) Жаль, що можу обмежитись лише кількома
епізодами.rhematic use of the articles introducing the new
information, a new core of an utterance, and its thematic use repeating the
already known information about an object or event is often disclosed in
Ukrainian sentences by other than lexical means, as will be shown further.
Still, the bulk of meanings which the lexically charged articles can acquire
due to their syntagmatic environment in speech are those of pronouns. This can
also be seen from the citied illustrations on the forthcoming pages.
.2.1 Realization of the contextual
meanings of the definite article
The definite article when endowed
with the lexical meaning in a sentence or passage can have various realizations
in Ukrainian. It is expedient to begin with the most common of them which may
refer not only to nouns but to other parts of speech as well, as for example:
1) as the demonstrative pronoun цей (ця, це, цi):
What his sister
has seen in the man was beyond him. (J.London)
|
Що його сестра знайшла у цьому чоловікові, він не міг збагнути.
|
All cited instances in illustration
of the lexical meaning of articles, unless indicated otherwise, have been
picked up from J.London's works and their translations in Ukrainian
The thought was
fire in him. Martin came back and looked at the beady eyes- sneering....
|
Ця думка пекла його, мов
вогонь. Mapmiн onpumoмнів i,
глянувши в ці злі, xumpi очі...
|
For the last
week, she had asked herself whether or not he was going to propose to her,
and now that he had at last done so, she was strangely confused.
|
Всю цю неділю вона
питала себе чи зробить він їй пропозицію, але тепер, коли це
нарешті трапилось, вона почувала себе досить ніяково.
|
The argument is
unconvincing.
|
Цей аргумент
непереконливий.
|
2) as the demonstrative pronouns такий (той, та, ті), той самий(саме той, та сама), такий
самий:
I was realized
as the I who made things, the thinking I, and the speaking I (P. Freire)
|
Я реалізувався як
Такий Я, що створює речі, як мислячий Я i
промовляючий Я.
|
«Sometimes there
is the impression that the I.M.F. is on the same side of the barricades with
the forces which are out to reverse the course of development back to Soviet
times» Ukrainian president said. (Kyiv Post)
|
«Іноді створюється
таке враження, що МВФ стоїть на одному боці з тими самими силами, які намагаються
повернути курс розвитку до радянських часів», - заявив президент України.
|
Prime Minister's
dismissal had been rumored from the date of his appointment. (Ibid.)
|
Чутки про зняття прем'ер-мiністра поширювалися від самого
початку його призначення.
|
But surely Ruth
did not understand it, he concluded. How could she, living the refined life
she did?
|
Рут навряд чи розуміла
цей твip. Та i
як вона могла зрозуміти, живучи таким витонченим, як у неї,
життям?
|
He was amazed at
the man's sympathy with the life and his incisive psychology. (J.London)
|
Його вразила така любов цiєї людини до життя її психологічне
проникнення.
|
The fellow
behind us in the crowd was talking again. (J.London)
|
Той самий хлопець iз натовпу позад нас тепер
озвався знову.
|
....and when I
could see again, the fellow who stayed with me was dragging me down the
street. (Ibid.)
|
...а коли мені
розвиднилось в очах, саме той хлопець, що зостався зi мною, тяг мене за собою.
|
“This is the
gentleman who is good enough to put some order into the mess we make of our
accounts”.
|
Це той джентльмен,
який люб’язно погодився привести до ладу наші бухгалтерські книги.
|
On alternatively
that he should get Michael to read the part he had in view and come to the
conclusion that he could not touch it.
|
Або, навпаки,
запропонує Майклу прочитати таку роль, яку хоче йому запропонувати, і
побачить, що він не впорається з нею.
|
Then the
question arises.
|
Тоді виникає ось
таке питання.
|
) as the possessive pronoun її,їхні,свій:
The room
was situated over
the . laundry
|
Його кімната була/
знаходилась над пральнею...
|
«Why don't you
eat?» he demanded, as Martin dipped dolefully into the cold, half cooked
oatmeal mush.
|
«Чому ти не їси?» - запитав
він, бачачи, як неохоче Мартін копирсає свою недоварену вівсяну кашу.
|
...Mr.
Higginbotham sneered throughout mealtime at the «literary» person they had
discovered in the family.
|
...містер
Хіґґінботем під час обіду стільки кепкував з «писаки», що виявився у їхній pодині
|
4) as the identifying pronoun весь, вся, все/цілий.
Не looked up, and it seemed that the room
was lifting...
|
Він підвів голову,
і йому здалося, що вся кімната ходить ходором...
|
The romance and
beauty, and high vigour of the books were coming true.
|
Вся романтика і
краса, всі високі поривання, про які він читав у книжках, виявились правдою.
|
Her trained ear
detected the overemphasis of the tyro...
|
Її витончене вухо
враз вловило всі перебільшення новачка...
|
« What the hell
you guys blocking the street?» (E.Caldwell)
|
«Якого біса ви,
волоцюги, запрудили всю вулицю?»
|
This is true if
the p’s are complex.
|
Це правильно в тому
випадку, коли всі р - комплексні.
|
The many
possibilities opened up by the solution were not availed of.
|
Не вдалося
скористатися всіма тими можливостями, які виникли завдяки такому вирішенню.
|
5) as the relative pronoun який (яка, яке).
Не caught himself imagining the wonder of a
caress from such a hand, and flushed guiltily...
|
Він подумав, яку
насолоду повинні приносити пестощі такою рукою, і зніяковіло зашарівся...
|
She did not know
the actual fire of love.
|
Вона не знала, яке
то справжнє полум'я кохання.
|
Did you hear the
thing I had to say?
|
Ви чули, яку
нісенітницю мені довелось сказати?
|
6) as the indefinite pronoun якийсь
For the moment
the great gulf that separated them then was bridged. He was played by the low
comedian, who had introduced gags of his own... (O. Wilde)
|
На якусь мить через
велику безодню, що розділяла їх, був наведений міст. Його роль виконував
такий собі комік з фарсовими вибриками власного штибу.
|
For the moment
she thought she was going to be sick, and when she forced on her face an
eager, happy smile, she felt that her museles were stiff and hard.
|
На якусь мить
Джулії здалось, начебто вона зараз знепритомніє, і, намагаючись видавити
щасливу посмішку, вона відчула, що м язи не піддаються їй.
|
7) as the identifying attributive
pronoun сам, сам
собою, інший/ інша:
But the man did
not seem to know of the content of the great mind.
|
Та, очевидно, сам
бібліотекар нічого не знав про творчість цієї великої голови.
|
The toil meant
nothing to him.
|
Сама собою праця
нічого не важила.
|
...which was new
to him, for of the women he had known - that was the only way he thought.
|
.... і це було нове для нього, бо про інших жінок, яких
він знав, він інакше взагалі не думав.
|
The thing to do
would be to act there in other managements for 3-4 years first, one’s got to
know the ropes
|
Саме головне - роки
3-4 поробити в інших трупах, необхідно дізнатись усі тонкощі.
|
8) as an adjective or adjectivized
participle (according to the contextual meaning):
Martin Eden did
not go out to hunt for a job in the morning.
|
Мартін Іден не
пішов наступного ранку шукати роботи.
|
He had worked
the day before in the basement and the money had been kept all the time.
(E.Caldwell)
|
Напередодні він
також працював у підвалі фабрики і ще не витратив зароблені
гроші.
|
Are you going to
act in the next play?
|
А ви збираєтесь
грати у новій п’єсі,
|
9) as a particle emphasizing the
attributive pronoun, numeral or some other part of speech:
But the story
was grand just the same.'perfectly grand.
|
А так це оповідання
- чудове, ну просто чудове.
|
The man above us
was talking to several persons in the crowd. (E.Caldwell)
|
А той чоловік над
нами огризався до людей з натовпу.
|
The next
afternoon, accompanied by Arthur, she arrived in the Morses carriage.
|
На другий же день в
супроводі Артура вона приїхала до нього в кареті Морзів.
|
It needed the
excitement of getting a part or a first night…
|
Лише радість коли
він отримав гарну роль…
|
10) very often when the noun in the
sentence has another attribute the clearly explicit lexical meaning of the
definite article remains superflous:
He lay where he
had fallen, and from there he watched the man in the red sweater. (J.London)
|
Він лежав, де впав,
і звідти спостерігав за чоловіком у червоному светрі.
|
When the two men
had gone she looked through the photographs again before putting them back.
|
Коли чоловіки
пішли, Джулія знову переглянула фото перед тим, перед тим, як повернути їх на
місце.
|
Here the man in the red sweater may be translated as той чоловік у червоному
светрі but
the postpositive attribute у червоному (светрі) has a stronger force of definiteness
than the prepositive lexically charged article. As a result, the meaning of the article remains
implicit, though strongly felt.
Similarly in the sentence below where
the lexically charged definite article is also suppressed by the attributive
prepositional noun:
From the first
mention of the dance by Mrs. Cowperwood and Anna, Ailen had been conscious of
a desire toward a more effective presentation of herself than as yet.
(T.Dreiser)
|
З першої миті, як
місіс Каупервуд та Анна заговорили про вечори з танцями, Ейлен закортіло
блиснути (показати себе) ще яскравіше, ніж це їй вдавалося досі.
|
The definite article in the sentence
above is substituted for the contextual noun вечори (з танцями) instead of ті танці as in the original
sentence.
) In many a case the definite article
may point to thematic functioning of the noun, which is usually signalized by
its initial position in the sentence and pointing to the core of the utterance
presenting the basic, known already elements in the sentence:
The street
lights were fewer now. (J. Steinbeck)
|
Лампіонів на вулиці
тепер горіло менше.
|
The old man
stared at the open door. (Ibid.)
|
Старий з острахом
дивився на прочинені двері.
|
The night was
getting colder and more raw all the time. (E. Caldwell
|
А ніч усе
холоднішала і ставала щодалі вологішою/ і ставало щодалі вологіше.
|
The dog had gone
back to his slow, spiritless barking. (J. Steinbeck
|
Тут собака
заходився знову спроквола і неохоче погавкувати.
|
They silently
passed the studio.(J.Fowels)
|
Повз майстерню вони
пройшли мовчки.
|
She sat at the
desk and with her bold, flowing hand wrote: “Your sincerely, Julia Lambert.”
|
Джулія сіла за стіл
і своїм чіеким плавним правописом написала: «Щиро Ваша Джулія Ламберт.»
|
The thought of
refusing had never even occurred to him.
|
У нього не було
навіть думки про те щоб відмовитися.
|
rheme, the notional element in the
utterance, is
more frequently indicated in English by the indefinite article determining the
noun in the initial position. When translated into Ukrainian, however, the
rhematic noun, as has long been noticed1, occupies a terminating position in
the sentence/clause (when the utterance is a composite sentence):
There was an old
twostorey yellow house on Fielding Avenue that year. (W. Saroyan)
|
Того року на Філдінґ
Авеню ще стояв старий двоповерховий жовтий будинок.
|
A dog growled in
one of the yards as the men went by. (J. Steinbeck)
|
Коли чоловіки
проходили повз один з будинків, у його дворі загарчав собака.
|
A light fog
began to drift through the air, and the stars were swallowed in it. (Ibid.)
|
У повітрі потягнися
легенькі пасма туману, / вони заволокли й поглинули зірки.
|
A train hooted
mournfully, and in a moment it rounded a bend and pushed its terrible light
down the track. (Ibid.)
|
Тужно загув поїзд,
і, обігнувши за якусь мить округлий вигін, кинув свої страхітливі сліпучі
пасма світла на колії.
|
… I insist on
you being educated like a real gentleman.
|
Я наполягаю, щоб ти
отримав освіту достойну джентльмена.
|
She only half
believed all she had been saying, but it excited her to discuss a plan that
would bring her into a close and constant
|
Вона лише
наполовину вірила всьому, що казала, але їй було приємно обговорювати проект,
який би ще більше зблизив її з Майклом.
|
A correct selection of thematic and
rhematic nouns, identified by the definite and indefinite articles and by their
respective placement in the sentence, facilitates the faithful conveying of the
logical sentence perspective in the target language.
.2.2. Realization of the contextual
meanings of the indefinite article
Strange as it may seem but very
often, almost predominantly, the indefinite article is endowed in speech/text
with lexical meanings, which may coincide with those of different pronouns. The
only exception is made for the meaning of the cardinal numeral «one» from which
the indefinite article historically originates. No wonder that the contextual
meanings of the lexically charged indefinite article can sometimes be, as will
be seen further on, quite unexpected. The most frequent and common of these
meanings can be expressed, as has been mentioned already, in one of the
following ways:
1) by the cardinal numeral один (одна, одне):
He said
something about а schooner that's getting ready to go off.
(0. Wilde)
|
Він тут розповідав
щось про одну шхуну, яка готується відпливати.
|
An excerpt from
his book will give some indication of the approach fallowed in his own school
and in those that were founded under his influence.
|
Одного витягу з
його книги буде достатньо, щоб дати певне уявлення про підхід, що
практикується його школою і школами, які виникли під його впливом.
|
The reaction
resulted into a complex molecule.
|
Внаслідок реакції
утворилась одна складна молекула.
|
2) In some contexts, however, the
indefinite article may acquire a lexical meaning which corresponds either to
the Ukrainian cardinal numeral один, to the ordinal numeral перший or to the indefinite pronoun якийсь (якась, якесь). The indefinite article may
also mark the rheme of the utterance as in the sentence: Only for an instant he
hesitated, then his head went up and his hand came off. (J. London) In this
sentence any of the above-given substitutes may be quite faithful, since the
cardinal or ordinal numeral and the indefinite pronoun are equally fitting in
the utterance, which in Ukrainian will have another position:
Він був у нерішучості (вагався)
тільки якусь мить...
Він був у нерішучості (вагався)
тільки першу мить...
Він був у нерішучості (вагався)
тільки одну мить...
Similarly in the following sentences:
It was only for
a moment. (J. London)
|
Це тривало тільки одну/ якусь мить.
|
In a moment the
Colonel and Mrs Gosselyn came in.
|
Через одну мить
полковник та місіс Госселін увійшли у кімнату.
|
For a moment
Julia lost control of herself and her voice was heavy with tears.
|
На якусь мить
Джулія перестала володіти собою і в її голосі почулись сльози.
|
3)By the indefinite pronoun якийсь only, without the
attendant meanings of the cardinal or ordinal numerals:
He saw her come
down the aisle, with Arthur and a strange young man. (J.London)Він бачив, як вона пройшла партером у
супроводі Артура і ще якогось незнайомого молодика.
|
|
Sometimes, when
with her, she noted an unusual brightness in his eyes, and she liked it.
(Ibid.)
|
Часом, коли він
бував з нею, вона помічала якийсь особливий блиск в його очах, що подобався
їй.
|
But damn it, I
would not play you a dirty trick like that.
|
Але, чорт забирай,
такої підлості я б не скоїв.
|
4) when the lexically meaningful
indefinite article precedes the noun under logical stress, it functions as the
demonstrative pronoun, which is translated into Ukrainian as цей, ця, це:
This was his
programme for a week. (J. London)
|
Це була його
програма на цей тиждень.
|
Here was a man
who could do anything, was the message she read there. (Ibid.)
|
Ця людина здатна на
все -ось що вона прочитала в його погляді.
|
How can a man
write so badly?.. (E. Hemingway)
|
Як може ця людина
(цей чоловік) писати так погано?..
|
5) As one of the possessive pronouns
(according to their contextual meaning):
He did not go
home immediately, and under the tree, where he kept his vigils, he looked up
at a window and murmured. (J. London)
|
Він (Мартін) не
рушив зразу додому, а пішов до знайомого дерева, став на звичне місце проти
її вікна і прошептав схвильовано.
|
When she
returned with the grammar, she drew a chair near his. (Ibid.)
|
Коли вона (Рут)
повернулася з граматикою, вона присунула свій стілець до його стільця.
|
A fat lot I
care.
|
Не мій сум.
|
6) As the negative pronoun жоден or the negative particle ані
(when the
determined noun is preceded by the negative particle not):
You were not
following а word.
|
Ви не чули жодного
слова/ані слова.
|
Не hadn't a penny.
|
Він не мав жодного
пенні (ані пенні).
|
7) as the relative adjective цілий which is lexically
equivalent in the sentences below to the Ukrainian identifying pronoun весь (вся, все):
Martin rented a
typewriter and spent a day mastering the machine. (J. London)
|
Мартін узяв
напрокат друкарську машинку і цілий (весь) день вчився друкувати на ній.
|
- (his) day's
work was the equivalent to a week's work of the average successful writer.
(Ibid.)
|
...(його) доробок
за день дорівнював доробкові якого-небудь модного письменника за цілий
тиждень.
|
When Michael
joined the company Julia had been playing in Middlepool for a year.
|
Коли Майкл
приєднався до їх трупи, Джулія грала в Мідлпулі вже цілий рік.
|
8)More common in Ukrainian contextual
substitutes for the lexically meaningful indefinite article are, however,
different relative adjectives, the most often used being справжній:
It is sweet to
feel that you are really and truly a woman. (Ibid.)
|
Приємно відчувати
(себе), що ти є справжньою жінкою.
|
This small sum
seemed a fortune. (Ibid.)
|
Ця маленька сума
здалася (Мартіну) справжнім (цілим) скарбом.
|
”The critics are
right, damn it, you are an actress and no mistake.”
|
Критики праві, чорт
забирай, ти - справжня акторка, нічого не скажеш.
|
|
|
|
9) The contextual meaning of the
indefinite article may sometimes be expressed in Ukrainian through different
adverbs:
He had the
conviction that could sit in a draught if he wanted to. (J. Galsworthy)
|
У нього було таке
переконання, що він міг сидіти навіть на протязі, якби
того захотів
|
There is a great
difference. (O.Wilde)
|
Це зовсім різні
речі.
|
The above-given lexical realizations
of the determining and identifying functions of the definite and indefinite
articles would be incomplete without the illustration of some other meanings,
which they may acquire in contextual environment. The choice of the
semantically fitting substitute for the definite or indefinite article then
rests entirely with the translator, who is well acquainted with the text/ work
under translation. Since the style of the text may often influence or
predetermine the choice of the necessary synonym, care should be taken in order
not to neglect the possible ways of expression in Ukrainian either. Thus, the
lexical meaning of the indefinite article a in the sentence - I didn't dare
show my face at Court for a month. (0. Wilde) - could be faithfully expressed
in Ukrainian either through the identifying pronoun весь or by its lexical equivalent at sentence
level, which is the relative adjective цілий. But the translator of The Picture of Dorian Gray (R.
Dotsenko) has suggested for this particular case a more acceptable contextual
version: Я
добрий місяць і носа нe наважувався показати при дворі.
) The broader context often
predetermines the employment of lexically equivalent variants which could
scarcely ever be offered for a narrow context. The kind of contextual
substitutes can be seen in the examples below, where Ukrainian demonstrative
and other pronouns, adjectives, numerals, etc., are contextually/semantically
enforced by emphatic or modal particles. Thus, the contextual meaning of the
indefinite article below is expressed through an adjective enforced by an
emphatic or some other particle or group of particles:
He was not to
remain a sailor. (London)
|
Бо ж він не буде
простим собі матросом.
|
Не seemed to think it a distinction. (Ibid.)
|
Він вважав це чи не
за особливу відзнаку.
|
As a young man,
with a great mass of curling chestnut hair, with a wonderful skin and large
deep blue eyes …
|
В юності його густе
каштанове волосся, чудова шкіра, великі сині очі …
|
One day he was
sitting in front watching the rehearsal of an act in which he did not appear.
|
Одного разу Майкл
сидів у залі і спостерігав за репетицією того акту, де сам не брав участі.
|
11) The contextual meaning of the
indefinite article may be ex
pressed through the interrogative or indefinite pronoun also enforced
by some emphatic particles:
-a penniless
young fellow, а mere nobody, sir, a subaltern in а foot regiment.
|
... молодик без
шеляга за душею, - власне ніщо, сер, усього ... лишень якийсь піхотний
офіцерик...
|
What a lovely
day! (La Mure)
|
Який же гарний
день!
|
Note: Apart from the above-cited
contextual meanings of the definite and the indefinite articles there may be
some other (implicit) meanings of them. Thus, the definite article may
sometimes have the following additional realizations in Ukrainian:
a) that of a pronominal word-group of
an emphatic force:
I want
you to get
rid of the dreadful people you're associated with.
(О. Wilde)
|
Я хочу, щоб ви
врешті-решт перестали спілкуватися з усіма тими покидьками.
|
The identifying definite article may
include in its semantic information some specifying function and meaning too:
The Chinamen
were already busy in their shops. (Ibid.)
|
Там уже метушились
господарі китайських крамничок.
|
Some implicit contextual meanings of
the modifying and identifying definite article the can often be given a true
and faithful explication i.e. realization in translation only after a thorough
study of the broader content as well. Cf.:
After a moment's
hesitation, Strickland scrambled to his feet, and together they went to the
Bonchee de Pain.
|
Стрікленд
роздумував недовго. Випростав затерплі ноги, і вони вдвох подалися до іншого благодійного
закладу під назвою«Хлібодар».
|
The MacAndrews,
who were childless and in easy circumstances, arranged to undertake the care
of the children,
and Mrs. Strickland had only herself to provide for. (Ibid.)
|
Полковник Мак-Ендрю
з дружиною, бездітні й добре забезпечені, взяли на утримання її дітей, так що
місіс Стрікленд заробляла тільки на себе.
|
b) Sometimes the article may
substitute an implicit identifying/ interrogative pronoun and a particle
expressing the contextual meaning of the emphatically used noun with the
definite article. This can be seen in the following exclamatory sentence:
The pity of it!
The pity of it!
|
Як жаль! Який жаль!
Ашкода! Дуже шкода!
|
picture of contextual realizations of
meanings pertained to the determining and identifying articles would be
incomplete without some illustrations of their «deep», as one might call them,
or interphrasal and superphrasal meanings, which the articles may acquire in
some contexts. The interphrasal meaning of the definite or indefinite article
may be elicited already from its contextual meaning at the level of the sentence.
Cf.:
I looked at her
mouth for an expression that could give me а
clue to what she felt.
|
Я позирав на її
вуста - чи не майне там бодай тінь її душевного стану.
|
The meaning of the noun with the
indefinite article (an expression) is clearly perceived from the content of the
sentence where it may also be substituted for якийсь вираз/хоч якийсь вираз.or less transient is also
the meaning of the underlined noun with the definite article in the following
sentence:
Of the threat
she said nothing. (O.Wilde)
|
Власне ж про саму
погрозу вона промовчала/не сказала нічого.
|
In some cases, however, it is next to
impossible to translate a noun with the implicit meaning of its identifying or
specifying article without an inquiry into the broader context of the whole
work, as in the following sentence:
They sent me to
Amsterdam to try for a scholarship, and І won
it.
|
Мене вирядили до
Амстердама на конкурс, який обіцяв стипендію в художній школі, і я здобув її.
|
It goes without saying that such a
descriptive translation of the noun (a scholarship) could be offered only by a
translator well acquainted with the content of the preceding sentences or even
of the whole paragraph.are, naturally, many more contextual realizations of
the" lexical meanings, pertaining to the definite and the indefinite
articles, which they may acquire in a text/at speech level.view of the
diversity of possible lexical realizations, which the English articles may have
in speech, the student will be warned to employ not only their single word
equivalents to express their meanings in Ukrainian. A thorough study of the
broader context may sometimes help to find a more fitting substitute for a
lexically charged indefinite or definite article in Ukrainian. Thus, in the
sentence He had a face that reminded me of a frog. (W.Lewis) and But how in
heaven’s name could they raise a sum like that? the bold type indefinite
article a can not be denied the meaning of the demonstrative pronoun таке. All this must be borne in
mind when dealing with the lexically meaningful articles in the sentences of
the exercise below. Unfortunately, the restricted space of the manual makes it
impossible to give regular passages with the implicit (contextual) meanings of
the definite and the indefinite articles.analyses of more than 500 cases of
translation of English articles into Ukrainian enabled to make the following
conclusions:
1. The meanings of the definite
article are usually expressed through different Ukrainian attributive pronouns,
adjectives, participles, adverbs or cardinal/ordinal numerals.
2. The meanings of the
indefinite article are usually expressed through the cardinal numeral one, by
the indefinite pronoun якийсь,
as the demonstrative pronoun цей, ця, це, as one of the possessive pronouns, as the negative pronoun жоден, or the negative particle ані, as different relative adjectives,
the most often used being справжній;as different adverbs, as an adjective enforced by an emphatic or some
other particle or group of particles, as am interrogative or indefinite pronoun
also enforced by some emphatic particles.
3. The category of Definiteness
and Indefiniteness which influences the way of rendering from English into
Ukrainian a lot is equally pertained to both contrasted languages.
Part III. Methods of teaching
articles
.1 Article in a school programme
The present system of teaching
articles to foreign students suggested in schools shows that theoretically
teaching articles is presupposed but practically its proper training is
impossible at the moment. That means that the school programme includes
teaching English articles as a separate part of speech but the textbooks which
corresponds the programme do not have enough training exercises. After using
such textbooks students still make the most widely-spread errors because of the
lake of practice.studying these books we have decided that there is not enough
information devoted to teaching articles. We think that teaching articles is
very important that is why we would like to propose the system of teaching
articles for 5-6 forms. The following block of exercises serves for elimination of the most
typical errors among the foreign students and for the formation of their strong
theoretical basis of knowledge as the value of this set of exercises is
concentrated in the fact that first it gives theory and then practical
exercises which precisely reflect the mentioned theory.
3.2 Teaching articles in the 5th form
a - “one”. Don’t forget a.
Do you want a cup of tea? (not “Do you want cup of tea?”)
Alice works in a bank. (not “in bank”)
I want to ask a question. (not “ask question”)
When I was a child, I liked reading stories.
Birmingham is a large city in central England.(not a) before
a/e/i/o/u:
- They lived in an old house.
- A mouse is an animal. It is a small animal.
Can you give me an example, please?
This is an interesting book.
I bought an umbrella and a hat.an hour (h is not
pronounced: an (h)our)a universityEuropean country
(these words are pronounced “yuniversity”, “yuropean”)use
a/an for jobs:
- “What is your job?”
- “I am a dentist”
“What does she do?”
“She is an engineer”(an + other) is one word (not
“an other”):
- Can I have another cup of tea?
- Open another window. It is very hot.. Write a or an.
1. . …a… book
2. …an… old book
. … window
. … horse
. … airport
. … university
. … organization
. … restaurant
. … Chinese restaurant
. … Indian restaurant
. … accident
. … bad accident
. … question
. … important question
. … hamburger
. … hour
. … economic problem
. … nice evening
II. What are these things? Choose
your answer from the list and write a sentence? bird flower fruit musical
instrument planet river tool game
. a duck? It is a bird.
. the Nile? It …
. a rabbit? It …
. tennis? It …
. a rose? It …
. a hammer? It …
. a carrot? It …
. Mars? It …
. a trumpet? It …
. a pear? It …. Write sentences from
the words in brackets ( ). Write a or an where necessary.
1. (I bought newspaper) I
bought a newspaper.
2. (We went to party last
night) We went …
. (My brother is artist) …
. (It is beautiful day today)
…
. (I ate sandwich and apple) …
. (Britain is industrial
country) …
. (I had bath this morning) …
. (Barbara works in office) …
. (It is very difficult
question) …
. (We stayed at expansive
hotel) … can be countable and uncountable. Countable nouns - you can count them
(cars, bags, flowers, hats, …). Uncountable nouns - you can not count them
(water, rain, air, rice, salt, …).can not say one, two, three + uncountable
nouns.nouns have only one form.
- I have got some money.
- There is not much money in
the box.
Money is not everything.not
use a/an + uncountable nouns.you can say a piece of …/ a bottle of … etc. +
uncountable nouns:piece of cheese a piece of music a glass of waterbowl of rice
a cup of coffee a bottle of milkgame of tennis a can of oil a bar of chocolate.
There are some words. Some of them are countable and some are uncountable.
Write a/an if
necessary.sand toothpaste money salt
toothbrushtea credit card hat soup umbrella
1. salt
2. an umbrella
. …
. …
. …
. …
. …
. …
. …
. …
. …
1. I have not got car. a car
2. Salt is not expensive. Ok
. Ann never wears hat. …
. Are you looking for job? …
. Mary does not eat meat. …
. I am going to party tonight.
…
. Do you like cheese? …
. Do you want cup of coffee? …
. I never drink milk. …
. Britain is island. …
. Jack made very bad mistake.
…
. Everybody needs food. …
. Can you drive car? …
. I have got very good idea.
…/an + singular countable nouns (car, apple, shoe etc.):
- I need a new car.
- Would you like an apple?+
plural countable nouns (cars, apples, shoes etc.):
- I need some new shoes.
- Would you like some apples?+
uncountable nouns (water, money, music etc.):
- I need some money.
- Would you like some
cheese?a/an and some:
- She bought a hat, some shoes
and some perfume.
- I read a newspaper, wrote
some letters and listened to some music.nouns are sometimes countable and
sometimes uncountable. For example:cake some cakes some cake or a piece of
cakechicken some chickens some chicken or a piece of chickencareful with these
words - they are usually uncountable in English:weather information advice hair
furniture paper news
- I am going to buy some bread
(or a loaf of bread).
- It is nice weather today.
I need some information
about hotels in London.
She has got long hair..
Write sentences with Would you like a/an …? or Would you like some …? using
these words:coffee cigarettes bread chocolate sweets
1. Would you like some cheese?
2. Would you like …
. Would …
. …
. …
. …. Put in a/an or some.
1. I read a newspaper, wrote
some letters, and listened to some music.
2. I need … money. I want to
buy … food.
. We met interesting people at
the party.
. She did not eat much for
lunch - only … apple and … bread.
. We live in … big house.
There is … nice garden with … beautiful trees.
. I am going to make … table.
First, I need … wood.
. We talked to her and she
gave us … very good advice.
. I want to write … letter. I
need … pen and … paper.
. We had … nice weather when
we were on holiday.
. I am going to open … window
to get … fresh air.
a/an
|
the
|
- They have got
a car. (there are many cars and they have got one) - I am writing a letter.
(there are many letters and I am writing one) - When we were in London, we
stayed at a small hotel. (there are many small hotels in London) - Rome is
a big city in Italy. (there are many big cities in Italy and Rome is one) -
Britain is an island. (there are many islands and Britain is one)
|
- I am going to
clean the car tomorrow. (= my car) - I wrote to her but the letter never
arrived. (= the letter that I wrote) - We did not enjoy our holiday. The
hotel was terrible. (= our hotel) - Rome is the capital of Italy. (there is
only one capital in Italy) - What is the largest island in the world?
|
We say the… when it is clear which
thing we mean. For example:door/the ceiling/the floor/the carpet/the light etc.
(of a room)roof/the garden/the kitchen/the bathroom etc. (of a house)centre/the
station/the airport/the town hall etc. (of a town)
- “Where is Tom?” - “In the
garden.” (= the garden of the house)
- I turned off the light,
opened the door and went out. (= the light and the door of the room)
Do you live very far from
the centre? (= the centre of your town)
I would like to speak to the
manager, please. (= the manager of this shop). Put in a/an or the.
. I wrote to her but the letter never
arrived.
. Britain is an island.
. What is … name of this village?
. Jane is … very nice person. You
must meet her.
. Montreal is … large city in Canada.
. What is … largest city in Canada?
. “What time is it?” ”I do not know.
I have not got … watch. ”
. When I went to Rome, I stayed with
… Italian friend of mine.
. You look very tired. You need …
holiday.
. Do not sit on … floor. It is very
dirty.
. “Let’s go to restaurant this
evening.” ”That is … good idea.”
. Can you turn on … radio, please? I
want to listen to some music.
. Tom is in … bathroom. He is having
… bath.
. This is a nice room, but I do not
like … colour of … carpet.
. We live in … old house near …
station. It is 2 miles from … centre.. Put in a/an or the where necessary in
these sentences.
1. I turned off light, opened
door and went out. the light the door
2. Excuse me, can I ask
question, please? …
. Alan is best player in our
football team. …
. How far is it from here to
airport? …
. Enjoy your holiday and do
not forget to send me postcard! …
. Have you got ticket for
concert tomorrow night? …
. What is name of director of
film we saw last night?
. Yesterday I bought jacket
and shirt. Jacket was cheap but shirt was expensive. …
. Peter and Mary have two
children, boy and girl. Boy is seven years old and girl is three.. Complete the
sentences. Use a/an or the + one of these words:capital cigarette play
difficult language kitchen nice day next train roof small hotel
1. Rome is the capital of
Italy.
2. When we were in London, we
stayed at a small hotel.
. Can you ride … ?
. What is that man doing on …
of that house? Is he repairing something?
. We went to the theatre last
night but … was not very good.
. Do you think English is …
for people to learn?
. ”Would you like … ?” ”No,
thanks. I do not smoke.”
. ”Where is Jack?” ”He is
cooking something.”
. Excuse me, what time is … to
London?
. It is … today. Let us go
out.- it is clear which thing or person we mean
- Rome is the capital of
Italy.
- What is the name of the
village?
Excuse me, where is the
nearest bank?not forget the:
Do you live near the city center?
Which is the best restaurant in this
town?top of …/ the end of … etc.
- Write your name at the top
of the page.
- The beginning of the film
was not very good.
My house is at the end of
the street.same
- We live in the same street.
- These books are not
different. They are the same.that we say:sun/ the moon/ the world/ the sky/ the
sea/ the ground/ the country
- The sky is blue and the sun
is shining.
- I like swimming in the sea.
They live in a town but they
want to live in the country.police/ the fire brigade/ the army(of a city,
country etc.)
- My brother is a soldier. He
is in the army.
the piano/ the guitar/ the trumpet
etc. (musical instruments):
- Tom is learning to play the
piano.
the radio but television (without
the):
- I often listen to the radio.
- What is on the radio
tonight?
I like watching television.
What is on television
tonight?
But - Can you turn off the
television./ lunch/ dinner (without the)
- I never have breakfast.
- What are you going to have
for lunch?
Dinner is ready!
I. Put in the where necessary.
Write ”okay” if the sentence is correct.
1. Sky is blue and sun is
shining. … The sky….the sun
2. What are you going to have
for lunch? … okay
. Our apartment is on third
floor. …
. Help! Fire! Somebody call
fire brigade. …
. Who was first man to walk on
moon? …
. Which city is capital of
your country? …
. What is largest city in
world? …
. Would you like to be in
army? …
. Do you live near sea? …
. After dinner we watched
television. …
. ”Where is your dictionary?”
”It is on top shelf on right.” …
. We live in country, about
five miles from nearest village. …
. Ann is coming to see us at
end of May or beginning of April.
. ”Is this book cheaper than
that one?” ”No, they are same price.”
. Prime minister is most
important person in British government.
. I do not know everybody in
this photograph. Who is man on left?
II. Complete the sentences. Use the
same + one of these words:
age colour day problem street time
1. I live in King Street and
you live in King Street. We live in the same street.
2. I arrived at 8.30 and you
arrived at 8.30. We arrived at …
. I have got no money and you
have got no money. We have got …
. He is 25 and she is 25. They
are …
. My shirt is dark blue and my
jacket is dark blue. They are …
. I am leaving on Monday and
you are leaving on Monday. We are leaving on …
III. Complete these sentences. Use
the words in the list. Use the if necessary.
breakfast dinner guitar lunch police
radio sky sun television time
1. Can you tell me the time
please?
2. We had dinner at a
restaurant last night.
. … is a star. It gives us
light and warmth.
. Did you see the film on …
last night?
. I was hungry this morning
because I did not have …
. … stopped me because I was
driving too fast.
. ”Can you play …?” ”No, I can
not play any musical instruments.”
. ”What did you have for …?”
”Just a salad.”
. When I am working at home I
like listening to …
. … is very clear tonight. You
can see all the stars.
.3 Teaching articles in the 6th form
nouns with a/an and somenouns can be singular or plural:dog a
child the evening this party an umbrellasome children the evenings these
parties two umbrellassingular countable nouns you can use a/an
• Goodbye! Have a nice evening.
• Do you need an umbrella?cannot use singular countable nouns
alone (without a/the/my etc.):
• She never wears a hat. (not 'She never wears hat')
• Be careful of the dog. (not 'Be careful of dog')
• What a beautiful day!
• I've got a headache.use a/an... to say what kind of thing
or person something/somebody is:
• A dog is an animal.
• I'm an optimist.
• Tim's father is a doctor.
• Are you a good driver?
• Jill is a really nice person.
• What a lovely dress!say that somebody has a long nose / a nice
face / a strong heart etc.:
• Jack has got a long nose, (not 'the long nose')sentences
like these, we use plural nouns alone (not with 'some'):
• Dogs are animals.
• Most of my friends are students.
• Jill's parents are really nice people.
• What awful shoes!
• Jack has got blue eyes, (not 'the blue eyes')to use a/an
when you say what somebody's job is:
• Sandra is a nurse, (not 'Sandra is nurse')
• Would you like to be an English teacher?can use some with
plural countable nouns. We use some in two ways:) Some = a number of / a few of
/ a pair of:
• I've seen some good films recently, (not 'I've seen good
films')
• Some friends of mine are coming to stay at the weekend.
• I need some new sunglasses. (= a new pair of sunglasses)not
use some when you are talking about things in general:
• I love bananas, (not 'some bananas')
• My aunt is a writer. She writes books, (not 'some
books')you can make sentences with or without some (with no difference in
meaning):
• There are (some) eggs in the fridge if you're hungry.) Some
= some but not all
• Some children learn very quickly, (but not all children)
• Some police officers in Britain carry guns, but most of
them don't.:. What are these things? Try and find out if you don't know.
an ant? ...It's an insect 7 Earth? Mars? Venus? Jupiter?
ants? bees? ...They're insects...
a cauliflower? …
chess? …
a violin? a trumpet? a flute? …
a skyscraper? …
Earth? Mars? Venus? Jupiter? …
a tulip? …
the Rhine? the Nile? the Mississippi? …
a pigeon? an eagle? a crow? …were these people?
Beethoven? ...He was a composer...
Shakespeare? ...
Albert Einstein?....
Washington? Lincoln? John Kennedy?…
Marilyn Monroe?...
Elvis Presley? John Lennon?...
Van Gogh? Renoir? Gauguin?.... Read about what these people
do and say what their jobs are. Choose one of these jobs: driving instructor
interpreter journalist nurse pilot plumber travel agent waiter
Stella looks after patients in hospital. ...She's a nurse...
George works in a restaurant. He brings the food to the
tables. He...
Mary arranges people's holidays for them. She...
Ron works for an airline. He flies aeroplanes...
Linda teaches people how to drive...
Dave fits and repairs water pipes...
Jenny writes articles for a newspaper...
John translates what people are saying from one language into
another, so that they can understand each other.... Put in a/an or some where
necessary. If no word is necessary, leave the space empty (-).
I've seen some good films recently.
What's wrong with you? Have you got a headache?
I know a lot of people. Most of them are - students.
When I was...child, I used to be very shy.
Would you like to be...actor?
Do you collect... stamps?
What... beautiful garden!
...birds, for example the penguin, cannot fly.
I've been walking for three hours. I've got... sore feet.
I don't feel very well this morning. I've got... sore throat.
It's a pity we haven't got ... camera. I'd like to take ...
photograph of that house.
Those are ... nice shoes. Where did you get them?
I'm going shopping. I want to buy ... new shoes.
You need ... visa to visit ... countries, but not all of
them.
Jane is ... teacher. Her parents were ... teachers too.
Do you enjoy going to ... concerts?
When we got to the city centre, ... shops were still open but
most of them were closed.
I don't believe him. He's ... liar. He's always telling ...
lies./an and thea and the in these examples:
• A man and a woman were sitting opposite me. The man was
American but I think the woman was British.
• When we were on holiday, we stayed at a hotel. Sometimes we
had our evening meal at the hotel and sometimes we went to a restaurant.use the
when we are thinking of one particular thing. Compare a/an and the:
• Tom sat down on a chair, (perhaps one of many chairs in the
room) but Tom sat down on the chair nearest the door, (a particular chair)
• Ann is looking for a job. (not a particular job)Did Ann get
the job she applied for? (a particular job)
• Have you got a car? (not a particular car) but I cleaned
the car yesterday. (= my car) use the when it is clear in the situation which
thing or person we mean. For example, in a room we talk about 'the light / the
floor / the ceiling / the door / the carpet' etc.:
• Can you turn off the light, please? (= the light in this room)
• I took a taxi to the station. (= the station in that town)
• I'd like to speak to the manager, please. (= the manager of
this shop etc.)the same way, we say (go to) the bank, the post office:
• I must go to the bank to get some money and then I'm going
to the post office to get some stamps. (The speaker is usually thinking of a
particular bank or post office.): the doctor, the dentist:
• Carol isn't very well. She's gone to the doctor. (= her usual
doctor)
• I hate going to the dentist. Compare a:
• Is there a bank near here?
• My sister is a dentist.'t forget the:
• Susan works in the city centre, {not 'in city centre')
• My brother is in the army, (not 'in army')
We say once a week /
three times a day / £1.20 a kilo' etc.:
• 'How often do you go to the cinema?' 'About once a month.'
• 'How much are those potatoes?' '£1.20
a kilo.'
• She works eight hours a day, six days a week.. Put in a/an
or the.
This morning I bought ...a... newspaper and.............magazine..............newspaper
is in mybut I don't know where I put.............magazine.
I saw.............accident this morning..............car
crashed into.............tree..............driver of
.............car wasn't hurt but.............car was badly
damaged.
There are two cars parked outside:.............blue one
and.............grey one..............blue oneto my neighbours; I don't know
who.............owner of.............grey one is.
My friends live in.............old house in.............small
.village. There is.............beautiful garden behind.............house. I
would like to have.............garden like that.. Put in a/an or the.
This house is very nice. Has it got.............garden?
It's a beautiful day. Let's sit in.............garden.
I like living in this house but it's a pity
that.............garden is so small.
Can you recommend.............good restaurant?
We had dinner in.............very nice restaurant.
We had dinner in.............most expensive restaurant in
town.
She has.............French name but in fact she's English,
not French.
What's.............name of that man we met yesterday?
We stayed at a very nice hotel - I can't
remember.............name now.
There isn't.............airport near where I live..............nearest
airport is 70 miles away.
Our plane was delayed. We had to wait at.............airport
for three hours.
Excuse me, please. Can you tell me how to get
to.............airport?
”Are you going away next week?” ”No,.............week after
next.”
”I'm going away for.............week in September”.
George has a part-time job. He works three
mornings.............week.. Put in a/an or the in these sentences where
necessary.
Would you like_apple? ...an apple...
How often do you go to dentist? …
Could you close door, please? …
I'm sorry. I didn't mean to do that. It was mistake ...
Excuse me, where is bus station, please? ...
I've got problem. Can you help me? ...
I'm just going to post office. I won't be long ...
There were no chairs, so we had to sit on floor ...
Have you finished with book I lent you? …
My sister has just got job in bank in Manchester. ...
We live in small flat near city centre. ...
There's small supermarket at end of street I live in. ... .
Answer these questions about yourself. (once a week / three times a day
etc.).often do you go to the cinema? ...Three or four times a year....
How much does it cost
to hire a car in your country? .. About £30.a day..
3 How often do you go away on holiday?...
What's the speed limit in towns in your country? ...
How much sleep do you need? ...
How often do you go out in the evening?...
How much television do you watch (on average)?... (1)use
the... when there is only one of something:
• What is the longest river in the world? (there is only one
longest river)
• The earth goes round the sun and the moon goes round the
earth.
• I'm going away at the end of this month. Don't forget the:
• Paris is the capital of France, (not 'Paris is capital
of...')we use a/an to say what kind of thing something is. Compare the and a:
• The sun is a star. (= one of many stars)
• The hotel we stayed at was a very nice hotel.say: the sky
the sea the ground the country the environment:
• We looked up at all the stars in the sky. (not ”in sky”)
• Would you rather live in a town or in the country?
• We must do more to protect the environment. (= the natural
world around us) Note that we say space (without 'the') when we mean 'space in
the universe':
• There are millions of stars in space, (not 'in the space')
but • I tried to park my car but the space was too small.use the before same
(the same):
• Your pullover is the same colour as mine, (not ”is same
colour”)
• These two photographs are the same, (not 'are same')say:
(go to) the cinema, the theatre:
• I often go to the cinema but I haven't been to the theatre
for ages.we say the cinema / the theatre, we do not necessarily mean one
particular cinema or.usually say the radio, but television (without ”the”):
• I often listen to the radio. • We heard the news on the
radio.
• I often watch television. • We watched the news on
television. but • Can you turn off the television, please? (= the television
set)a:
•- There isn't a theatre in this town.
• I'm going to buy a new radio / television (set).lunch dinnerdo
not normally use the with the names of meals (breakfast, lunch etc.):
• What did you have for breakfast?
• We had lunch in a very nice restaurant.
• What time is dinner?we use a if there is an adjective
before breakfast, lunch etc.:
• We had a very nice lunch, (not 'we had very nice lunch')5
Room 126 etc.do not use 'the' before noun + number. For example, we say:
• Our train leaves from Platform 5. (not 'the Platform 5')
• (in a shop) Have you got these shoes in size 43? (not 'the
size 43')the same way, we say: Room 126 (in a hotel) page 29 (of a book)
Section A etc.. Put in the or a/an where necessary. If no word is necessary,
leave the space empty (-).
Where did you have ...... lunch? We went to ......
restaurant.
Did you have.............nice holiday? Yes, it
was.............best holiday I've ever had.
Where's.............nearest shop? There's one
at.............end of this street.
Do you often listen to.............radio? No. In fact I
haven't got.............radio.
Would you like to travel in.............space? B: Yes, I'd
love to go to.............moon.
Do you go to.............cinema very often? No, not very
often. But I watch a lot of films on.............television.
It was.............nice day yesterday, wasn't it? Yes, it was
beautiful. We went for a walk by.............sea.
What did you have for.............breakfast this morning?
Nothing. I never eat.............breakfast.
Can you tell me where.............Room 25 is, please? It's
on.............second floor.
We spent all our money because we stayed at.............most
expensive hotel in town.didn't you stay at.............cheaper hotel?Put in the
where necessary. If you don't need the, leave the space empty (-).
I haven't been to ...the... cinema for ages.
I lay down on.............ground and looked up
at.............sky.
Sheila spends most of her free time
watching.............television.
.............television was on but nobody was watching it.
Have you had.............dinner yet?
Mary and I arrived at.............same time.
You'll find.............information you need
at.............top of.............page 15.
Peru is.............country in South
America..............capital is Lima.. Put in the or a/an where necessary. If
the sentence is already correct, put 'right'.
Sun is star. ...the sun is a star...
Tim lives in small village in country. ...
Moon goes round earth every 27 days. ...
What is highest mountain in world?. ...
I'm fed up with doing same thing every day. ...
It was very hot day. It was hottest day of year. ...
I don't usually have lunch but I always eat good breakfast.
...
If you live in foreign country, you should try and learn
language. ...
We missed our train because we were waiting on wrong
platform. We were on Platform 3 instead of Platform 8. ... . Complete the
sentences using one of the following. Use the if necessary.
breakfast cinema dinner gate Gate 21 Question 8 sea
I didn't have time for ...breakfast... this morning because I
was in a hurry.
'I'm going to ... this evening.' 'Are you? What film are you
going to see?'
There was no wind, so ... was very calm.
'Are you going out this evening?' 'Yes, after ... .'
The examination paper wasn't too difficult but I couldn't
answer. ...
Oh, ... .is open. I must have forgotten to shut it.
(airport announcement) 'Flight BA123 to Vienna is now
boarding at....'(2) (School / the school)use prison, hospital, university, and
church in a similar way. We do not use the when we are thinking of the general
idea of these places and what they are used for. Compare:
• Ken's brother is in prison for robbery. • Ken went to the
prison to visit his brother. (He is a prisoner. We are not thinking (He went as
a visitor, not as a prisoner.) of a particular prison.)
• Jack had an accident last week. He was • Jill has gone to
the hospital to visit Jack, taken to hospital. He's still in hospital She's at
the hospital now. (as a visitor) now. (as a patient)
• When I leave school, I want to go to • Excuse me, where is
the university, university. please? (= the university buildings)
• Mrs Kelly goes to church every Sunday. • The workmen went
to the church to
(to a religious service) repair the roof, (not for a
religious service)most other places, you need the. For example, the cinema, the
bank, the station. work homesay: 'go to bed / be in bed' etc. (not ”the bed”):
• It's time to go to bed now.
• This morning I had breakfast in bed. but
• I sat down on the bed. (a particular piece of furniture)
”go to work / be at work / start work / finish work” etc.
(not ”the work”):
• Ann didn't go to work yesterday.
• What time do you usually finish work?
”go home / come home / arrive home / be at home” etc.:
• It's late. Let's go home.
• Will you be at home tomorrow afternoon?say 'go to sea / be
at sea' (without 'the') when the meaning is 'go/be on a voyage':
• Keith is a seaman. He spends most of his life at sea. but
• It can be dangerous to swim in the sea.. Complete the
sentences using a preposition (to/at/in etc.) + one of the following words: bed
home hospital prison school university workcan use the words more than once.
Two people were injured in the accident and were taken ...to
hospital...
In Britain, children from the age of five have to go ... .
Mark didn't go out last night. He stayed ... .
I'll have to hurry. I don't want to be late ... .
There is a lot of traffic in the morning when everybody is
going ... .
Cathy's mother has just had an operation. She is still ... .
When Julia leaves school, she wants to study economics ... .
Bill never gets up before 9 o'clock. It's 8.30 now, so he is
still ... .
If you commit a serious crime, you could be sent ... . .
Complete the sentences with the word given (school etc.). Use the where
necessary.
(school)Every term
parents are invited to ...the school... to meet the teachers. b Why aren't your
children at ...school... today? Are they ill?When he was younger, Ted
hated....................................................What time
does...................................................start in the mornings in
your country?A: How do your children get home
from....................................? By bus?: No, they
walk....................................................isn't very far.What
sort of job does Jenny want to do when she leaves...................................................?There
were some people waiting outside................................to meet their
children.
(university)In
your country, do many people go
to...................................................?If you want to get a degree,
you normally have to study
at....................................................This is only a small town
but...................................................is the biggest in the
country.
(hospital)Nora
works as a cleaner at....................................................When
Ann was ill, we all went
to...................................................to visit her.My brother
has always been very healthy. He's never been
in................................................Peter was injured in an accident
and was kept in............................................for a few days.
(church)John's
mother is a regular churchgoer. She goes
to...............................................every Sunday.John himself
doesn't go to....................................................John went
to...................................................to take some photographs
of the building.
(prison)In many
places people are in...................................................because
of their political opinions.The other day the fire brigade were called
to...................................................to put out a fire.The
judge decided to fine the man £500 instead of sending him
to..........................................
6 (home/work/bed)I
like to read in...................................................before I go
to sleep.It's nice to travel around but there's no place
like...................................................!Shall we meet
after...................................................tomorrow evening?If.
I'm feeling tired, I go
to...................................................early.What time do you
usually start...................................................in the
morning?The economic situation is very bad. Many people are out of...................................................
(sea)There's a
nice view from the window. You can
see....................................................It was a long voyage. We
were at...................................................for four weeks.I love
swimming in....................................................
3.4 Translation exercises for the
students of the foreign language departments
I. Analyse the sentences and
substitute the definite article for an appropriate Ukrainian demonstrative
pronoun. Translate the sentences into Ukrainian.. This was the man Dorian Gray
was waiting for. (O. Wilde) 2. He had met the woman at last - the woman he had
thought little about, not being given to thinking about women. (Ibid.) 3. Eight
Street Bridge is the place. (J.London) 4. - and at the instant he knew, he
ceased to know. (Ibid.) 5. That's the Barney, that has the ugly daughter. (W.
Maken) 6. «You've heard of Rancocanty?»- «I'm the man». (G. Byron) 7. (G.
Byron) 7. «The Mr.Jardyce, sir, whose story I have heard?» (C. Dickens) 8. When
she smiled, he saw the Pat he had known, the Pat smiling at him from worn
photo, that still lay in the pocket-book against his heart. (J. Lindsay) 9. If
I ever saw a man hopelessly hard up it was the man in front of me. (H.Wells)
10. I was brought up by my paternal aunt, Miss Frobisher of the Barton Chapel
Case and the Woman’s World Humanity movement. (Ibid)II. Substitute the definite
article for an appropriate possessive pronoun. Translate the sentences into
Ukrainian.
. He had uttered a mad wish that he
himself might remain young, and the portrait grow old - . (O. Wilde) 2. It was
his beauty that ruined him, his beauty and the youth that he had prayed for.
(Ibid.) 3. «Take the thing off the face. I wish to see it.» (Ibid.) 4.1 know
the age better than you do, though you will prate about it so tediously.
(Ibid.) 5. The next night, of course, I arrived at the place again. (Ibid.) 6.
At last, liveried in the costume of the age, Reality entered the room in the
shape of a servant to tell the Duchess that her carriage was waiting. (Ibid.)
7. - and you have often told me that it is personalities, not principles, that
move the age. (Ibid.) 8. «He began to talk about the house». (J.Fowles). 9. In
England he never quite capitalized on the savage impact, the famous «black
sarcasm» of the Spanish drawings. (Ibid.) 10. The friendship, the rapport (взаємовідносини) became comprehensible -.
(ibid.) Ill. Translate the sentences into Ukrainian. Give your reasons for the
choice of the indefinite pronoun (or cardinal numeral) to express the lexical
meaning of articles.
. «A Mr. Forsyte to see you, sir».
(J. Galsworthy) 2. «By the way, have you any spare clothes you could give the
wife of a poor snipe? -. (Ibid.) 3. He was moving slowly on the Bond Street,
when a little light lady, coming from the backwater, and reading as she went,
ran into him behind. (Ibid.) 4. Haviland looked at him for a moment and then
hung up his hat and coat. (M.Wilson) 5. «I saw a Mrs. Danvers on the twelfth
floor at two o'clock», he said. (D. du Maurier) 6. There was a woman sitting
before the fire. (K.Mansfield) 7. There lay a young man, fast asleep - sleeping
so soundly, so deeply, that he was far, far away from them both. (Ibid.) 8. In
a few minutes a man came in, and George explained that the cook was sick. (E.
Hemingway) 9. «We're going to kill a Swede. Do you know a big Swede named Ole
Anderson?» (Ibid.) 10. As he swung, head down, into Talgarth Street he was
conscious, suddenly, of a man running. (A. Cronin) 11. «- not to be acquainted
with a Jamdyce is queer, ain't it, Miss Flite?» (C. Dickens). 12. Every old
gang has a Billy in it. (S. Leacock) 13. «What a fool' Rawdon Grawley has been
to go and marry a governess!» (W. Thackeray) 14. After a pause Lord Henry
pulled out his watch. (O. Wilde) 15. When all that is settled, I shall take a
West End theatre and bring her out properly. (O. Wilde) 16. A woman in a fluttering
shawl was creeping slowly by the railings, staggering as she went. (Ibid ) 17
At last he heard a step outside, and the door opened. (Ibid.) 18 When a
government makes a bad mistake of judgement, the electorate turns against it as
soon as it feels the effect. (J. Galsworthy)IV Analyse the sentences below.
Identify how the contextual meanings of the bold type articles are realized in
Ukrainian (as an identifying pronoun, a relative adjective or any other
semantically/contextually suitable word). Translate the sentences into
Ukrainian.
Desperately he came to a halt in
front of one decent picture hanging on the walls. (A. Huxley) 2.1 honestly
think if a person's an artist nobody ought to have any feeling at all about
meeting him. (D Parker) 3 Life worried and bored him, and time was a vexation.
J 'London) 4 He is a man. (Ibid.) 5. He was over to San Francisco yesterday
looking for a ship. (Ibid.) 6. «What's that?» he replied to a question from
Olney that broke in upon his train of thought. (Ibid.) 7 «Yes she is a peacock
in everything but beauty», said Lord Henry. (O Wilde) 8 I have not laid eyes on
him for a week. (Ibid.) 9. They are always telling that it (America) is the
Paradise for women. (Ibid.) 10 Were people to gape at the mystery of his life?
(Ibid.) 11. «An eternity» she tells me... (Ibid.) 12. There is hardly a single
person in the House of Commons worth painting - . (Ibid.) 13.1 want to place
her on a pedestal of gold, and to see the world worship the woman who is mine.
(Ibid.) 14. Then he discovered Henley and wrote a series of sea-poems on the
model of Hospital Sketches. (J. London) 15. For a generation the Old Hundredth
(night club) has maintained a solid front against all adversity. (F.
Fitzgerald) 16. So when a young man at the office suggested that we take a
house together in a commuting town, it sounded like a great idea. (Ibid.) 17.
«You can tell me the truth without giving me any of that lip.»(W. Saroyan)V.
Point out the difference in the lexical meaning expressed by the indefinite and
the definite articles signalizing respectively the rheme and theme in the
sentences below. Pay attention to the place which the rhematic and thematic
nouns occupy in their Ukrainian variants.
. As he passed the bronze statue of
the Four Moors a man's figure emerged from an old house on the opposite side of
the shipping basin. 2. The man approached unsteadily along the water side,
shouting an English song. (E.Voynich) 3. As they passed by the gate way of the
Uffizi, he crossed the road and stooped down at a dark bundle that was lying
against the railings. (Ibid.) 4. The bundle moved, and answered something in a
low, moaning voice. (Ibid.) 5. «What a fool Rawdon Crawley has been to go and
marry a governess!» (W.Thackeray) 6. «But there was something about the governess
too. Green eyes, fair skin, pretty figure». (Ibid.) 7. It was as John had said
- he and she just wanted to live and the past was in their way - a past they
had not shared in, and did not understand. (J.K.Jerome) 8. I've written a lofof
them (his sayings) down in a book for fear of losing them. 9. It is only fair
that at the back of the book I would be allowed a few pages to myself to put
down some things (Ibid.) 10. It was an early morning of a sunny day. (Ibid.)
11. He remembered suddenly the early morning when he slept on the house-boat
after his father died -. (J.Galsworthy) 12. He wrote a pamphlet on Malt on
returning to England - . (Ibid.) 13. She ... took an interest in the pamphlet
on Malt: was often affected, even to tears. (Ibid.) 14. There came a morning at
the end of September when aunt Ann was unable to take from Smither's hands the
insignia of personal dignity. (Ibid.) 15. The morning after a certain night on
which Soames at last asserted his rights and acted like a man he breakfasted
alone. (J.Galsworthy)matter that in Russian and Ukrainian languages such part
of speech as article in English is absent the process of apprehension it by
foreign students has almost no difficulties in the case of proper studying of
theory and appropriate system of teaching articles chosen by the teacher.
Conclusion
The results of our research enable use to draw some general
conclusions.
1. Article is a determining unit of specific nature
accompanying the noun in communicative collocation. Two articles in the English
language - definite article the and indefinite one a - have different meanings
and different functions. The use of the articles has generally grammatical
meaning and falls under definite rules.
2. The definite article has developed from the Old English
demonstrative pronoun. Hence the indefinite article originates from the Old
English numeral one.
3. The article is a notional part of
speech as it posesses three characteristics (the lexico-grammatical meanings of
”(in)definiteness”; the right-hand combinability with nouns; the function of
noun specifiers)
. The syntactical role of the article
consists in marking off a noun or a noun phrase as a part of the sentence.
. The morphological value of the
article lies in indicating the substantivization of other parts of speech,
mainly adjectives or participles, also pronouns, adverbs, numerals.
. The main functions of the
indefinite article are: classifying, generic and numerical.
. The two main functions of the
definite article are specifying and generic.
. Since the meaning of the article
comes to the fore in certain contexts it should not be ignored in the
translation. The analysis of the works of S.Maugham, J.London translated into
Ukrainian showed that translators reproduce the meaning of the definite article
through different Ukrainian attributive pronouns, adjectives, participles,
adverbs or cardinal/ordinal numerals. The meanings of the indefinite article
are usually expressed through the cardinal numeral one, by the indefinite
pronoun якийсь, as the demonstrative
pronoun цей, ця,
це, as one of
the possessive pronouns, as the negative pronoun жоден, or the negative particle ані, as different relative adjectives,
the most often used being справжній;as different adverbs, as an adjective enforced by an emphatic or some
other particle or group of particles, as am interrogative or indefinite pronoun
also enforced by some emphatic particles.
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