The article

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The article

Introduction

The problem of grammatical value of article and its place in language - one of the complicated questions of English grammar, and it is solved by various authors far not unequivocally.

The problem of the place of article in English language is presented by two basic theories: one of them considers combination of article to noun as the analytical form of noun, another carries article to auxiliary parts of speech and treats article plus noun as a combination of special type.

Some grammarians consider the article to be a kind of morpheme. The absence of the article is accordingly referred to as «zero-morpheme» applied in inflected languages to certain forms having no grammatical endings and thus differing from such forms of the same word as have their own endings. This statement is open to question and not in every sense valid. It seems more in accordance with the nature of the language to identify the English article as a typical morphological category, a special function-word used as an overt marker of the noun and contributing to its meaning.

The aim of this work is to investigate how and where to use the article, its features and complications of the usage and situations when there is no article with nouns.

The object of this work is indefinite article a, an and definite article the.

The subject of this work are sentences, where articles are used in different situations.

The task of this work is to find out difficulties of the usage of the article, its grammatical role, and also rules of its usage.

article usage noun grammatical

1. Definition of article

1.1 Article and noun

The article is a structural part of speech used with nouns. There are two articles in Modern English: the indefinite article and the definite article, also there is the zero article.

The indefinite article has the forms a and an. The form a is used before words beginning with a consonant sound (a book, a pen, a student). The form an is used before words beginning with a vowel sound (an opera, an apple, an hour). The article is pronounced [?], [?n]; when stressed it is pronounced [ei], [жn].

The definite article has one graphic form the, which is pronounced in two ways: [рi] before a vowel sound [рi жpl] and [р?] before a consonant sound [р? `pen].

The indefinite article has developed from the Old English numeral an (one), and as a result of its origin it is used only with nouns in the singular.

The definite article has developed from the Old English demonstrative pronoun se and in some cases it has preserved this demonstrative meaning in Modern English.

The use of the indefinite article implies that the object is presented as belonging to a class.

The use of the definite article shows that a particular object is meant.

The absence of articles with class nouns in the plural, with abstract nouns and nouns of material has grammatical significance: it shows that the nouns are used in a general sense.

Articles directly concern to a noun, but if there is definition to it, articles are put before all definitions.

English articles include the indefinite article a/an and the definite article «the». Articles are used with nouns, and the choice of an article depends on the type of the noun and on the context.

All nouns can be divided into two main groups: proper nouns (Mary Smith, England, the Missouri River, Monday) and common nouns (a girl, a house, a notion, a habit, water, cheese, furniture, time, information, health).

Proper nouns, also called proper names, include people's names (James Ashton, Mary Smith), geographical names (England, the Missouri River), names of companies and organizations (the United Nations, Harvard University), names of nationalities (an Italian, the Dutch), names of months and weekdays (August, Monday) and many other notions, objects and places that are capitalized and used as names.

Common nouns are divided into countable nouns (a girl, three girls, a house, two houses, several notions, different habits) and uncountable nouns (water, cheese, furniture, time, information, health).

Countable nouns are subdivided into concrete nouns (a girl, a house) and abstract nouns (a notion, a habit). Countable nouns with regular plural form add the ending s/es to form the plural.

Collective nouns are a subgroup of countable nouns; they denote groups of people or animals regarded as units (a family, a crowd, the public, a herd).

Uncountable nouns are divided into concrete nouns / mass nouns (water, cheese, furniture) and abstract nouns (time, information, health). The main distinguishing feature of uncountable nouns is that they can't be counted; consequently, they can't be used in the plural. Some uncountable nouns can be used as countable, with a different meaning (glass - a glass, time - 3 times), and there are other cases when uncountable nouns can turn into countable nouns.

The indefinite article a/an is used with countable nouns in the singular. The indefinite article a/an is not used with uncountable nouns (unless these are special cases when uncountable nouns are used as countable nouns). The main function of the indefinite article is to name one item belonging to a class of similar items.

The definite article «the» can be used with countable nouns in the singular and plural, as well as with uncountable nouns. The main function of the definite article is to point out a noun and make it definite and specific.

The indefinite article is rarely used with proper names. The definite article can be used with certain proper names.

English articles are difficult for us because there are no articles in Russian. Students often have a problem deciding where and which article to use.

Students sometimes try to avoid this problem by not using any articles with nouns, for example, they use «my, his, her, our, your, their» or «some / any» instead of the articles. Though it may be a fitting substitute in a number of cases, this method doesn't work everywhere.

1.2 Articles with Countable Nouns

Countable nouns are nouns that can be counted, for example: a table (i.e. one table), two tables; a house, three houses; an answer, several answers, etc.

1) A countable noun in the singular always requires an article (a/an or the).

The indefinite article a/an means «one, some, any, one item out of the group of many similar items».

I need a pen.

I have a question.

She is eating an apple.

The definite article «the» means «this, that, the only one, the one that we are speaking about, the one that has been already mentioned».

The pen that you gave me doesn't write.

The question that you asked is difficult.

The indefinite article «a» is used before words beginning with a consonant, e.g.: a problem, a cat, a hero, a house, a truck, a window. Its variant «an» is used before words beginning with a vowel, e.g.: an actor, an eagle, an icon, an owl, an umbrella. But «a» is used before the initial vowel «u» when it is pronounced [yu:], before the initial letter «y», and before the word «one», e.g.: a union, a useful book, a yellow bag, a young man, a one-way street, a one-day stop. «An» is used before the initial consonant «h» in the cases when «h» is not pronounced (i.e. «h» is mute), e.g.: an hour, an heir, an honor, an honest man.

2) When you mention a countable noun in the singular for the first time and/or mean «one, some, any», use the indefinite article a/an.

He is a teacher.

A tomato is a vegetable.

I want to buy a new car.

I need a book about India.

3) When you mention a countable noun in the plural for the first time and/or mean «some, any», don't use any article. The article a/an can't be used with a plural noun because its original meaning is «one».

They are teachers.

He likes tomatoes and cucumbers.

Elephants are clever animals.

Cities are becoming too big.

Books are necessary to students.

Atoms consist of particles.

There is a direct connection between the indefinite article and the plural. If a countable noun with regular formation of the plural is used with the indefinite article, it means that this noun can be used in the plural. The opposite is also true: If a regular countable noun is used in the plural, it means that this noun can be used in the singular with the indefinite article.

There are exceptions and special cases, of course, for example, countable nouns with the same singular and plural form (a deer, three deer; a means, various means), countable nouns used only in the plural (trousers, scissors, goods, clothes) and some other cases.

4) If you need to single out a countable noun in the singular and make it specific and the only one, use the definite article «the». Usually, some additional information is needed in the sentence to single out this noun, for example, the of-phrase or a subordinate clause.

He is the teacher that I told you about.

I need the new book by Dr. Brown.

The result of his actions was awful.

The story that I'm reading is very sad.

I bought the table that cost fifty dollars.

5) If you need to point out a countable noun in the plural and make it specific, use the definite article «the». Usually, some additional information in the sentence is needed to point it out, for example, the of-phrase or a subordinate clause. The definite article here means «these, those».

She bought the books by Professor Baker.

The students in my English class are lawyers and economists.

The cars that I like are expensive.

She asked the neighbors on the tenth floor to help her.

1.3 Articles with uncountable nouns

Uncountable nouns can't be counted. They are not used in the plural, do not take the plural ending s/es, are not used with the indefinite article a/an, and agree with a singular verb.

Types of uncountable nouns.

Several terms are used in reference to these nouns in English: uncountable nouns, noncount nouns, non-countable nouns. Some linguistic sources use the term «mass nouns» for all types of uncountable nouns.

In general, uncountable nouns include concrete mass nouns (liquids, gases, solid substances, etc.), various abstract notions, names of scientific subjects and fields of study, names of languages, names of sports and other activities; names of natural phenomena, etc.

1) An uncountable noun is not used with the indefinite article. If you are speaking about an uncountable noun in general, don't use any article.

I'd like coffee with milk, please.

She prefers green tea.

Do you play tennis?

I want to buy new furniture.

She likes classical music.

He likes history and German.

Water consists of hydrogen and oxygen.

She believes in justice.

2) When you need to point out an uncountable noun, use the definite article «the». Usually, some additional information is needed in the sentence in order to use the definite article «the», for example, the of-phrase or a subordinate clause. The definite article here is close in meaning to «this, that».

The water in this well is poisoned.

Take out the garbage, please.

The tea that she served smelled of mint.

The power that this man has is huge.

Certain expressions of quantity are used with uncountable nouns to show a particular amount or a portion of something, e.g.: a cup of coffee, a pound of butter, a loaf of bread, a piece of cake, a piece of furniture, a piece of news, a grain of rice, a grain of truth, a game of chess, a little help, a lot of work.

Uncountable nouns, usually concrete mass nouns, may be used in the plural with the ending s/es to show different kinds and varieties, for example: the teas of India, blended teas, soft cheeses, low-fat cheeses, French wines, whole-wheat breads, hard wheats, stainless steels, iron ores, Chinese silks, various wools. Such use is quite common in scientific and special literature.

In general speech and writing, mostly the singular form is used, for example: different kinds of soft cheese, varieties of black tea, types of stainless steel, varieties of wool, etc. Some uncountable mass nouns are often used in the plural to show different kinds in general speech and writing, e.g. fruits, fruit juices, wines.

This dress is made of silk.

Many fruits and combinations of fruits are used to make various fruit juices.

I like red wine. I'd like a glass of white wine, please.

Many uncountable nouns have meanings in which they function as countable nouns. In such cases, the indefinite article a/an or the plural ending s/es may be used. Because there are no articles in Russian, the difference between an uncountable noun and the same noun as countable (with another meaning) often escapes us. The difference between them in English is very big: their meanings are different; you can or can't use the article a/an or the ending s/es; the verb is in the plural or in the singular.

beauty; a beauty

difficulty; a difficulty

wonder; a wonder

observation; an observation

crime, a crime

Articles in set expressions may not follow the rules of the use of articles. In many set expressions there is an additional difficulty of using the right preposition. Consequently, set expressions should be learned by heart, there's no other way.

Set expressions with the definite article «the»

at the beginning,

by the way

get to the point

in the center (of the city)

in the face of (danger)

in the middle (of the book)

in the morning, in the afternoon, in the evening (but: at noon, at night)

make the bed

off the point, beside the point

on the road

What's the difference?

What's the matter?

What's the point?

Set expressions with the indefinite article a/an

a grain of truth

at a glance

at a time

have a cold

for a long time

as a result

take a break

Set expressions without any article

on board (the plane)

in fact

play football, play tennis, play chess

Take care!

face to face

make money

As a rule, no article is used with a person's name, including first name, middle name, last name and nickname. Pets' names are also used without any article.

My name is Elizabeth Gray. Please call me Betty.

I spoke to Mr. Brown and Miss Green.

My cat's name is Smoky, and my parrot's name is Cicero

The definite article «the» may be used with some nicknames, for example, one person may have the nickname Monster, and another - the Monster. In direct address, the article is omitted, for example:

He asked the Monster about it. He asked, «Monster, what do you think about it?»

The definite article «the» is required when the surname is used in the plural to show the members of the family together, or just the husband and wife as a family.

The Ivanovs live down the street.

The Browns have a big house near the lake.

The articles the, a/an may be used with people's names in some other situations, e.g.:

The Linda that I knew 10 years ago turned into a malicious hag.

Professor, there's an Alexander Taylor waiting for you in the hall.

She has a Rembrandt in her private collection. (a picture by Rembrandt).

2. Article Usage in English

2.1 The Indefinite Article a, an

For better or for worse, English is blessed with articles. This causes a considerable amount of confusion for speakers of most of the world's other languages, who seem to get on rather well without them. The good news is that English began dropping the complex case systems and grammatical genders still prevalent in other European languages a very long time ago. Now we are left with just two forms of the indefinite article (a & an) and one form of the definite article (the). Perhaps more than anything it is the transition from being a language with synthetic structure to one which is more analytic that has helped gain English the kind of unrivalled worldwide acceptance it enjoys today.

Even between British and American usage one finds subtle differences in nuance or emphasis. For example, Americans usually say someone is in the hospital, much as they could be at the bank or in the park. To the British this sounds like there is only one hospital in town or that the American is thinking of one hospital in particular that he or she patronizes. The Brits say an ailing person is in hospital, just as they would say a child is at school or a criminal is in prison. This is because they are thinking more of the primary activities that take place within those institutions rather than the buildings in which they are housed. If, however, you are merely visiting one of these places, you are at the hospital, at the school or at the prison - both British and Americans agree here that what we have in mind is the building itself.

We use a/an in such cases:

· To facilitate pronunciation, a is used in front of any word that begins with a consonant or consonant-like vowel sound.

Conversely, an is put in front of any word that begins with a pure vowel sound or a mute 'h'.

Our town has a theatre, a university, a large park and a conference hall.

Many Chinese still believe an Englishman always carries an umbrella.

It's an old custom.

It's a strange old custom.

· Note that spelling is not a reliable indicator of when to use a or an!

The coastguard received an SOS.

He spent an hour standing in line.

· The indefinite article a/an is placed in front of a countable noun that is being mentioned for the very first time. Once introduced, all further references to it can be preceded by the definite article the.

I have two cars: a Ford and an Audi.

The Ford is white and the Audi is silver.

· In English, an indefinite article is needed in front of professions.

She is an architect and he is a doctor.

· The indefinite article can also be used instead of per when giving the rate or pace of something.

He earns $200 a day.

She swims twice a week.

He drove at 60 miles an hour.

· Note too that little and few become a whole lot more positive when preceded by the indefinite article!

She has a little money and a few friends, so she'll probably get by.

2.2 The definite article the

We use the in such cases:

· The definite article the is used in front of any noun the listener or reader already knows about.

I have two cars: a Ford and an Audi.

The Ford is white and the Audi is silver.

· The is also used when the existence of something is common knowledge or comes as no surprise because of the context in which it is mentioned.

Last week a fighter plane crashed into a field but the pilot managed to eject safely.

Yesterday I spent the afternoon at home.

I put my clothes into the washing machine and went outside to sit in the garden.

· The definite article is used in front of things generally regarded as unique.

The sun, the moon, the sea, the sky, the Arctic Circle, the environment, the capital, the air, the ground, etc.

· Because nouns preceded by superlative adjectives and ordinal numbers are by their very nature unique, they too require the definite article.

It was the worst day of my life!

The captain was the first person to leave the burning tanker.

Irregularity: Spoken American English drops the in dates.

June twenty-first. (American)

June the twenty-first. (British)

The twenty-first (day) of June.

· The definite article is used in front of countable nouns representing a whole class or category of something.

The computer has changed our lives.

It is left up to the consumer to decide which one to buy.

We all have a responsibility to look after the old and infirm.

The whale is the largest mammal.

· The is used in front of oceans, seas, rivers, island and mountain chains, deserts, countries with plural names, and noun forms of points of the compass.

The Pacific, the Mediterranean, the Amazon, the West Indies, the Rockies, the Sahara, the Netherlands, the Far East, etc.

· The is used in place names and titles including of.

In the case of official job titles, the is usually dropped if there is only one such incumbent at any given time.

It is unlikely the Queen of Denmark has ever swum in the Bay of Bengal.

Margrethe II is (the) Queen of Denmark.

Donald was elected chairman of the board.

· The is also used in proper names consisting of noun(s) and/or adjective(s) + noun.

The Empire State Building, the English Channel, the White House, the Festival Hall, the Rolling Stones, the Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra, the British Museum, etc.

· The is used in hotel names, for newspapers, for currencies.

The Hilton Hotel, the Savoy, the Sheraton

The Times, the Baltimore Sun, the Daily Mail

The U.S. dollar has risen against the yen but fallen against the euro.

· The is used for many larger organizations and institutions (not commercial enterprises), including those with initials that are normally spelled out.

Acronyms (initials read as whole words) are treated in the same way as regular names (proper nouns) and so do not require any article. If you are uncertain, please monitor usage in the media or consult a dictionary.

The Commonwealth, the Fed, the EU, the WHO, the BBC, the FDA, the IAEA, etc.

But: OPEC, NATO, ICANN, etc.

· In front of people's names, however, the is only used to avoid confusion.

I'm the David Appleyard that lives in Japan.

· The is used with the names of musical instruments.

Richard Clayderman plays the piano.

· The can be used instead of a possessive form when referring to parts of the body and items of clothing

She was hit on the head by a snowball (= a snowball hit her head).

Joe grabbed the youth by the collar (= Joe grabbed the youth's collar).

· Many forms of entertainment are preceded by the definite article the, but not the medium of television.

I go to the cinema/movies, the theatre, the circus, the ballet and the opera.

In the daytime I listen to the radio, but in the evenings I like to watch television.

2.3 The zero article

We don't use article:

· No article is needed before abstract nouns used in a general sense.

Love is all you need.

Crime is a growing problem in the inner cities.

· No article is needed for most places consisting of just the name of a person, or the name of a person/place followed by a noun.

Harrods, Macys, McDonald's, Lloyds Bank, St. Paul's Cathedral, Buckingham Palace, Kennedy Airport, Waterloo Station, Cambridge University, etc.

· No article is usually needed in front of company names.

Cisco Systems, Microsoft, CBS, EMI, Hitachi, Lufthansa, etc.

· An article is unnecessary in official job titles, if there is only one person holding this position at any given time.

Alistair Darling is (the) Chancellor of the Exchequer.

Compare:

Alistair Darling is a cabinet minister.

· No article is needed in front of most roads, streets, parks, squares or bridges.

Queen's Road, Oxford Street, Central Park, Times Square, Tower Bridge, etc.

· No article is needed in the names of single mountains.

While in New Zealand I climbed Mount Cook.

· No article is needed before the names of meals, unless it is a formal occasion.

Roger had breakfast in his hotel room.

Compare:

I attended a dinner at the Rotary Club.

· No article is needed for the names of games or sports.

Anna Kournikova plays tennis to keep in shape.

· No article is needed before bed, church, court, hospital, prison, school, college, university, etc. when these are used for their primary purpose.

She stayed in bed on Sunday instead of going to church.

The dissatisfied customer threatened to take him to court.

The dissident was released from prison.

After graduating from high school he went to university.

If, however, they are used for any other purposes, the is required.

She sat on the bed while she changed her socks.

He entered the church to photograph its interior.

The decorators forgot a ladder in the prison and the place was empty when they came back for it.

· Articles are not needed in more abstract expressions of situation like to/at sea, to/at/out of work, in/out of town, in/out of office, etc.

My uncle first went to sea at the age of 15. He used to spend months at sea.

I go to work every day. I was at work yesterday.

Jack's been out of work for almost a year.

What's on in town (= my local town) this weekend?

Julie's out of town (= the town she lives in) until Thursday.

This government has been in office for about a year now. The opposition parties would dearly love to vote them out of office.

If, however, you start talking about somewhere concrete or some place in particular, then the definite article the is required.

I went to the sea/seaside to swim.

I stayed by the sea/seaside all day.

What's on in the town (= a particular town, not necessarily my own) this weekend?

How do I get out of the town?

Sally spent all day in the office (= her workplace). She didn't get out of the office much before 7 o'clock.

· No article is needed before television as a medium, only as an appliance.

Carol saw her brother on television.

Compare:

She had an indoor antenna on the television.

· There is no article before a noun followed by a categorizing letter or number.

The students have just read section C.

The Chicago train is about to depart from track 5.

Her flight leaves from gate 32.

He fell asleep on page 816 of «War and Peace».

She is staying in room 689.

· To give added punch, articles are often dropped in the titles of books, movies, music and other works of art.

Even if an article exists in the original title, as in J.R.R. Tolkien's 'The Lord of the Rings', people tend to omit this when making reference to it in everyday speech or writing.

«Journey into Hell» sounds even more exciting than «The Journey into Hell».

«Have you read 'Lord of the Rings'?»

· In order to save space, articles are usually dropped in headlines.

«Iraqi Head Seeks Arms»

«Stolen Painting Found by Tree»

«Police Confirm Shotgun Attack on Bullet Train».

Conclusion

In this work investigated how and where to use the article, its features and complications of the usage and situations when there is no article with nouns.

We examined indefinite article a, an and definite article the.

The indefinite article has the forms a and an. The form a is used before words beginning with a consonant sound (a book, a pen, a student). The form an is used before words beginning with a vowel sound (an opera, an apple, an hour). The article is pronounced [?], [?n]; when stressed it is pronounced [ei], [жn].

The definite article has one graphic form the, which is pronounced in two ways: [рi] before a vowel sound [рi жpl] and [р?] before a consonant sound [р? `pen].

The indefinite article has developed from the Old English numeral an (one), and as a result of its origin it is used only with nouns in the singular.

The definite article has developed from the Old English demonstrative pronoun se and in some cases it has preserved this demonstrative meaning in Modern English.

We found out the ways of their usage. And with the help of examples we could understand their usage more exactly.

We found out difficulties of the usage of the article, its grammatical role, and also rules of its usage.

Passing to the situational estimation 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.

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