Шрифт:
(We know specifically which dogs – the ones that belong to the night guard.) The furniture in the shop window is on sale this week.
(Again, we know specifically which furniture is being referred to.)
C. Nonspecific and Generic Reference with Countable and Uncountable Nouns
The choice of article with common nouns depends on several factors; whether the noun referred to is specific or nonspecific, whether the noun is countable or uncountable; and if countable, whether the noun is singular or plural in form. When both writer and reader do not identify a noun as something known, unique, or familiar, the reference is nonspecific.
1. Use a/an with a singular countable noun when the noun referred to is nonspecific.
My neighbor bought л dog.
(The writer docs not expect the reader to know anything about the dog.)
I he artist painted ли attractive landscape.
Use an before a word beginning with a vowel sound: an elephant, an ugly building. Words beginning with the letters h and и can be a problem as they sometimes have a vowel and sometimes a consonant sound: an honest man, a house, a uniform, an understudy.
2. Use no article (known as zero article) when a plural countable noun is nonspecific.
They went to the country' store and bought eggs and cucumbers.
Note that quantity words are often used when a reference is nonspecific.
They bought some eggs and a lot of cucumbers,
3. Use zero article when you make a generalization (a generic reference) about a plural countable noun.
Dogs are friendly animals.
(The writer is making a generalization about all dogs, not any specific dogs.)
Flowers add color to a room.
4. Use zero article when you make a generalization (a generic reference) about an uncountable noun.
Love never lasts. Gold jewelry is expensive.
Do not add the definite article to a generalization just because the noun has an adjective in front of it. The adjective does not make the noun more specific. It m narrows the noun.
5. Use zero article (or maybe a quantity word) for a nonspecific reference to an uncountable noun.
She offered him advice and information.
She offered him some advice and a great deal of information.
Never use a/an with an uncountable noun.
Task 1. In the following quotations, identify each of the underlined nouns.
Еxample: Gentlemen prefer bonds, (Andrew Mellon)
Answer: Gentlemen – countable plural/nonspesific/ bonds = countable plural/nonspecific
1. The difference between men and boys is the price of their toys. (Malcolm Forbes)
2. Happiness is having a large, loving, caring, close-knit family in another city. (George Bums)
3. Happiness is a warm puppy. (Charles Schulz)
4. As far as I'm concerned, whom is a word that was invented to траке everyone sound like a butler. (Calvin Trillin)
5. The reward of labor is life. Is that not enough? (William Morris)
Task 2. In the following passage identify each underlined noun phrase as making a specific (S) or nonspecific (NS) reference.
My life would have been much simpler, I think, if I had learned how to drive when I came to America. An American1 without a car2 is a sick creature3, a snail4 that has lost its shell. Living without a_car5 is the worst form of destitution6, more shameful by far than not having a home7, A earless person8 is a stationary object9, a prisoner10, not really a grown-up11. A homeless perso12, by contrast, may be an adventurer13, a vagabond14, a lover15 of the open sky16.
("Carless in America")D. Superlatives, Ordinals, and Sole References
1. The definite article is always used with superlative adjectives and nouns formed horn superlative adjectives.
She was the fastest swimmer in the race.
Only the strongest survive.
2. The definite article is always used with ordinals that show the position of something in relation to other things: first, last, next, second, third, etc.