ARTICLES

The definite and indefinite articles are the commonest central

determiners and their distribution is dependent upon the class of the
accompanying noun. Relating definiteness to number, we have the following
system for countable and uncountable nouns.

COUNTABLE UNCOUNTABLE

SINGULAR definite the mountain the music

Indefinite a mountain music

PLURAL definite the mountains

indefinite mountains

In English, there are only three types of articles (definite “the”, indefinite “a”,
zero [Ø]). The definite article “the” has the peculiarity of covering the four
articles in Spanish (el, la, los, las).

-the violin: el violin; the violins: los violines

-the university: la universidad; the universities: las universidades

So we can say that the definite article in English remains unchanged as

regards gender and number (Ø gender; Ø number).

The articles: Uses

[1] The articles in specific reference
 The definite article
The article the marks a noun phrase as definite; that is, as referring to
something which can be identified uniquely in the contextual or general
knowledge shared by speaker and hearer.
When the use of the depends on shared knowledge of the world, we may speak
of specific reference.
For example:
 Do you see the bird sitting on the lower branch?

In the example, the speaker doesn’t refer to the whole class (generic
reference) but to a specific bird (specific reference: the one on the lower
branch).

Here are some other examples:

 The Pope will visit Argentina by the end of the year. (specific reference:
shared information between the speaker and hearer… Both know who the
Pope is. Shared knowledge).

 Oh, dear! The stain hasn’t come out of the Iraqi carpet. (specific reference:
the speaker doesn’t refer to any sort of carpet; but to one in particular: the
Iraqi carpet).

Grammatical determination as to specific reference is of two kinds:

1.Endophoric reference: The reference is inserted somewhere within the text

(intratextual reference). It may be:

 Cataphoric reference: A cataphoric reference unit refers to another unit that

is introduced later on in the text/speech. To understand the unit referred to
by cataphoric reference you would need to look ahead in the text/speech.

I saw them crossing the road; but, luckily the Smiths didn’t saw me.

In the example, the personal proun “them” is a cataphoric reference because it

refers to the proper noun “the Smiths” which is introduced later in the text.

 Anaphoric reference: An anaphoric reference unit, on the other hand, refers

to another unit that was introduced earlier in the text/speech. To understand
the unit referred to by an anaphoric reference you would need to look back
in the text/speech. Example:

Judith is so stressed out about her assignment that she is talking it on

Facebook.

In this assertion, there are more than one example of anaphoric reference. The
personal pronoun “she” as well as the possessive determiner “her” are
anaphoric references of the proper noun “Judith” that was introduced earlier in
the text. In the same way, the personal pronoun “it” is anaphoric reference of
the concrete noun “her assignment”, also introduced earlier.

2.Exophoric reference: An item in the text refers to something completely

outside the text (situational reference) but understandable from the context.
Example: Can you give me those books?
In the example, the demonstrative determiner “those” refers to something
outside the context and whose information is well-known by the interlocutors.

The indefinite article

In contrast to the, an indefinite article is used when a reference cannot be
regarded as uniquely identifiable (indefinite, unspecific or generic reference)
from the shared knowledge of speaker and addressee; for example:

I am just about to move into an apartment quite near the sea.

Contrast the uniquely identifiable apartment which justifies the cataphoric

the in:

I am just about to move to the apartment quite near the sea.

Moreover, there are some isolated cases, for example “A twelve-year-old

child got mad at his parents on Friday…” where the indefinite article “a” has a
specific reference.

Proper nouns:
Proper nouns are basically names, by which we understand the designation of
specific people (John Lennon), places (Hyde Park, Rome) and institutions
(Kremlin, The White House).

[2] The articles in generic reference

Read the following examples:

 My friend Thomas apparently has dogs: I hear them barking at night.

 Dogs make admirable comparisons for children and adults alike.

Ø article in both sentences... So what?

In the former, the reference is specific (to particular dogs); in the latter, the
reference is generic (the sentence speaks not of particular dogs; but, of the
whole class of dogs).
Let´s see the following examples now:
 A book was left on the counter.
 A lecturer gave the freshmen an overview of the course.

In both examples the reference is generic since neither the writer nor the
reader identify the nouns as something as something known, unique or familiar.

In relation to occupations, an indefinite article (or in some special cases, a

zero article) is always used. Let´s read the following examples then, in which
the reference is generic or non-specific as well.

 Paganini was a great violinist.

 My daughter is training as a radiologist.
 My book will be on Einstein as (a) thinker.

All three types of article can be used to make a generic reference: the,
usually, and a/an always, with singular count nouns; zero with plural count
nouns and with noncount nouns. For example:

The car

A car became an increasing necessity of life in the twentieth century.

Ø Cars

Ø Velvet is an excellent material for curtains.

Zero article
Zero article phrases commonly express non-specific or generic reference,
but there are other uses where we would expect an a/an.

 Meals
-Are they going out to dinner or something?
-We always have breakfast at work.
-What time is lunch?

 Places as institutions
-The ceremony took place in church.
-He was sent to jail.
-She works at university.
 Predicatives with unique reference
When a predicative noun phrase names a unique role or job either a zero
article (Ø article) or “the” is used:

-He was re-elected OPEC president last year.

-He is chairman of the appeal fund.

 Means of transport or communication

Generally, after the preposition by/on:

-go on foot / by bus

-send by mail, satellite link, post

 Times of the day, days, months and seasons

Tomorrow at dawn, we’ll start our journey.
When summer comes, we will travel to the North.

 Abstract/uncountable nouns: They always get zero article no matter they

are alone or premodified attributively by adjectives.

-I love History. (generic reference)

-I love medieval history. (specific reference)

-I like tea. (generic reference)

-I like green tea. (specific reference)

But when the noun is followed by a grammatical complement as post-modifier

(generally, a prepositional phrase) the reference is specific and the noun gets a
definite article.

-I love the history of Japan.

-I like the tea from India.

When uncountable nouns are preceded by a noun phrase (recipient), an

indefinite article is always used.

-I’d like a bottle of oil. (generic reference)

I’d like a bottle of sunflower oil. (specific reference)

The exception arises with the verb “to want” that triggers obligatorily the use of
a quantifying determiner or a noun phrase before the uncountable nouns. In
Spanish, the quantifying determiner disappears in favour of a “zero article” no
matter whether the reference is generic or specific.
Nonetheless, the noun phrase before uncountable nouns, as seen in the
example above, still persists in Spanish, always preceded by an indefinite
article.
Let’s see some examples:

-I want some coffee. (generic reference)

Quiero Ø café.

-I want some black coffee. (specific reference)

Quiero café solo.

-I want a cup of coffee. (generic reference)

Quiero una taza de café.

-I want a cup of black coffee. (specific reference)

Quiero una taza de café solo.

 Parallel structures: The zero article occurs in some parallel structures such
as “X and Y” or “from X to Y”, where X and Y are contrasting or identical
nouns; for instance:

-He travelled from country to country.

-This relates to communication between lawyer and client.

Examples of this kind are often fixed phrases, such as “eye to eye”, “face to
face”, “from start to finish”, “out of step”, “hand in hand”, and the like.

 Block language: The zero article is normal in block language, that is

abbreviated language used in newspaper headlines, lists, labels, notices,
etc…

-WAY OUT, ENTRANCE, EXIT

-Fire kills teenagers after hoax
-Storm damaged house. People homeless.

 Vocatives or forms of address

-Do you want that, baby?

-Can you see me now, doctor?

With all the special uses of zero article, it is worth noting that all the same
types of nouns can be used with the definite article, when a more specific
meaning is intended:
-Bye, bye. Thanks for the lunch.
-The church serves a population of 10,000.
-She missed the bus to London yesterday.

________________