Oia English Grammar 2. THE ARTICLE a noun (indicates the specificity of reference of different objects or phenomena in a certain context). According to the type of noun they are used with, the articles are divided into three categories: definite article, indefinite article and zero article. A. THE DEFINITE ARTICLE Uses of the definite article the: 1. asa substitute of a demonstrative adjective: It was cheap at the price. (at that price) At the time, he did not understand that life is not easy. (at that time) At the moment, he realised what he had done. (at that moment) } 2. with nouns that refer to @ particular object or person or are known to the speaker: The flowers are very beautiful. (in my garden; in my hand; in my vase) The smell in your house is very nice. 1am sure the idea can be very successful. (the solution that you proposed) 3. with nouns that denote unique objects like the Sun, the Moon, the Earth, the air, the sky, the North, the South, Neil Armstrong was the first man to land on the Moon. This is the first day when the sun is shining after a cloudy and rainy week. 4. with nouns which denote generally known persons or objects, such as the President, the Pope, the subway, the Mayor: The President wanted to be present at the government's meeting. The subway is my favourite means of transport. 5. with nouns that are followed by a preposition: Paris is the capital of France. The house with large windows is my house. The idea of going by car is a bad one. 6. with nouns denoting parts of the body: The terrorist was shot in the head. She was hit in the stomach. He has had some problems with the leg lately. 7. with nouns which have already been mentioned: have seen a gif at the window. The gir was very pretty. She was reading a book. The book was really captivating. ! called @ man to propose him a new contract. The man shouted at me that he did not want such a thing. 8. with adjectives in the superlative degree: This is the most interesting book I have ever read. I wonder which will be the most important day of my life. 26 PPT RAPP ARI J Yrw sh = English Grammar 9. with countable nouns in the singular. I can't see the window from this point. The door is wide open. 10. with collective nouns such as the public, the clergy, the nobility, the bourgeoise: The audience really appreciated the actors’ performance. The public was surprised when she appeared in such a short dress. 11. with adjectives to denote a whole class of people such as the poor, the rich, the young, the unemployed: The rich do not believe that life might be difficult sometimes. The young will not listen to their parents. 42. with nouns in the singular to denote a whole class of animals, objects, things such as the lion, the buffalo, the crocodile, the TV, the camera: The dolphin is a very intelligent animal. The TV has become the main source of information. 43. with nouns denoting abstractions such as the good, the evil, the beautiful, the future: We don't know what will happen in the future. The good will always win against the evil, at least in films and stories. 14. with nouns denoting nationality such as the English, the French, the Greek: The French are very proud of their country and language. The Greek are famous for their lively character. 4. with nouns denoting musical instruments: She can play the piano. The guitar is my favourite instrument. 16. with names of people in the plural, to denote a whole family: The Browns are nice people. The Smiths are at home right now. 47. with proper names preceded by adjectives: The pretty Miss Brown has arrived. The arrogant Bill has asked me to help him. 48. with names of countries, regions or provinces in the plural such as the ‘Netherlands, the Highlands, the USA, the United Arab Emirates: I'd like to travel to the USA. Columbus wanted to reach the Indies. 19. with names of islands in the plural, such as the Hebrides, the Bahamas, the Hawaii: The Hawail are famous for their beaches. The Bahamas are far away from our continent. 20. with names of chains of mountains such as the Alps, the Carpathians: The Carpathians isolate Transylvania county from the rest of the country. The Alps are very high mountains. 24. with names of deserts such as the Gobi, the Sahara: The Sahara desert is the largest desert in the world. The Gobi desert is Asia's largest desert. HOVTIEES4S 27English Grammar 22. with names of oceans, seas, lakes, rivers, channels, straits, bays like the Pacific Ocean, the Black Sea, the Danube, the English Channel, the Straits of Dover, the Bay of Biscay: The Danube flows into the Black Sea. The Black Sea has been polluted with crude oil. 23. with names of capes like the Cape of Good Hope. The Cape of Good Hope was initially named the Cape of Storms. St 24. with names of public institutions (theatres, museums, hotels, banks or = monuments), lke the Hilton Hotel, the British Museum, the Pentagon, the Tower of London, the Green Park, the Pyramids: When I was in Vienna, | visited the Danube Tower. The Pentagon was hit by a hijacked plane on 11* September, 2001. 25. with names of ships, planes, trips such as the Titanic, the Orient Express, the Queen Mary, the Concorde: The Orient Express is a famous train. The Concorde is a supersonic plane, : 26. with names of newspapers and magazines such as “The Times”, “The Observer’, “The Economist’: “The Economist" is one of the most famous economic newspapers in the world, “The Observer’ has a new senior management. 27. in expressions such as by the way, to tell the time, to take the trouble, on the one hand, on the other hand, inthe end, at the moment, a the same time, play the foo), on the whole. On the whole, going to Japan was an incredible experience. B. THE INDEFINITE ARTICLE The indefinite article has two forms in English: ~ ais used before words beginning with a consonant or a semivowel: ‘a book, a wall, a dog; — anis used before words beginning with a vowel: an egg, an apple, an answer. Usage of the indefinite article: a. o substitute the numeral “one”: bought a table and four chairs. (= | bought one table and four chairs.) | bought a kilo of carrots and three kilos of tomatoes. (= | bought one kilo of...) Please give me a carton of mik and eight eggs. (= Please, give me one carton of...) ». withthe indefinite pronouns “few” and “lite”, becoming “a few” and “a little”, to express a positive idea: Although she has been here for just two weeks, she has already made a fo i friends, * Ihave been able to save a little money, although | have a rather low salary. 28 aa English Grammar c. with nouns denoting a profession, a class, a religion, a characteristic: 1am an engineer. She is a student. He is a Christian. d. with nouns already mentioned or implied: A beauty like her has everything she needs to be happy. Aman like him can do anything. Awoman as | saw a few minutes ago can do whatever she wants with a man. e. with nouns taken in their most general sense: A baby requires special care. A child needs attention, regardless of the age. An old person is always wiser than you may think. f. with nouns denoting an unknown person: A Miss Brown asked to talk to you. A Mr. Kramer wanted to know if you still were at the office. A certain Mr. Johnson came here earlier and asked to talk to you. g. with nouns denoting a member of a famous family. She is not a Cantacuzino. He is supposed to be a Clinton. A Kennedy is genuine in his diplomatic approach. h. with nouns denoting a person with certain characteristics: He is known as a Casanova. He is called a second Picasso. He thinks he is a Don Juan. i. in expressions such as (o be in a hurry, to take an interest in, to have a chance, all of a sudden, to have a good time, as a matter of fact. As a matter of fact, | have known your secret for years. C. THE ZERO ARTICLE The zero article is used when neither the definite nor the indefinite articles can be employed. Situations: a. with uncountable nouns: Oil is lighter than water. The furniture is made of wood. You should add sugar. b. with abstract uncountable nouns like death, love, hate, life, doubt: Most people fear death. Love is rare nowadays. Life can be very difficult sometimes. c. with plural nouns: I want to buy apples. lasked some questions. I bought candies for the cake.English Grammar d. with names of people accompanied by an adjective or by a noun denoting a titl rank, family relation like Old John, Queen Victoria, President Lincoln, Professor ] Jones, uncle John, Captain Smith: Old John would seldom leave the house. Aunt Joana came to stay with us for one year. Professor Nicolae died yesterday because of a heart attack, ° NOTE: The zero article is different from the omission of the article. The article omission | generally occurs in titles, headlines, stage directions, notes, telegrams, in order to make them shorter: Leaders try to fix role for (a) new force. e. with names of continents such as Europe, Medieval Europe, North America: Romania is in Europe. South America is one of the places ! would like to visit one day. BUT: the Antarctica The first team of scouts left for the Antartica last Tuesday. f. with names of countries, states and counties such as Great Britain, France, Ancient Egypt: We will leave for Turkey in June. Prahova county is famous for its wonderful scenery. Luxembourg is one of the richest countries in Europe. g. with names of cities and towns, such as London, Oxford, Rome, Paris, Athens, Stratford-upon-Avon: If you go to Paris, don't miss the Louvre Museum. Vienna is my favourite European capital. BUT: the Hague. He studied in the Hague. h. with names of lakes such as Michigan, Loch Ness: Saint Anne lake is in Harghita county, in Romania. Everybody heard about the Loch Ness Monster. i. with names of bays, capes, harbours such as Hudson Bay, Pearl Harbor. Everyone knows about the bombing of Pearl Harbor in World War II. j. with names of mountains such as Mount Everest, Ben Nevis: Mount Everest is the highest mountain in the world. k. with names of buildings, streets, bridges, places such as Covent Garden, Oxford — Street, Hyde Park, Waterloo Bridge: She was asked to sing at Covent Garden. Walking in Hyde Park at night is forbidden. |. with names of months, festivals, days of the week: We are going there at Christmas. March is my favourite month, Tl see you on Thursday. 30English Grammar m. with names of magazines and periodicals such as “Time”, “Newsweek”, “National Geographic”: “Time” is read by thousands of people. “Newsweek featured an article about Clinton's foreign policy. “National Geographic” features a special report on Japanese whale hunting. n. with nouns denoting meals in a general sense, that refer to time: | always take breakfast before | leave in the morning. | didn't have lunch today. We are having dinner at a Japanese restaurant. ©. with nouns like school, church, hospital, prison when referring to the building or place: They usually go to church on Sundays. He went to hospital. They went to school together with their parents. p. with nouns denoting seasons: Spring is beautiful. Summer is long gone now. The temperature drops below 0 degrees in winter. r. with names of languages: He knows Japanese. ! want to learn Italian. French can be rather difficult sometimes. s. with nouns denoting means of transport preceded by the preposition “by”: Hike travelling by car. I want to travel by plane. We all like travelling by fast trains. BUT: We use the preposition “on” to speak about pedestrian movement: on foot t. with nouns before cardinal numerals: I'm staying in room 237. He missed bus 30. The jury selected number 39. u. in expressions such as day by day, in case of, to take part in, to catch pie, by sea, in silence, to shake hands, to be in trouble, on average. Please enter the room in silence. KDI Perr LAAT RE AACS Ths FV Pe