Категория определенности/неопределенности. Основные значения и основные функции артиклей.

Категория определенности/неопределенности существительных в английском языке представлена с помощью артиклей. Содержание категории определенности — неопределенности показывает, воспринимается ли предмет, который называет какое-либо существительное, как относящийся к данному классу предметов (неопределенный apтикль), или же как предмет известный, совершенно конкретный, выделяемый из других, похожих на него, предметов (определенный артикль).

Артикль — это способ соотносить предметное понятие с речевой ситуацией; неопределённый артикль вводит новое, ранее не упомянутое; определённый артикль, идентифицируя упомянутое ранее, формально повторяется и тогда, когда идентификация является уже повторной. Идентификация возможна и тогда, когда данный предмет не был назван, но из ситуации вытекает необходимость или возможность его наличия. Имена отвлеченные и вещественные допускают употребление артикля при наличии в предложении ограничивающих определений.

Имена собственные употребляются без артикля. Однако употребление определённого артикля возможно при обобщенном назывании (обычно семьи), а также при необходимости особо выделить данное лицо:

We had dined with the Browns several times before. It was the David Rubin I knew very well.

Неопределённый артикль также возможен при подчеркнутом введении имени лица как нового (в значении «некий») или при назывании члена какой-то семьи:

I heard if from a certain Mr Brown. This person is obviously a Jackson.

Артикли:

1. Определенный – the definite article ”the”
2. Неопределенный – the indefinite article “a/an”
3. Нулевой – the zero article/absence of the article

The use of articles:

1. The traditional use of articles
2. The grammatical use of articles (depends on the character of the noun)

The functions of articles

1. The indefinite article

· The nominating function (называющая) – to name an object, to state what kind of object is meant (with countable nouns, both concrete and abstract)

e.g. He gave her a cigarette and lighted it.

· The classifying function (классифицирующая) – in predicative or loose apposition

e.g. Jack is a student. Jack, a student of my group, lives not far from my house.

· The generalizing function (обобщающая) – the article indicates that the noun is a typical member of some class

e.g. A child can understand it. (=any child)

· The numeric function (числительная) – a/an=one

e.g. a hundred dollars

· The aspective function (with uncountable nouns) – the indefinite article brings out a special aspect of the notion expressed by the noun

e.g. A dull burning anger rose in his chest.

1. The definite article

· The individualizing function – to show that the noun denotes a particular object/a group of objects as distinct from the others of the same kind

e.g. Margot took up the telephone.

· The generic function – to give a composite image of the class

e.g. The tiger has always had the reputation of being a man-eater.

· The restricting function (with uncountable nouns) – to restrict the material to a definite quantity/portion or to a definite locality or the abstract notion to a particular instance

e.g. As we came out into the cold damp air, she shivered. I didn’t wish to betray the anxiety I felt.

1. The zero article

· The nominating function (with countable nouns in the plural/uncountable nouns)

e.g. My mother gave me some pennies to buy apples. The place smelled of dust.

· The classifying function - in predicative or loose apposition

e.g. They were all female students.

· The generalizing function

e.g. Children usually start walking at around one year old.

 

The indefinite article (Singular countable concrete and abstract nouns):

1. To name an object, to introduce a new element in the sentence. This new object is the focus of the sentence
2. To give a description or to say what type of thing someone or something is: Hurricane Patricia strengthened into a potentially catastrophic Category 5 storm;
3. To give an example of a thing / instrument etc, to talk about any member of a class (любой, всякий, каждый):

A barometer is used to measure air pressure.

A doctor must like people. (= any doctor)

1. To refer to a person from a certain country – with A / AN:

an American, a Belgian, a Brazilian, a European, an Italian, a Kenyan, a Moroccan, a Norwegian, a Greek, an Iraqi, an Israeli, a Thai, a Chinese, a Congolese, a Portuguese, a Swiss, a British person (Briton – mostly in newspapers), an Englishwoman / man, a Frenchman / woman, an Irishwoman / man, a Spaniard, a Dutchwoman/man, a Welshman / woman, a Dane, a Finn, a Pole, a Scot, a Swede, a Turk

* a person from Scotland is a Scot, (or Scotsman / Scotswoman)

1. To refer to any thing or person of a particular type. (often with verbs like want, afford, look for, need):

We need a leader.

Most players in our academy can't be professionals, they will have to look for a job.

1. To talk about numbers and measurements: rates (The average rent in London is £1,412 a month.); speeds (Storms and floods continue to batter the country with winds gusting at more than 100 miles an hour.); whole numbers (a million, a hundred), fractions (a fifth, a third, one and a half), weights (The price of gold is higher than it has been in 17 years -- pushing $500 an ounce.), distances (St. James' Gate, located about a mile west of Dublin's city center.)

Exceptions:

• Some uncountable nouns can be treated as countable to express the meaning 'a type of’ or 'a portion of’: I met a friend at the college library and we went out for a coffee. (= a cup of coffee)
• Many other normally uncountable nouns can have 'partly countable' uses: they do not have plurals, but can be used with a/an: Log off before you nod off: why a good sleep is vital for a long life (Blue light from computer devices is behind a sleeplessness epidemic linked to diabetes, heart disease – and an early death).
• But some uncountable nouns (e.g. weather, progress) cannot normally be used in this way: She was making ø good progress and was well up to standard.

The definite article:

1. To refer to smth that is already known to the addressee:

a. It has already been mentioned:

It was so lovely to finally meet his teacher, Ms Woolley, after her extended leave. <…> The meeting went swimmingly.

Eddie Willers looked at a map on the wall of the office. The map’s colors had faded under the glass.

b. we say which one(s) we mean:

The gun racks at San Francisco’s only gun store, High BridgeArms, are almost empty.

c. It is clear from the immediate situation or it is known to the people talking about it:

Could you close the window, please? (Only one window is open)

Stephen and I were freezing this morning. Our bedroom was like an ice box. Fortunately, the kids were fine. We never switch on the heater in their bedroom anyway, otherwise they won't feel the benefit when they go outside.

1. Unique objects or nouns that imply uniqueness (something that is unique at least in our environment):

The FBI quickly determined that both men worked for the president.

          NOTE: Noun denoting status, rank, social standing + a proper name ----> zero article: President Obama has shown great leadership in tackling global warming.

          NOTE: When a noun denoting status, rank or social standing is used predicatively or in apposition, it takes the zero article: Morsi, who was elected president the year after Egypt's 2011 revolution, was removed by the military in 2013

He walked through the spotless halls into the heart of the building, into the office of James Taggart, President of Taggart Transcontinental.

Sumption’s books on the hundred years war have been praised by academics and enthusiasts.

1. The is also used with a number of expressions referring to our environment both indoors with objects that surround the speaker (the corner, the door, the wall etc.) and outdoors (the stars, the street, the houses) including our physical environment (the sea, the wind, the weather):

He leaned on the wall, trying to catch his breath.

I love listening to the wind.

With nouns denoting the environment where people work, live or spend holidays (the city/ town, the country, the mountains, the seaside, the forest): He helped me draw up a list of 10 essentials to run safely in the mountains.

* nature, society or space are used with the zero article when they have a 'general' meaning

1. With the superlatives and words like first (second etc.), next, last, same, average, right, wrong, following, very (тот самый) and only (for details see Barmina paragraph 8, p.12)
2. In the generic function (with count. sg. nouns). Common with the names of scientific instruments and inventions, and musical instruments

! can be used in this way only if the whole class is meant: The tiger is in danger of becoming extinct. (the whole tiger family, not individuals)

1. to refer to well-known, well-defined groups of people (in the generic function):

I. nationalities: the plural expression ‘the...’ used for the population as a whole:

the Americans, the Belgians, the Brazilians, the Europeans, the Italians, the Kenyans, the Moroccans, the Norwegians, the Greeks, the Iraqis, the Israelis, the Thais, the Chinese, the Congolese, the Portuguese, the Swiss, the British, the English, the French, the Irish, the Spanish, the Dutch, the Welsh, the Danes, the Finns, the Poles, the Scots, the Swedes, the Turks

* the plural form «шотландцы» - the Scots (or, less commonly, the Scottish)

II. a. substantivized adjectives (groups of people, especially those in a particular physical or social condition) – PLURAL: the blind, the old, the dead, the poor, the deaf, the rich, the handicapped, the unemployed, the jobless, the young, the mentally ill

! cannot be used in the possessive case. We say either ‘the problems of the poor’ or ‘poor people's problems’

II. b. substantivized adjectives (to refer to general abstract ideas): the beautiful, the supernatural, the unreal) – SINGULAR

THE with certain semantic groups of words:

1. forms of entertainment: the theatre, the cinema, the opera, the ballet, the disco

BUT: when a form of art is meant, we use the zero article: Do you like ballet?

2. Shops and businesses (that are normally found in any city): the bank, the police, the fire brigade, the post office, the baker’s, the butcher’s, the grocery (grocer’s), the supermarket, the chemist(’s), the hairdresser’s, the library.

I’m going to the library. BUT: She works in a library.

3. The media: the television, the radio, the news, the press, the post/mail:

‘We've Only Just Begun’ was playing on the radio. BUT: There was a radio on, but not tuned, giving out a strange, crackling noise. (a radio as a radio set, not a form of the media)

The zero article:

1. with plural (count. n) and singular (uncount. n) we use the zero article, and not the, to talk about people or things in general. (in the generalizing function):

Life is complicated.
I'm studying the life of Beethoven. (= one particular life)

There are some children in the garden. (= particular children)

Children usually start walking at around one year old. (= children in general)

Oil has nearly doubled in price recently. (in general)

They're delivering the oil tomorrow. (= particular oil)

1. Words like music, science, chemistry, physics, music, tennis, football etc. take no article (in the generalizing function)
2. When the noun is specified by another determiner: my, each, every, this. (each phase, a search for their third manager)
3. Proper nouns usually take no article:

Plummer began to track them closely, and concluded that a small number of the women - perhaps five per cent - were simply not getting infected.

!!! When a proper noun is used as an attribute, there may be an article before it. The article, however, specifies the head-word, not the attribute:

Previously, the biggest three-day opening for a Harry Potter film was Goblet of Fire's £14m in November 2005.

!!! we use the definite article to specify the person (тот самый): Tom lives in Bristol. – Is he the Tom Davis you went to school with?