СИСТЕМАТИЗИРУЮЩИЙ КУРС ГРАММАТИКИ

СИСТЕМАТИЗИРУЮЩИЙ КУРС ГРАММАТИКИ

АНГЛИЙСКОГО ЯЗЫКА

Часть I . Именные части речи. АРТИКЛЬ

Учебно-методические материалы

для студентов ФГБОУ ВПО «НГЛУ»

Заочного и вечернего отделений,

обучающихся по направлению подготовки

035700.62 – Лингвистика

Дисциплина: Систематизирующий курс

Грамматики английского языка

 (III курс, V-VI сесестр)

Составители: И.Н. Кабанова

 В.И. Курышева

 Н.Н. Лисенкова

Нижний Новгород

2014

 

Предисловие

 

Предлагаемые УММ включают материалы, необходимые для успешного овладения следующими разделами систематизирующего курса грамматики английского языка: «Имя существительное», «Местоимение», «Имя прилагательное», «Артикль», в том числе сборник упражнений, расположенных по степени трудности. Предложения и отрывки, которые служат материалом упражнений, отобраны из современной английской и американской литературы, словарей, учебных пособий и представляют собой образцы современного английского языка, типичные для него как по лексическому наполнению, так и по грамматическим структурам. Структура УММ предусматривает упражнения как аналитического, так и обобщающего характера с целью оптимизации учебного процесса. Материалы предназначены для самостоятельной и аудиторной работы студентов заочного и вечернего отделений.

 

 

CONTENTS

The noun. Classification of nouns…………………….	4
The category of number of nouns……………………………………….........................	11
The category of case of nouns…………………………………………….......................	18
THE ARTICLE............................................................................................................... Article use with countable concrete and uncountable abstract nouns............................... Articles with generic reference......................................................................................... Article use with certain groups of nouns..........................................................................        Material nouns......................................................................................................        Names of meals......................................................................................................        Periods of time......................................................................................................        Unique items..........................................................................................................        Institutions in society.............................................................................................        Geographical oppositions.....................................................................................        Parts of the body...................................................................................................        Diseases.................................................................................................................        Special roles.......................................................................................................... The use of articles with proper nouns...............................................................................        Personal names.....................................................................................................        Geographical and place names.............................................................................        Streets, squares, roads, parks................................................................................        Names of buildings and institutions......................................................................        Names of organizations.........................................................................................        Names of books, newspapers, periodicals.............................................................        Names of political institutions............................................................................... Articles in noun groups..................................................................................................... Miscellaneous use of articles............................................................................................ Tests for self-control.........................................................................................................	23 23 29 32 32 33 33 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 41 43 47 48 49 50 51 52 54 60
The pronoun………………………………………………………..	79
Personal pronouns…………………………………………………………….................	80
Possessive pronouns……………………………………………………………..............	81
Self-pronouns ……………………………………………………………………...........	83
Reciprocal pronouns………………………………………………………….................	84
Relative, conjunctive, interrogative pronouns……………………..................................	85
Indefinite pronouns……………………………………………………………...............	87
Every/each………………………………………………………………………	87
Both (of)/ either/ neither……………………………………………………......	90
Some/any………………………………………………………………………...	91
Body/one…………………………………………………………………………	93
Most/most of……………………………………………...………………...........	94
No/none (of)/ not any…………………………………………………………....	95
Much/many/ few/ a few/ little/ a little, (a) few (of), (a) little (of)….....................	97
One……………………………………………………………………………....	99
Restrictions in the use on the prop-word one………………………................................	100
Agreement between the subject and the predicate………………....................................	102
THE ADJECTIVE……………………………………………………...	108
The category of degrees of comparison………………………………............................	108
Substantivised adjectives……………………………………………………..................	111
List of authors and books used in the exercises………….	114

THE NOUN. CLASSIFICATION OF NOUNS

THE CATEGORY OF NUMBER OF NOUNS

Means to express the category of number:

· Morphological (the endings -s, -en etc.);

· Root-vowel gradation (man-men);

· Syntactic means (by means of agreement deer – deer; sheep – sheep).

 

1. The normal plural ends in -(e)s; -es for words ending in -s; -x; -z; -ch; -sh.

Note: if the pronunciation of ch is /k/, only -s is added.

2. Nouns in -o have -s in the plural if:

- the -o follows another vowel (studio – studios; zoo – zoos);

- the noun is an abbreviation (photo – photos; piano – pianos);

- the noun is of Italian origin and denotes musical terms (canto – cantos; solo –solos);

- exceptions: zero – zeros;

- both with -s or -es: banjo; buffalo; commando; flamingo; motto; volcano; tornado; grotto; halo; cargo.

 

Irregular Plurals:

1. Nouns in -f (e):

- change -f(e) to -ve: calf; elf; half; knife; leaf; life; loaf; self; sheaf; shelf; thief; wife; wolf; But: still life – still lifes;

- take either -ves or -s: dwarf; scarf; wharf; hoof; kerchief; handkerchief;

- keep the -f: belief; chief; cliff; proof; roof; safe; sniff; cuff; gulf.  

2. Vowel interchange: foot – feet; goose – geese; mouse – mice; louse – lice; tooth – teeth; man – men; woman – women;

3. The ending -en: child – children; ox – oxen; brother – brethren; But: brothers in arms;

4. Latin words:

                    Singular                                           Plural

-um   bacterium	-a bacteria
-a formula	-ae formulae
-us bacillus     genius	-i bacilli     genii; geniuses
-ex/ix index	-ices/es indices; indexes

 

5. Greek words:

                   Singular                                            Plural

-on criterion	-a criteria
-is [is] crisis	-es [i:z] crises

 

6. French words:

Singular                                      Plural

-eu/eau [ou] bureau	-s/x [z] bureaus
-corps [ko:]	-corps [ko:z]

THE CATEGORY OF CASE OF NOUNS

 

THE ARTICLE

 

ARTICLE USE WITH COUNTABLE CONCRETE

Exercise 3. In the following sentences, the underlined nouns can be count or uncount depending on their meaning. Decide which meaning is being used in each sentence, and cross out the incorrect noun group.

1. To press clothes you need iron/ an iron.

2. The heart has reasons that reason/ a reason does not understand. (Jacques Bénigne Bossuet)

3. Language/ A language is unique to humans.

4. We are looking for people with experience/ an experience.

5. You should study law/ a law at university.

6. Then everybody called for him to make speech/ a speech.

7. Play/ A play is more natural for children than adults.

8. He kept his money in tin/ a tin under the bed.

9. Charity/ A charity begins at home.

10. He spent the entire afternoon in study/ a study.

11. Suleka has no objections to marrying someone of different religious faith/ a different religious faith.

12. She’s got good memory/ a good memory for faces.

13. Truth/ A truth is the first victim of war.

14. Such behaviour is unacceptable in a civilized society/ civilized society.

15. The spring was pretty well over and the trees were in full leaf/ a full leaf. (W.S. Maugham)

 

 

Exercise 4. The following sentences demonstrate the use of nouns that can be countable and uncountable depending on their meaning. Define the meaning used in each sentence and insert articles where necessary.

1. a) __ experience is a comb that life gives after you lose your hair.

(J. Stern)

b) Her failure to advance in the FBI after a brilliant start was __ new and awful experience for her. (Th. Harris)

c) We drank our coffee in__ silence. (D. du Maurier)

d) After __ silence, he said… (K. Saunders)

e) __ silence that I had always taken for sympathy and regret was __ silence born shame and embarrassment. (D. du Maurier)

2. a) Dick had not intended to come to __ decision so quickly. (F. Sc. Fitzgerald)

b) He is a man of __ decision.

c) She made __ quick decision. (S. Sheldon)

3. a) There was __ classic cold beauty about her. (S. Sheldon)

b) Nicole was __ great beauty. (F. Sc. Fitzgerald)

c) Back at two o’clock in the Roi George corridor __ beauty of Nicole had been to __ beauty of Rosemary as __ beauty of Leonardo’s girl was to that of the girl of an illustrator. (F. Sc. Fitzgerald)

 

Exercise 5. Insert articles where necessary. Pay attention to the abstract nouns that are never used with the indefinite article.  

1. The day started with __ good news. (S. Sheldon)

2. Howard couldn’t wait to tell his parents __ exciting news. (S. Sheldon)

3. Months before, the magazine had asked __ permission to do a story about him and he had foolishly agreed. (S. Sheldon)

4. He got __ permission from the headmistress to take Elizabeth out for dinner. (S. Sheldon)

5. Quite apart from being beautiful, he was a good cook, __ great fun, and endlessly, quietly supportive. (K. Saunders)

6. After all it had been __ fun. (W.S. Maugham)

7. __ work was to begin on the demolition of the hospital and the construction of the new building in April. (S. Sheldon)

8. It was __ revolting work. (S. Fry)

9. We had really __ wonderful weather. (D. du Maurier)

10. It had been something about Collis going into his father’s business – __ good sound advice. (F. Sc. Fitzgerald)

11.  __ nature as a rather coarse phenomenon composed largely of flowers. (F. Sc. Fitzgerald)

12. Amory was on the other side, full of confidence and vanity, gazing at her in__ open admiration. (F. Sc. Fitzgerald)

13. [A jury consists of] twelve men of __ limited information and intelligence, chosen precisely because of their lack of intellectual resilience. (H.L. Mencken)

14. He’s a very likeable young man and he gives people __ excellent advice. (F. Sc. Fitzgerald)

15. __ basic research is what I am doing when I don’t know what I am doing. (Werner von Braun)

16. If you steal from one author, it’s plagiarism; of you steal from many, it’s __ research. (Wilson Mizner)

17. __ good luck is a lazy man’s estimate of a worker’s success. (Anonymous)

18. Michael had __ perfect health. (W.S. Maugham)

19. Unless we receive __ financial assistance from the government, the hospital will have to close.

20. The council provides __ practical guidance and support for students wishing to study abroad.

21. The depletion of the ozone layer is causing __ widespread concern among scientists and doctors.

22. __ rapid progress was made on the development of drugs controlling schizophrenia at this time.

23. It was __ sheer torture to hear him play the violin so badly.

24. She hoped she would avoid __ recognition by wearing dark glasses and a hat.   

Exercise 6.Insert articles where necessary. Pay attention to the use of limiting adjectives.

1.  __ only child, he must have inherited quite a substantial sum when his mother died in 1925. (J. Fowles)

2. “You know you’re __ only woman in the world for me.” (W.S. Maugham)

3. I hear they sent you __ wrong dress? (D. du Maurier)

4. I’m __ last man in the world to want to disturb it. (D. du Maurier)

5. I could see I had said absolutely __ right thing. (J.H. Chase)

6. He watched her wandering around his room, picking things up, examining them and putting them down in __ wrong place. (S. Fry)

7. That was a step in __ right direction. (J.H. Chase

8. The party took place __ following Saturday at the penthouse. (S. Sheldon)

9. In 1016, after __ last struggle between the Danish Cnut and the English Edmund, the kingdom was divided between these two.

10. She had given him __ wrong number. (H. Fielding)

11. Watching them, Nhan saw with relief she had used __ right tactics. (J.H. Chase)

12. Scott Rich stood behind Olivia, his hands over hers around the gun, easing her body into __ right position. (H. Fielding)

 

Exercise 7. Insert articles where necessary. Pay attention to the use of relative adjectives.

1. She felt in __ tremendous form. (W.S. Maugham)

2. A lot of banks and savings and loans are in __ deep trouble. (S. Sheldon)

3. They were glad to know a man of __ great culture and perfect manners to arrange the matter with discretion. (W.S. Maugham)

4. They are American seen through __ English eye. (W.S. Maugham)

5. He had taken great pains to adopt the manner of speech as it is spoken in England and you had to have a very sensitive ear to catch now and then __ American intonation. (W.S. Maugham)

6. “How right you were. I noticed the room the last time I dined there. It’s in __ perfect taste.” (W.S. Maugham)

7. Larry had apparently struck up __ great friendship with another boy in his squadron. (W.S. Maugham)

8. It looks as though there were __ complete incompatibility of temper between you. (W.S. Maugham)

9. She wondered if she would ever achieve __ supreme elegance. (W.S. Maugham)

10. How can you be in __ big trouble? (M. Gabot)

11. Jeffrey, with__ intense concentration, was raising a pile of chips of all colours. (F. Sc. Fitzgerald)

12. Your mother appears to be a woman of __ enormous sense. (W.S. Maugham)

13. All bad poetry springs from __ genuine feeling. (O. Wilde)

14. I would walk along this drive, strange and unfamiliar to me now, with __ perfect knowledge, conscious of every twist and turn. (D. du Maurier)

15. “Delicious,” he said with__ mounting enthusiasm. (H.E. Bates)

16. Then just as I was getting to my feet, the Pontiac number plate clutched in my hand, there was a blinding flash of light followed instantly by__ complete darkness. (J.H. Chase)

17. There’s __ real joy in her voice. (M. Gayle)

18. In spite of his size, Jaffe had __ perfect balance. (J.H. Chase)

19. It was a look of __ complete and candid love. (J.H. Chase)

20. He was the best as well as the oldest fortune-teller at the Tomb and Nhan had __ great faith in him. (J.H. Chase)

 

Material Nouns

Exercise 1.In the following sentences insert articles where necessary and comment on their functions.

1. It is commonly accepted today that __ brown bread is good for you.

2. When they came to __ coffee he asked her whether he might offer her __ liqueur. (W.S. Maugham)

3. I drank __ brandy and put __ glass back on the silver salver. (D. du Maurier)

4. “Fetch Alphonse,” Pop said. “I daresay he wouldn’t say no to __ brandy. I want one too.” (H.E. Bates)

5. I drove fast to Slim’s bar where I could examine the papers and have __ sandwich and __ beer before deciding on __ plan of campaign. (J.H. Chase)

6. He ordered __ double whiskey on the rocks, lit a cigar and stretched out his short fat legs. (J.H. Chase)

7. After the inevitable delay __ whiskey was placed before him, and he savoured his first drink of the day. (J.H. Chase)

8. “What’ll you have?” “__ Scotch, I guess,” Jaffe said and fumbled for a cigarette. “That’s a hell of a shirt you’re wearing.” (J.H. Chase)

9. Afterward he went to the bar of the Crillon and drank __ small coffee and two fingers of gin. (F. Sc. Fitzgerald)

10. Her least favourite thing is __ sushi. (M. Gayle)

11. Elizabeth took a sip of __ hot coffee. (S. Sheldon)

12. “Could you dash down to the machine, and get me __ black coffee?” (K. Saunders)

13. All our towels are made of __ Egyptian cotton.

14. Heaven sends us __ good meat, but the Devil sends cooks. (D. Garrick)

15. Dinner at the Huntercombes’ possessed ‘only two dramatic features – __ wine was a farce and the food a tragedy’. (A. Powell)

16. The dinner was: __ cold tinned ham and cold hard mince pies. (N. Mitford)

 

 

Names of Meals

Exercise 1.In the following sentences insert articles where necessary and comment on their functions.

1. The best way of disposing of them of course was to give them __ dinner and take them to a play, but that was often difficult when he was engaged every evening for three weeks ahead… (W.S. Maugham)

2. Elliot was of opinion that __ breakfast was a meal that you should share only with total strangers. (W.S. Maugham)

3. “Thank you for __ lovely dinner.” (H. Fielding)

4. They had just arrived at __ dinner for a European fashion designer who was trying to stage a comeback in New York. (C. Bushnell)

5. I’d like it very much if you’d come to __ bachelor dinner. And also to__ tea Friday at Jebby West’s. (F. Sc. Fitzgerald)

6. Pop rushed at once to pick him up but Ma said __ breakfast was ready. (H.E. Bates)

7. I will give the orders about __ lunch. (D. du Maurier)

8. Dick was taking Rosemary to __ tea from which Nicole and the Norths had resigned in order to do the things Abe had left undone till the last. (F. Sc. Fitzgerald)

9. During__ dinner the twilight faltered into dusk, and later it was a starry dark outside. (F. Sc. Fitzgerald)

10. I arranged to give __ luncheon for them. (W.S. Maugham)

11. __ dinner, Mademoiselle Dupont had suggested, should be at eight-thirty. (H.E. Bates)

12. This must be __ cold lunch that was put out in the dining-room yesterday and I had not eaten. (D. du Maurier)

13. “Wouldn’t you like to see it, Clifford? I’ve asked them to__ tea for you to see it.” (D.H. Lawrence)

14. Frith says Maxim was down to __ early breakfast. (D. du Maurier)

15. I could imagine the little crowd at __ Saturday lunch. (D. du Maurier)

 

Periods of Time

Exercise 1 . In the following sentences insert articles where necessary and comment on their functions.

1. It was __ cold fall day, with fire in the room and her cheeks flushed. (F. Sc. Fitzgerald)

2. It was __ dawn now on Long Island and we went about opening the rest of the windows downstairs, filling the house with __ grey-turning, gold-turning light. (F. Sc. Fitzgerald)

3. During __ afternoon I had a long, lonely session with my thoughts. (J.H. Chase)

4. It was __ warm beautiful night. (W.S. Maugham)

5. He did not leave her till __ chink of light through __ drawn blind warned them that __ day had broken. (W.S. Maugham)

6. __ evening was already turning to__ dusk. (P. Jordan)

7. We were up before__ dawn and we didn’t stop work till __ nightfall. (W.S. Maugham)

8. It was __ wonderful, warm, starry night with __ moon lighting up all the rhododendron bushes. (H. Fielding)

9. __ night came and the last tourists were shooed out of the Palazzo Vecchio. (Th. Harris)

10. Then the day afterwards she would be up at __ dawn driving to London. (D. du Maurier)

11. Like Lieutenant Canby, I marched off unwillingly into __ suddenly insufficient night. (F. Sc. Fitzgerald)

12. As he spoke the car became one of many once again, __ dusk had fallen without my noticing it. (D. du Maurier)

13. It was __ night when the long silver transport pulled up to the barn at Muscrat Farm. (Th. Harris)

14. I got to the office after nine o’clock __ following morning. (J.H. Chase)

15. It was __ night still, but __ stars were pale in __ sky, and __ day was at hand. (W.S. Maugham)

16. __ evening after__ evening the senior singing had drifted over the campus in melancholy beauty. (F. Sc. Fitzgerald)

‘Past’, ‘present’, and ‘future’

Ø ‘Past’, ‘present’, and ‘future’ generally have the definite article:

· ...the dangers in thinking only of the present.

· ...plans for the future.

· ...more people than I had ever been responsible for in the past.

Ø But ‘present’ and ‘future’ can be used after ‘at’ and ‘in’ respectively with a zero article:

· ...since there is no certain answer at present.

· Try to remember it in future.

Ø In American English ‘in the future’ is used rather than ‘in future’.

Ø It is possible to use the indefinite article when talking about the life of one particular person:

· He has a future.

· … a man with a past

 

Exercise 2. In the following sentences insert articles where necessary and comment on their functions.

1. I like men who have __ future and women who have __ past. (O. Wilde)

2. However glorious might be his future as Jay Gatsby, he was at__ present a penniless young man without __ past, and any moment the invisible cloak of his uniform might slip from his shoulders. (F. Sc. Fitzgerald)

3. I guessed that in __ past he had acquired a good deal of experience in dealing with Middle Western businessmen. (W.S. Maugham)

4. __ future was unknown. (D. du Maurier)

5. I feel you have __ future. (F. Sc. Fitzgerald)

6. I’m rather pagan at__ present. (F. Sc. Fitzgerald)

7. In the company of such as these he felt that he lived in __ spacious and gallant past. (W.S. Maugham)

8. That was __ past. There was __ present to worry about now. (S. Sheldon)

9. From the experience of __ stormy past. (W.S. Maugham)

10. It brought me to reality, and the facing of __ immediate future. (D. du Maurier)

11. She had gone to Baltimore to live – but since then she had developed __ past. (F. Sc. Fitzgerald)

12. Amory decided with a vague sentimentality that for __ present, at any rate, he would not sell the house. (F. Sc. Fitzgerald)

13. Every time she tried calmly to evaluate her situation and make a plan, her mind was overwhelmed by images of __ entire future with Feramo. (H. Fielding)

14. And then I tell her I want us to make __ new future – and what better way than with a baby? (M. Gayle)

Unique Items

Ø There are several things which are said to be unique in that only one example of them (or one set of them) exists. Here are some words which belong to this group:

the devil the north pole the solar system the universe

the earth the planets      the south pole the weather

the equator     the pope         the stars          the world

the moon the sky            the sun

Ø In some ways unique nouns are like proper nouns which also typically refer to only one item or set of items. And there is a tendency to use a capital letter with some of them (especially ‘devil’, ‘earth’, ‘equator’, ‘north pole’, ‘south pole’ and ‘pope’), as with proper nouns.

· ...a human being possessed by the Devil.

· ...on the surface of the Earth.

Ø However, it is not true to say that all these nouns only occur with the definite article. You can use most of them (but not ‘earth’ or ‘weather’) with the indefinite article or as plurals. If you talk of ‘a sun’ or ‘a moon’, you may be talking about another sun or moon elsewhere in the universe, or you may be trying to give a particular impression of ours:

· ...under a still-warm October sun.

· The moons, too, rapidly grew larger.

Ø ‘Earth’ is very often used with a zero article, especially after ‘on’.

· ...the smallest nation on earth.

Exercise 1.In the following sentences insert articles where necessary and comment on their functions.

1. __ universe is duly in order, everything in its place. (W. Whitman)

2. The clouds left us at Exeter, they rolled away behind us, leaving __ great blue sky above our heads and __ white road in front of us. (D. du Maurier)

3. __ earth and its resources belong of right to its people. (G. Pinchot)

4. The houses were white shells in a rounded grotto, pricked here and there by __ great orange sun. (D. du Maurier)

5. The only fence against __ world is a thorough knowledge of it. (J. Lock

6. It was too early for __ moon. __ sky I could see through the open doors was inky black with only a few stars. I was in a hell of panic as I forced myself out from under the car. (J.H. Chase)

7. And if there’s __ heaven above, he’ll be there, and will lie up against me so I can sleep. (D.H. Lawrence)

8. Every solar system has __ sun.

9. He was a Georgian, with the peculiarly regular, even stenciled ideas of Southerners who are educated in __ North. (F. Sc. Fitzgerald)

10. __ equator runs round the middle of __ earth.

 

Institutions in Society

Ø There are certain establishments of human society which are referred to with a zero article when we think of them as institutions in general rather than as specific buildings or individual places. Here is a list of words that can be used like this:

church          court   jail             school        

hospital      prison university       college

Ø Normally, when these words are used to talk about buildings they are countable nouns and follow the rules of article usage as count nouns. But when they are being used for their intended purpose there is a zero article; that is worshipping in church, studying in school/college/university, receiving medical care in hospital, being a prisoner in prison or jail, legal action in court:

· ...once he is taken home from hospital.

· In the morning all the peasants went to church.

· He left school at seventeen.

· ...to decide whether to go to court or not.

· His parents couldn't afford to send him to university.

· After 11 days in prison they were released.

Ø There are some differences between British and American usage here. Firstly, Americans say ‘the hospital’ instead of ‘hospital’ for institutional reference. Secondly, the word ‘university’ is not used in this way; the American equivalent of ‘at university’ is ‘in college’.

Ø ‘Bed’ behaves in a similar way; with a zero article it means the place where we sleep or rest, not a particular object.

· She went to bed and slept lightly.

Exercise 1.Insert articles where necessary.

1. Sometimes they would go to__ church together on Sunday and he would walk beside her and revel in her cheeks moist from the soft water in the new air. (F. Sc. Fitzgerald)

2. Have you thought about __ school for him? (S. Sheldon)

3. He’s stayed over a day from__ college, and he’s coming tonight. (F. Sc. Fitzgerald)

4. Do you suppose he is in__ prison under some false name? (F. Sc. Fitzgerald)

5. They won’t let him out of __ jail. (F. Sc. Fitzgerald)

6. With no money to pay for __ hospital or doctors, Howard went back to work at the bank, full-time. (S. Sheldon)

7. Lara walked into __ hospital and asked the name of the corporation that owned it. (S. Sheldon)

8. “You should get right to __ hospital,” the doctor had told him. “You’ve lost a good deal of blood -” (S. Sheldon)

 

Geographical oppositions

Ø The definite article is used with a number of nouns which indicate geographical alternatives, for example ‘the town’ – ‘the country’ and ‘the sea’ – ‘the land’. We are not referring to a particular place, for example a particular town or forest. We are talking about the types of landscape or geographical environments where people live, work, or go for holidays. Here is a list of words that can be used like this:

the city       the desert        the land           the sea

the country          the forest        the mountains the seaside

the countryside    the jungle        the plains        the town

Ø  ‘Town’ when used with prepositions has a zero article when it means the centre or business part of a town, or the nearest town to a country place, or the town we live in:

to be in town to come back to town to leave town

to go to town to return to town      to be out of town

to live in town to stay in town

Ø The noun ‘country’ as an antonym to ‘town’ takes the definite article:

to go to the country

to be in the country

to come from the country

Ø ‘Sea’ is used with the indefinite article if it has a descriptive attribute; with a zero article in certain prepositional expressions:

· ...after he'd gone to sea.

...the main danger to naval forces and shipping at sea.

Exercise 1 . Insert articles where necessary.

1. I’ve got to get out of__ town. (J.H. Chase)

2. I don’t think it would do any harm if I quietly let it be known down in Kerrith and in __ country that __ London doctor has supplied us with a motive. (D. du Maurier)

3. So I drove into__ town. (J.H. Chase

4. I am going to __ country for tomorrow. (F. Sc. Fitzgerald)

5. I just arrived in__ town. (S. Sheldon)

6. “Mr. Adler is out of__ town on tour. Can I help you?” (S. Sheldon)

7. Monsignor wasn't in __ town. (F. Sc. Fitzgerald)

8. Let’s have a weekend in __ mountains.

9. A farm is an irregular patch of nettles bounded by short-term notes, containing a fool and his wife who didn’t know enough to stay in __ city. (S.J. Perelman)

10. I am not the type who wants to go back to __ land; I am the type who wants to go back to the hotel. (F. Lebowitz)

 

Parts of the body

Exercise 1.In the sentences below, only one of the underlined alternatives is appropriate. Cross out the one that is wrong.

1. She kissed him on his / the cheek. (S. Sheldon)

2. She punched her attacker in his / the face and he ran off.

3. After a while, Mary came in, her / the hair freshly combed.

4. The Baron leaned forward and looked her in the / her face.

5. He put his / the hand on the / her shoulder.

6. She leaned close to him, resting her / the cheek against him.

7. She slipped her / the arm under his and gave him a nudge.

8. The General had a pistol in the / his hand.

9. I kicked him hard on the / his leg.

10. He could have shot me in the / my foot.

11. His voice, rich in tone, had a musical quality that was grateful to the / myear. (W.S. Maugham)

12. My dog has hurt the / his leg.

13. Look me in the / my eye and tell me what you’re saying is true.

14. Can’t you think of anything else? You’ve got food on the / your brain.

 

Diseases

Ø Article usage with the names of illnesses and other conditions is sometimes inconsistent, and can vary with the same word. Normally nouns referring to illnesses are uncountable and are used with a zero article. Here is a list of common words like this:

AIDS anaemia appendicitis cancer cholera diabetes

diarrhoea hepatitis herpes influenza laryngitis leukaemia

malaria pneumonia rabies rheumatism scarlet fever smallpox

tonsillitis tuberculosis typhoid yellow fever bronchitis diphtheria

Ø ‘Cancer’ can also be countable, but combinations with it are uncountable, for example ‘lung cancer’.

Ø With the names of some common infectious diseases the definite article can be used, as well as a zero article, but it is not as common. This applies to ‘flu’ (but not ‘influenza’), ‘measles’, ‘mumps’, and ‘chickenpox’.

· She’s coming down with the flu./ I had a mild attack of flu.

· ...unlike the measles itself. / ...the first symptoms of measles.

Ø The definite article is found with names of diseases when the speaker refers to some particular case (with less dangerous diseases).

Ø Certain nouns which are not special medical terms are used to name diseases; they behave as countable or uncountable nouns: ‘a cold’, ‘a chill’, ‘a cough’, ‘a high blood pressure’, ‘a heart attack’, ‘a sore throat’, ‘a pain in the back/ in the knee’ are treated as simple countable nouns; ‘heart trouble’, ‘liver trouble’ – as uncountable nouns.

Ø Words ending in ‘-ache’ behave in different ways, in British English. ‘Earache’, ‘toothache’, ‘backache’, ‘stomach-ache’, and so on can be uncountable or countable, so you can say ‘I’ve got earache’ and ‘I’ve got an earache’.

· He was suffering from severe earache.

· One morning she developed an earache.

· ...various infusions which she used for sore eyes, toothache and muscular pains.

· ...when a woman with a toothache was brought to us.

Ø ‘Headache’, however, is a countable noun, and so you can have ‘a headache’ or regular ‘headaches’, but you cannot say ‘I’ve got headache’.

· Next morning she complained of a headache.

Ø In American English, all ‘-ache’ words are countable nouns, so it is not possible to say ‘I’ve got earache’, and so on.

Ø Note The noun ‘heartache’ is used figuratively denoting deep sorrow or grief.

Exercise 1.Insert articles where necessary.

1. The boy Roger had arrived home with __ measles; they were all in __ quarantine. I could not help blessing __ measles. (D. du Maurier)

2. When Amory had __ whooping-cough four disgusted specialists glared at each other hunched around his bed; when he took __ scarlet fever the number of attendants, including physicians and nurses, totalled fourteen. (F. Sc. Fitzgerald)

3. In actuality Dick was sick with __ flu. (F. Sc. Fitzgerald)

4. On an evening in early July, James Cameron suffered __ heart attack. (S. Sheldon)

5. Dick has had __ grippe and is starting home to-morrow. (F. Sc. Fitzgerald)

6. This cancer wing I’ve donated is particularly important to me, as you know that __ cancer was what took your beloved grandfather from me. (M. Gabot)

7. I am writing this from home to let you know I will not be in today due to the fact that I have woken up with __ sore throat, fever, and runny nose. (M. Gabot)

8. Love’s like __ measles – all the worse when it comes late in life. (D. Jerrold)

 

Special Roles

 

Exercise 1 . Insert articles where necessary.

1. Charles was __ head of the French branch of Roffe and Sons. (S. Sheldon)

2. Now Rinaldo Pazzi, __ chief inspector of the Florentine Questura, had to decide what his honor was worth, or if there is a wisdom longer than considerations of honor. (Th. Harris)

3. She was __ woman enough to know when a man wanted her all right … and when one didn’t. (P. Jordan)

4. His father had been __ president of one of the southern universities and his grandfather a divine of some eminence. (W.S. Maugham)

5. In April, Animal Farm was proclaimed __ Republic, and it became necessary to elect __ President. (G. Orwell)

6. Franz, __ resident pathologist at the clinic, a Voudois by birth, a few years older than Dick, met him at the tram stop. (F. Sc. Fitzgerald)

7. With Elkins, __ second secretary at __ Embassy, he shared an apartment. (F. Sc. Fitzgerald)

8. By the end of the week he would no longer be __ Head of Security Police. (J.H. Chase)

9. Belle became __ president at her bank. (C. Bushnell)

10. I was still __ child enough to consider Christian name like a plume in the hat. (D. du Maurier)

11.  Walden had just been made __ partner in a corporate law firm and had recently gotten engaged to a dermatologist. (C. Bushnell)

12. Three years after he had joined the company, Rhys was made __ general sales manager. (S. Sheldon)

13. I blew it and I’m __ man enough to admit it. (M. Gabot)

14. “Is that Tyler Kydd, __ actor?” Mr. Big asked. (C. Bushnell)

15. __ captain is full of bright ideas. That’s why he is __ Captain. (J.H. Chase)

16. “Call the Mercantile Bank in Chicago. Ask for Bob Vance. He’s __ president.” (S. Sheldon)

17. When Anna’s father died two years later, Walther Gassner was made __ member of the board. (S. Sheldon)

18. I’m __ son of Giuseppe Martini. (S. Sheldon)

19. Sir Alec Nichols, __ Member of Parliament, was seated at one of the small corner tables, having lunch with a guest, Jon Swinton. (S. Sheldon)

20. “When you’re __ Prime Minister, don’t forget old Ireland.” (K. Saunders)

21. Mary North was __ daughter of a journeyman paper-hanger and a descendent of __ President Tyler. (F. Sc. Fitzgerald)

 

Personal Names

Exercise 1 . Insert articles where necessary.

1. Isabel frowned slightly. I think she was beginning to have a notion that __ Larry who had entered the room a few hours before, though unchanged in appearance and seemingly as open and friendly as he had ever been, was not __ same Larry, so candid, easy, and gay, willful to her mind but delightful, that she had known in __ past. She had lost him before, and on seeing him again, taking him for __ old Larry, she had a feeling that, however altered the circumstances, he was still hers. (W.S. Maugham)

2. I came here when __ first Mrs. De Winter was a bride. (D. du Maurier)

3. “A little background first.” Doemling consulted his notes. “We knooowww Hannibal Lecter was born in Lithuania. His father was a count, title dating from the tenth century, his mother high-born Italian, __ Visconti…” (Th. Harris)

4. How did you get on with __ old Danvers? (D. du Maurier)

5. “No,” declared Tom emphatically, __ new Tom, clothed by Brooks, shod by Franks. (F. Sc. Fitzgerald)

6. __ young Gray Maturin was eager for him to take it. (W.S. Maugham)

7. He seemed all right again now, happy and cheerful, __ Maxim I knew and loved, and he began talking about Frank Crawley. (D. du Maurier)

8. I was introduced to a stoutish, tall man with a red face who looked somewhat ill at ease in evening clothes. He was __ Dr Nelson, but at the moment that meant nothing to me. (W.S. Maugham)

9. I asked __ little Clarice about her. (D. du Maurier)

10. “Well, must go,” she said. “Must see what __ adventurous Iris has been up to.” (H.E. Bates)

11. I should have remembered __ name de Winter. I’ve never attended __ Mrs. de Winter in my life. (D. du Maurier)

12. __ Kitty of this morning faded; the soiled kimono rolled up and disappeared; the pouts, and rages, and tears all were washed away. (F. Sc. Fitzgerald)

13. __ Blaines were attached to no city. (F. Sc. Fitzgerald)

14. I am just ‘__ good old Kerry’ and all that rot. (F. Sc. Fitzgerald)

15. It was well past its first glory on the day __ curious Mrs Roger Fairboalt came to see __ beautiful Mrs Harold Piper. (F. Sc. Fitzgerald)

16. “Doctor Baker? I don’t know __ Doctor Baker. There used to be a house called Rose Cottage near the church, but __ Mrs. Wilson lives there.” (D. du Maurier)

17. In 1916 he managed to get to Vienna under the impression that, if he did not make haste, __ great Freud would eventually succumb to an airplane bomb. (F. Sc. Fitzgerald)

18. In every store where she had ever traded she was whispered about as __ beautiful Mrs. Page. (F. Sc. Fitzgerald)

19. I wouldn’t be __ Rosalind you love. (F. Sc. Fitzgerald)

20. About a year and a half before, Doctor Dohmler had some vague Mr Devereux Warren, of __ Warren family of Chicago. (F. Sc. correspondence with __ American gentleman living in Lausanne, __Fitzgerald)

 

Names of Organizations

Ø Some names of organizations have the definite article and some have a zero article. Names of well-known organizations typically have the definite article, and they keep it when they are abbreviated: the United Nations (the UN), the BBC, the Labour Party, the FBI, the EC.

· The Labour Party has a job to do.

· The TUC runs ten-day courses all over the country.

· The BBC never reported my speeches.

· ... the role of the UN during the election period.

· ...something to do with the United Nations.

Ø If an abbreviation is pronounced as a word (is an acronym), then there is a zero article. So ‘the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries’ is usually called ‘OPEC’ [ouреk]. Other examples are ‘NATO’ [neitou] and ‘UNICEF’ [ju:nisef].

· ...as a member of NATO.

Ø Some names of charities have a zero article: Oxfam, Christian Aid, Mencap.

Ø You usually refer to businesses and chains of shops with a zero article: General Motors, Sony, Woolworths, Shell, Nissan, Singapore Airlines. This applieseven when an abbreviation is used which is not pronounced as a word: BP [bi:pi:] (British Petroleum), KLM, BA, ICI, IBM and so on.

· You could have gone to Woolworths.

· Now Collins have brought it out in a new translation.

· …corporations like IBM, RCA and Xerox.

Ø However, if a word like ‘company’ is used, then the definite article is used: the Bell Telephone Company. You can find alternatives like: ‘General Electric’ and ‘GEC’ as well as ‘the General Electric company’

Exercise 1.In the sentences below, only one of the underlined alternatives is appropriate. Cross out the one that is wrong.

1. United Nations/ The United Nations was formed in 1945.

2. ICI/ The ICI is one of the world’s largest companies.

3. John Major replaced Margaret Thatcher as leader of Conservative Party/ the Conservative Party in 1990.

4. Cathay Pacific/ The Cathy Pacific offers daily fights to Tokyo.

5. There have been arguments about the role of UNESCO/ the UNESCO.

6. Several countries are interested in joining European Community/ the European Community.

7. In 1954 he joined General Electric Company/ the General Electric Company, or GEC/ the GEC as it is usually known.

8. The Barclays Bank/ Barclays Bank have opened a new branch in the High Street.

9. He’s been a newsreader for BBC/ the BBC for 10 years.

10. Pentagon/ The Pentagon, that immense monument to modern man’s subservience to the desk. (O. Franks)

 

А RTICLES IN NOUN GROUPS

Exercise 1 .  Insert articles where necessary.

1. She told him in __ answer to his polite inquiry __ whole story and gave him her opinion of __ travel agency, __ railway company, and __ general inefficiency of __ human race. (W.S. Maugham)

2. If I have given __ reader __ impression that Elliot Templeton was a despicable character I have done him __ injustice. (W.S. Maugham)

3. I never had __ remotest idea. She kept it __ secret from everyone, even Danny. (D. du Maurier)

4. One of her most amiable traits was that she was never affronted by __ naked truth. (W.S. Maugham)

5. I haven’t __ slightest idea, Mrs. Danvers. (D. du Maurier)

6. It’s not __ slightest use your losing your temper with me. (D. du Maurier)

7. He was __ admirable host and he took __ delight in displaying his virtuosity. (W.S. Maugham)

8. Are you going to keep __ house? (F. Sc. Fitzgerald)

9. Perhaps you will do me __ honour of accompanying me to the card room? (S. Fry)

10. As with a jigsaw puzzle, what I hoped to do was to familiarize myself with the picture on the box lid and then proceed to put the pieces together one section at__ time. (S. Grafton)

11. You’re to nurse it Nelly: to feed it with sugar and milk, and take care of it __day and__ night. (E. Bronte)

12. And of Wuthering Heights Catherine was thinking as she listened; that is, if she thought or listened at all; but she had the vague, distant look I mentioned before, which expressed no recognition of material things either by__ ear or__ eye. (E. Bronte)

13. I was marking time until I had a chance to talk to Lonnie, who Ida Ruth kept assuring me was temporarily out of__ service. (S. Grafton)

14. On many __ night I have rolled over and wished he was just half the Leon that he used to be: tender and attentive and sexy and a little wild. (Terry McMillan)

15.  ‘Oh, I have nothing,’ I replied, thinking it best to speak __ truth at once. (E. Bronte)

16. Rosemary stood beside Tommy Barban – he was in __ particularly scornful mood and there seemed to be some special stimulus working upon him. (F. Sc. Fitzgerald)

17. It was a sweet substitute for the yet absent murmur of the summer foliage, which drowned that music about the Grange when the trees were in__ leaf. (E. Bronte)

18. __day and __ night he was watching and patiently enduring all the annoyances that irritable nerves and a shaken reason could inflict… (E. Bronte)

19. He subdued it, however; heard her saying, ‘__ truth, __ whole truth, and nothing but __ truth,’ and looked up. (John Galsworthy)

20. I knew that you could not keep up an acquaintance with your cousin, without being brought into__ contact with him. (E. Bronte)

21. From __ dinner to__ tea she would lie in her breeze-rocked cradle, doing nothing except singing old songs – my nursery lore – to herself, or watching the birds, joint tenants, feed and entice their young ones to fly. (E. Bronte)

22. While Michael was refastening the lock of the park door in the afternoon, I got __ possession of the key. (E. Bronte)

23. The place was filled with sunshine, and the door stood wide open; but nobody seemed at __ hand. (E. Bronte)

24. You know, I was wild after she died; and eternally, from__ dawn to __ dawn, praying her to return to me – her spirit – I have a strong faith in ghosts. (E. Bronte)

25. I knew no living thing in__ flesh and__ blood was by. (E. Bronte)

26. If he could only give tangible proof enough of his determination to let __ bygones be__ bygones, and to do all in his power to please her, why should she not come back to him? (John Galsworthy)

27. And they had gone __ hand in__ hand. (John Galsworthy)

28. Winifred was at __ heart so deeply undecided… (John Galsworthy)

29. The issue had been so satisfactory on the whole that it was advisable to tell James, who never failed to say __ day after__ day that he didn’t know about Winifred’s affair, he couldn’t tell. (John Galsworthy)

30. Of course, there’s nothing very much at__ present, but there will be. (John Galsworthy)

31. I’m as good __ man as you. (John Galsworthy)

32. Stay in __ close touch. (Jack Higgins)

33. Her grandfather had gone__ bankrupt in the lace-market at __ time when so many lace-manufacturers were ruined in Nottingham. (D.H. Lawrence)

34. ‘Only dare!’ she said in __ loud, ringing voice. (D.H. Lawrence)

35. Then he caught__ sight of the Highland bonnet with its ribbons. (D.H. Lawrence)

36. Never forgetting that by__ birth she was a gentlewoman, she cultivated her aristocratic tastes and feelings, so that when __ opportunity came she might be ready to take the place from which poverty now excluded her. (Louisa May Alcott)

 

 

TESTS FOR SELF-CONTROL

Test I

1. It was __ heady experience. (S. Sheldon)

2. When Pop drew up the Rolls outside __ Hotel Beau Rivage at half past six in __ evening of the last day of August a gale was raging in from __ Atlantic that made even the sturdy blue fishing boats in the most sheltered corners of the little port look like a battered wreckage of half-drowned match-stalks. (H.E. Bates)

3. There was __ awkwardness between us that could not be ignored. (D. du Maurier)

4. Sam Roffe was __ last person to whom he could turn. (S. Sheldon)

5. It was nine o’clock when we finished __ breakfast and went out on the porch. __ night had made a sharp difference in the weather and there was __ autumn flavour in the air. (F. Sc. Fitzgerald)

6. “I’m __ head of the department and ….” (S. Sheldon)

7. This was __ real love, this warm peace and fulfillment… (K. Saunders)

8. I know __ Far East. (D. du Maurier)

9. There was __ silence as they listened to __ rain. (F. Sc. Fitzgerald)

10. In other words, she’s __ woman. (S. Sheldon)

11. I always thought this __ most attractive room. (D. du Maurier)

12. It was __ perfect night, with __ bright full moon and __ soft summer breeze. (S. Sheldon)

13. You went to war as a gentleman should, just as you went to__ school and __ college, because it was the thing to do. (F. Sc. Fitzgerald)

14. She had __ dinner meeting that evening with __ banker from Texas. (S. Sheldon)

15. Elizabeth realized that in Rio it was __ summer. (S. Sheldon)

16. He sat down on __ bed. (S. Sheldon)

17. Without those experiences you wouldn’t be __ Kelly I love so much. (P. Jordan)

18. “Excuse me, love.” It was __ northern English accent. (H. Fielding)

19. It gave me __ curious satisfaction, it acted upon me like a stimulant. (D. du Maurier)

20. I’ll take __ lemonade!... In a dirty glass! (N. Panama and Melvin Frank) 

 

Test II

1. Men have an extraordinary erroneous opinion of their position in__ nature; and __ error is ineradicable. (W.S. Maugham)

2. There was __ breathless silence. (K. Saunders)

3. I promise to tell __ truth, __ whole truth and nothing but __ truth.

4. But he was not __ man to let __ thing drop when he had set his mind to it. (W.S. Maugham)

5. For __ unwary, the boulevard was full of menace. (J.H. Chase)

6. After __ good dinner one can forgive anybody, even one’s own relations. (O. Wilde)

7. My wife, __ editor of __ magazine with __ massive circulation. How fantastic is that? I’m really proud of you, babe. (M. Gayle)

8. He stretched out his arms to __ crystalline, radiant sky. (F. Sc. Fitzgerald)

9. The thing to do was for him to come to__ jail with her at once to get Dick out. (F. Sc. Fitzgerald)

10. He … turned to have __ last look at the enchanted window above.

11. He had died of __ heart attack three days earlier. (S. Sheldon)

12. For one second he had been __ Maxim of another year, and I had been Rebecca. (D. du Maurier)

13. She suddenly realized why __ English so loved their tea. (H. Fielding)

14. He thinks I’m __ most wonderful girl in the world. (W.S.