A practical english grammar - Vyssaja skola 1978
Some noun determiners
Sound symbols
There is an important group of words in English which introduce, point out, or express quantities in connection with nouns following them. Unlike adjectives, which also modify nouns, the determiners do not describe. Traditional grammar includes them among the adjectives, but, since their behavior in sentence patterns is quite different from that of adjectives, it is more convenient to consider them separately. We call them noun determiners. We will present a few of the commonest and most important ones here; others will be discussed in Chapter 13.
The articles. The little words a, an, and the have been called “articles” for centuries in English grammar, even though this name does little to describe or explain their use. A and an are called “indefinite” and the is called “definite.”
1) A and an, which are related historically to the word one, are similar to one in that they can be used only before singular count nouns. The form a (pronounced /ə/ with weak stress) is used before consonant sounds (including /у/ and /w/), and an (/ən/) is used before vowel sounds.
a man an apple
a woman an ear
a year an hour
a house an uncle
a unit an honesty
a one
the wheat the book the books
the rice the man the men
the strength the chair the chairs
the light the eye the apples
The is not used before the names of persons, animals, or personified entities: Henry, Mary, Julius Caesar, Shakespeare, Pegasus, Victory. Other rules for the use of the will be given later; there are many idiomatic uses of this word.
3) As to the meaning of the articles, a few general remarks can be made. A (an) singles out one member of a class of referents named by the noun, but not one that has already been identified in the context:
Do you have a match?
There’s a man waiting to see you.
I heard a train approaching.
With mass nouns and plural count nouns, this indefinite meaning is expressed either by omitting the article altogether or by using the word some (with weak stress):
We’re having rice for dinner.
I bought some rice.
There were books on the shelves.
There were some books on the shelves.
The refers to something that has already been identified in the context, or something that is identified in some way by the speaker at the time he mentions it.
The match (that you gave me) didn’t light.
I told the man (waiting to see you) to come back tomorrow. The train (that I heard approaching) was going very fast.
Thus, when the is used with a noun it suggests-“the one, or the sample, that you and I both know about.” Hence, we say the sun, the moon, the universe, because these objects are unique, at least from our ordinary point of view. In Paris, if one said the river, it would usually mean the Seine, because that is the only river flowing through Paris. In a family situation, the baby, the dog, the living room, the kitchen, etc., mean the unique baby, dog, etc.; that belongs to that family.
4) A, an is used before words naming units of time, measurement, etc., to indicate distribution; it means the same as per: once a day, three dollars an ounce, fifteen cents a pound. Elegant usage substitutes the in prices: three dollars the ounce.
The use of the with geographic names is difficult to predict according to a rule, except that if an of-phrase follows the generic geographic term, the is always used; it may or may not be used when the particular name comes first:
the Atlantic Ocean the Bay of Biscay
the Mediterranean Sea the Sea of Azov
the Potomac River the Straits of Gibraltar
butt San Francisco Bay New York Harbor
If the generic noun comes first and there is no of-phrase, then the is not used: Mount Mitchell, Fort Dix, Camp David.
These rules apply to titles, etc., also:
the King of England King Edward
the President of the United States President Wilson
the Prince of Wales Prince Charles
Designations of roads, streets, etc., do not use the:
Broadway Thomas Circle Cherry Lane Times Square Constitution Avenue Michigan Boulevard Fifth Avenue
Exceptions: the Bowery (New York), the Strand (London), etc. which do not have a word naming a thoroughfare.
The is used with words referring to certain means of transport and communication that are thought of as institutions, or almost as natural forces like the air or the wind: the bus, the train, the railway, the newspaper, the radio, the telephone. However, one does not, for some reason, say “the television.” People watch television, see something on television, etc.
Most names of buildings use the:
the Louvre the Capitol the Alhambra
the Taj Mahal the Vatican the Metropolitan Opera House
the Kremlin
But: Buckingham Palace, and all names with the word hall: Carnegie Hall, Douglass Hall (a college building).
When common nouns are given temporary names or designations, as in a diagram, record of a trial, etc., the is never used.
Witness “A” point Q Column 2 part 635 Exhibit C
Names of musical instruments used in a general sense usually have the.
play the piano, study the flute
Likewise, names of instruments, dramatic and art forms, etc.:
manipulate the scalpel
the sprint (a footrace)
use the palette knife
the soliloquy (a device in drama)
work in the round
the mazurka (musical form)
The demonstratives. These words point out what is physically present or what has just been referred to or is about to be mentioned. They have four forms:
Do you see this newspaper in my hand?
Do you see that book over there?
These beans need salt.
Those children should not play in the street.
This and that are used with no noun following to mean something that is not clearly specified. This refers to something close, or to something about to be said or shown; that refers to something remote, or to something that has just been said or shown. (See also Chapter 13).
This is for you.
Please listen to this.
That was very interesting.
What was that? (an unidentified noise, for instance)
Quantifiers: SOME, ANY, A LOT OF, LOTS OF. We have already mentioned some as expressing an indefinite meaning before mass nouns and before plural count nouns.
Some also means “a quantity of” before these nouns. In negative sentences and in most questions it is replaced by any. In this meaning, some and any are spoken with weak stress; their meaning is different if they bear strong stress.
I have some money.
He doesn’t have any money.
Do you have any money?
I have some friends.
He doesn’t have any friends.
Do you have any friends?
A lot of and lots of, which mean the same thing, are used before mass nouns and plural count nouns to express a large quantity. They are rather informal; other quantifiers of similar meaning, such as much, many, a great deal, etc., are used in formal language.
He has lots of (a lot of) money.
He has lots of (a lot of) friends.