English Grammar Drills - Mark Lester 2009

Definite articles
3 Articles
Part 1 Noun Phrases

Articles are by far the most common and the most complex type of pre-adjective noun modifier. They also account for the great majority of nonnative speaker errors in noun modification. There are two types of articles: the definite article the and the indefinite articles a/an and some.

Definite articles

The definite article the is normally unstressed. It is pronounced /ðə/ (rhymes with duh) before words beginning with a consonant sound. For example:

the (/ðə/) team

the (/ðə/) bridge

the (/ðə/) song

The is pronounced /ðiy/ (rhymes with see) before words beginning with a vowel sound. For example:

the (/ðiy/) accident

the (/ðiy/) example

the (/ðiy/) orange

Note: If the before a consonant sound is given extra emphasis, it also is pronounced /ðə/ instead of the expected /Sa /. For example, in the following sentence:

The New York Yankees are not just any baseball team, they are the (/ðiy/) baseball team.

In all of our discussion about the pronunciation of the, we assume (unless stated otherwise) that we are talking about the normal, unstressed pronunciation of the.

Exercise 3.1

Place an “X” in the appropriate column to show the correct pronunciation of unstressed the with the following nouns.

From now on, unless it is relevant to the discussion, we will not make a distinction between writing and speaking. For the sake of simplicity, we will use the term speaker to mean both speaker and writer; likewise the terms listener and hearer will mean both listener and reader.

The definite article is used with both singular and plural nouns. For example:

Singular noun   Plural noun

the cause   the causes

the design   the designs

the hill    the hills

the store    the stores

Because the definite article has only a single form, the, and the can be used with both singu­lar and plural common nouns, it would seem that the definite article is simple to use. Nothing could be further from the truth. The definite article is used when the speaker expects the listener to know which specific noun the speaker means. For example, consider the following sentence:

I am looking for the map.

The use of the definite article with the noun map tells us that the listener is expected know which particular map the speaker is talking about.

Following are helpful guidelines that will help you in deciding whether to use the definite article.

The definite article should be used if both of the following statements about the noun being modified are true:

• The speaker has a specific person, place, thing, or idea in mind.

• The speaker can reasonably assume that the listener will know which specific person, place, thing, or idea the speaker means.

Let us call a noun that meets both the above criteria a defined noun. Nouns can be defined in four main ways:

1. By previous mention

2. By modifiers

3. By unique reference

4. By normal expectations

We will discuss each of these ways of defining a noun.

1. Nouns defi ned by previous mention

Nouns are most commonly defined by previous mention. Use the definite article if you have already introduced the noun in the current context of discussion. For example:

He sent me a check for the items he purchased last week. I deposited the check yesterday.

In the first sentence, the noun check is mentioned for the first time. The use of the indefinite article a signals that the speaker is treating the noun check as new information that the listener is not expected to have any previous knowledge of. However, once the noun check has been intro­duced, the next use of the same noun is now a defined noun, which must be used with a definite article. That is, from the second mention onward, the speaker expects the listener to know which specific check is being referred to, and thus all future mentions of the noun check in this context must use the. (Notice that we need to constantly qualify the discussion with “in this context.” If the speaker were to shift topics, then the noun check would no longer be a defined noun. Any mention of the noun check in this new context would require an indefinite article the first time it is used.)

Exercise 3.2

In the following paragraphs, many nouns are preceded by a blank space. If the noun has been mentioned previously, fill in the blank with the definite article. Otherwise, fill in the blank with the indefinite article a.

On my first trip to Manhattan, I bought ^a city map and tried to get sense of its geography. I quickly discovered what every person there knows: to find out where you are, you need to know two things: whether you are facing “uptown” (north) or “downtown” (south), and whether you are facing east or west.

To find out, you have to go to ... street sign. ... street sign will tell you both street and avenue numbers. ... numbers by themselves tell you nothing. They just define one point on ... grid. They tell you where you are on ... grid, but you still do not know which way you are facing on grid. To know that, you have to go to ... next street sign and compare ... street and avenue numbers there. If ... new street number has gotten larger, you are going north. If new street number has gotten smaller, you are going south. If ... new avenue number has gotten larger, you are going west. If ... the avenue number has gotten smaller, you are going east. If ... avenue has ... name rather than ... number, then you have to take out ... map again and compare ... numbers and/or names of ... two avenues. Everybody has to memorize ... names and numbers of ... avenues.

2. Nouns defined by modifiers

Even if a noun has not been previously mentioned, the noun can be uniquely defined by its modi­fiers. To see how modifiers can define a noun, compare the following two sentences:

Not defined:   Take a bus to 92nd Street.

Defined:    Take the first bus that comes to 92nd Street.

In the first example, the noun bus is undefined because it is the first time it has been mentioned and there is no further identification; therefore, we have to use the indefinite article a. In the sec­ond example, the noun bus is uniquely defined by its modifiers. The pre-noun modifier first and the post-noun modifier that comes define for the hearer which bus the speaker is talking about. In other words, even though this is the first time the noun bus has been mentioned, the speaker has restricted the meaning of the noun bus to just one specific bus—namely, the one that comes first. Bus is now a defined noun that must be used with the definite article the. Here is another example:

Not defined:   Do you have a pencil?

Defined:    Do you have the pencil that Bob gave you?

In the first example, we use the indefinite article a because this is the first mention of the noun pencil and it is otherwise undefined. In the second example, however, we use the definite article the because the post-noun modifier that Bob gave you uniquely defines the noun pencil, even though the pencil has not been previously mentioned. The use of the signals two things: (1) that the speaker has a specific pencil in mind, and (2) the speaker can reasonably assume that the hearer knows about Bob’s giving the hearer a pencil. For the use of the to be valid, both of these assumptions must be true.

The most difficult part of defining nouns by modifiers is that for a noun to be defined, we must be sure that the hearer knows which specific noun the speaker is talking about. It is not enough that the speaker has in mind a specific noun; the speaker has to be sure that hearer also knows what it is.

The following sentence illustrates how difficult this can be:

Not defined:   I bought her a present that will really surprise her.

Defined:    I bought her the present that we talked about.

In both sentences the noun present is modified by an adjective clause beginning with that. In the first example, the modifying clause does not define for the hearer which actual present the speaker bought. The hearer has been told that it will surprise the receiver, but that fact does not define what the present is for the hearer. Since the hearer does not know which present the speaker is talking about, the speaker must use the indefinite article a. In the second sentence, however, the speaker has defined the present in such a way that the hearer knows which present is being talked about. Now the speaker must use the definite article the.

Exercise 3.3

In each blank space, use an indefinite article (a or some) if the noun is not defined or the definite article the if the noun is defined by modifiers.

There is a cat on top of your car.

1. Did you hear ... cat that was making all that noise last night?

2. We need to buy ... baseballs for the game tonight.

3. ... baseballs you got for the game are in Rob’s car.

4. ... question about compound interest rates seemed really difficult, didn’t it?

5. They wanted to establish ... new network for the office.

6. We need to pick ... topic that everyone will identify with.

7. ... engineer employed by a subcontractor filed a complaint.

8. ... suggestions we gave them were mostly accepted.

9. Did you see ... magazine in the backseat of the car?

10. I made ... resolution to cut back on coffee.

11. There was ... big fight about the budget.

12. It was ... occasion that all of us had hoped it would be.

13. I contacted ... agency that I had seen advertised in a trade journal.

14. It was ... expense that we had never even thought about.

15. Did you get ... newspaper I asked you for?

16. We all felt that it was ... injustice to treat the employees like that.

17. It made ... real impact on all of us.

18. We consulted one of ... experts you had previously identified.

19. Do you know ... restaurant in Sacramento where we can all eat?

20. Do you remember ... restaurant in Sacramento where we all ate?

3. Nouns defi ned by unique reference

A certain number of nouns are always used with the definite article because the things they represent are unique. There is, for example, only one horizon, so there can be no question which horizon is meant. Here are some examples of these one-of-a-kind nouns: sun, atmosphere, ocean, moon, horizon, earth (the planet), ground, and dirt. Note that all of these nouns are ordinarily singular. Here are some examples used in sentences:

The moon was just rising above the horizon.

I stuck a shovel into the ground.

Everyone is concerned about increasing pollution in the atmosphere.

4. Nouns defi ned by normal expectations

Often we use a definite article with a previously unmentioned, unmodified noun because there is a normal expectation of what the noun represents in the context of what the sentence is talking about. It is easier to give some examples of this concept than it is to explain it in the abstract:

My computer is only a month old, but already the software needs updating.

This is the first time software has been mentioned. Why, then, would we use the? The answer is normal expectation. We expect that computers will come with software. So in the context of talking about my computer, the hearer knows I am talking about the software that came with my computer. Accordingly, since this makes software a defined noun, we would use the definite article the with it. Here is another example:

Tom searched through a number of books, opening each and scanning the indexes.

We expect that books come with indexes. Thus the hearer knows which indexes we are talking about—the indexes in all the books Tom searched through. Indexes is thus a defined noun, and accordingly we use the with it. Here is a third example:

We went to Sunset Beach and watched the waves.

We expect there to be waves at a beach, so the hearer knows which waves we are talking about— the waves at Sunset Beach. Waves is therefore a defined noun and used with the. Here is our final example:

I went into an office building and took the elevator to the top floor.

We expect there to be elevators and top floors in office buildings, so both nouns are defined—the elevator and the top floor in the building the speaker went into. Accordingly, both elevator and top fl oor are used with the.

Sometimes it is surprising what counts in English as normal expectations. Perhaps the odd­est examples are the names of places and things that are expected in particular environments. For example, in a house all the rooms and the things that are usually found in those rooms are considered defined nouns:

We went to Ralph’s house and replaced

the chairs

the kitchen table

the living room rugs

the couch

the draperies

the pots and pans

In a person’s office we would expect things like the following:

I need to replace

the desk

the armchair

the computer

the wastebasket

the telephone

the answering machine

In a city we would expect a whole range of buildings and places. For example:

I have to go to

the post office

the bank

the train station

the airport

the drugstore

the grocery store

Some of the places listed above are unique. For example, in any particular city there is usu­ally only one airport and one train station. Since these are unique places, the use of the definite article makes sense. However, there are many banks, drugstores, and grocery stores in a city, so it seems odd that we would use the with these nouns when the listener has no way of knowing which particular bank, drugstore, or grocery store the speaker is talking about. Even though it doesn’t really make any sense, it is absolutely correct to use the with these place names.

There is a similar odd use of the with the names of places of recreation. For example:

Let’s go to

the beach

the movies

the mountains

the park

Even though the listener has no way of knowing which movie or park the speaker has in mind (if, in fact, the speaker has any particular one in mind), it is still conventional to use the definite article with these nouns.

Exercise 3.4

In each blank space, use an indefinite article (a or some) if the noun is not defined or the definite article the if the noun is defined by normal expectations.

I had to replace the windshield wipers on my car.

1. My parents always have ... TV on too loud.

2. I need to buy ... new suitcase.

3. We all went outside to look at ... sunset.

4. Go down Elm Street and turn left at ... corner.

5. ... trees in ... park are beginning to turn color.

6. We are planning ... trip to visit ... college friends.

7. ... water pipes in old houses often need to be replaced.

8. ... owl has made ... nest behind our house.

9. There is ... storm warning. Turn on ... radio.

10. ... climate does seem to be getting warmer.

11. What is ... capital of North Dakota?

12. Could we get ... table that is less noisy than this one?

13. Excuse me, but I need to answer ... phone.

14. I need to return ... books to ... library.

15. Did you see ... newspaper this morning?

16. The Smiths were in ... accident last night.

17. They were driving in ... right lane and ... truck in ... left lane hit them.

18. Fortunately, nobody was hurt, but they did have to call ... police.

19. ... heavy smell of decay was hanging in ... air.

20. They are going to replace ... windows on ... south side of their house.

21. She found ... mistakes in the most recent revision.

22. I have ... question for you.

23. We are planning ... picnic in ... park.

24. Are you connected to ... Internet?

25. We had to shade our eyes from ... bright sunshine.

As we have seen, we use the with common nouns when the noun being modified is a defined noun. A defined noun meets two criteria:

1. The noun is known to the speaker.

2. The speaker can reasonably assume that the listener will also know which specific noun the speaker has in mind.

Nouns are defined in four ways:

1. The noun has been previously mentioned.

2. The noun is uniquely defined by its modifiers.

3. The noun has a unique reference.

4. The noun is defined by normal expectations.

Exercise 3.5

In the following paragraphs, fill in the blank spaces with the appropriate article. If the noun is defined in one or more of the four ways mentioned above, use the definite article the. Otherwise, fill in the blank with the indefinite article a (singular noun) or some (plural nouns).

During the Christmas holidays, I flew to Los Angeles to visit with ... friends. They picked me up at ... airport in ... old car one of them was leasing. Since ... company my friend was working for required him to have ... car, he got reimbursed for most of his driving expenses. It was ... first car any of them had ever had. Not having ... car in Los Angeles is not really ... option since there is no public transportation system to speak of. As ... result, ... traffic is just awful.

They were renting ... apartment in Santa Monica, ... really nice town on ... beach about twenty miles from ... center of city. ... apartment building they lived in even had ... swimming pool. We went in ... pool every day. It was fine as long as ... pool was in ... sun. From ... apartment we could walk to most of ... stores we needed. The only thing that we had to take ... car for was going to ... grocery store. There was simply no place to buy groceries in ... neighborhood.

I had hoped to go swimming in ... ocean, but I quickly discovered that ... water was too cold. My friends said that if I wanted to go swimming, I would have to get ... wet suit. There is ... current of icy-cold water that comes down ... coast from Alaska. Even in ... summer, ... water is pretty cold.