FOCUS ON LANGUAGE
ARTICLES
I. Articles with of-phrases
An ‘of-phrase’ is a limiting attribute if it expresses the idea of ‘belonging’ (the roof of a house, the son of an admiral, the depth of the river, the eyes of a happy man); it is a descriptive attribute when it denotes the idea of ‘content, composition of something’ (a group of girls, a cup of tea, a sense of humour, an expression of sorrow). In the latter case the use of articles depends on other factors (the cup of tea that he gave me).
Exercise. Translate.
1. Дождь барабанил (drum) по крышам домов и стекал по стенам грязными потоками. 2. Неожиданно мы услышали звук шагов и веселый смех детских голосов. 3. На станции собралась толпа школьников; они ждали прибытия поезда. 4. Какова глубина реки и скорость течения? 5. Тигр – разновидность кошки, но присутствие тигра в доме вряд ли создаст атмосферу покоя и уюта, как это делает присутствие кошки. 6. Можно ли узнать высоту треугольника, если мы знаем длину его сторон? 7. Не могу сказать, что после этого на его лице появилось выражение огромной радости. 8. Он человек большого ума и глубокого чувства.
Key:
the rain, the roofs, floods 2. the sound, footsteps, the laughter, 3. a crowd, schoolchildren, the arrival, a/the/their train 4. the depth, the river, the speed, the flow 5. the/a tiger, a variety, the/a cat, the presence, a tiger, the/your house, an atmosphere, quietness, cosiness, the presence, a cat; 6. the height, a/the triangle, the length; 7. an expression, extreme/mad joy; 8. a man; great mind, deep feeling
II. The generic article
When a noun in the singular represents the whole class of objects, it usually takes the definite article: The horse is a domestic animal. The indefinite article is often also possible in this case (A horse is a domestic animal), except when ambiguity may arise: The aeroplane was invented by the Wright brothers (‘an aeroplane’ would mean only one sample of the apparatus); Man is now conquering outer space (‘a man’ would rather denote one particular male person, not mankind). With the noun in the plural, the generic meaning is expressed by absence of articles (All men are mortal = people in general).
Exercise 1. Translate.
1. Привычки человека составляют важную часть его индивидуальности. 2. Что сыграло главную роль в процессе превращения (transformation) обезьяны в человека. 3. Писатель не должен стараться угодить (please) читателю. 4. Писателю всегда приятно получить письмо от читателя; 5. 20 век – век самолета, космического корабля и атома. 6. На самолете можно облететь земной шар за несколько часов. 7. Собака – друг и помощник (helpmate) человека. 8. Всегда ли учитель помнит, что перед ним не просто объект обучения, а человек? 9. Кто изобрел велосипед? 10. Можно ли сказать, что велосипед очень удобное средство передвижения?
Exercise 2. Use the proper article, giving variants where possible.
1. ___ wolf can run faster than ___ deer. 2. Those were methods hitherto unheard of in ___ theatre. 3. I was rather literary in college, now I was going to become again the most limited of all specialists, ___ ‘well-rounded man’. 4. ___ tiger is ___ dangerous animal. 5. After ___ primeval ape climbed down from ___ tree, its transition into ___ man became inevitable. 6. ___ man resembles ___ ape. 7. You can use ___ telephone when communication is, urgent. 8. ___ telephone was invented by the American engineer Bell.
Key:
Ex. 1. 1. Man’s habits; 2. labour; the ape; man; 3. The writer, the reader; 4. The/A writer, the/a reader; 5. an age of the aeroplane…; 6. the/an aerpoplane; 7. The dog; man; 8. the/a teacher an object of teaching, a human (being); 9. the bicycle; 10. the/a bicycle
Ex. 2. 1. A/The wolf, a/the deer; 2. the theatre; 3. the/a man; 4. The/A tiger, a dangerous animal; 5. the ape, the tree, man; 6. Man, the ape; 7. the/a telephone; 8. The telephone
III. Articles with Proper Nouns
Exercise 1. Use articles with geographical names.
1. ___ Pacific is much larger than ___ Arctic or ___ Indian ocean, 2. ___ Sahara is the biggest desert in ___ North Africa. 3. ___ Mont Blanc is the highest peak in ___ Alps. 4. ___ City of ___ London stands on ___ river Thames. 5. Is ___ Mississippi longer or shorter than ___ Rhine? 6. Portugal is a small country in ___ west of Europe; on one of its borders is ___ Spain, on the other ___ Atlantic Ocean 7. Who was the first to reach ___ North Pole? 8. ___ USA is the biggest country of ___ North America. 9. ___ Lake Ontario, or ___ Ontario, is one of the largest lakes in ___ north of ___ United States on the border with ___ Canada. 10. Greece is situated in ___ south of ___ Eastern Europe on the coast of ___ Mediterranean. 11. The official name of ___ Holland is the State of ___ Netherlands, or just ___ Netherlands; the latter word is used with an article because it literally means “low lands”. 12. The forests of ___ Eastern Siberia and of ___ Far East are the greatest forest resources in ___ east of ___ modern Russia. 13. ___ United Kingdom includes ___ Great Britain and ___ Northern Ireland; it occupies ___ British Isles. 14. In what country of ___ Northern Europe is ___ Hague situated? 15. The birthplace of our civilisation was the area situated between ___ Tiger and Euphrates rivers, which is now called ___ Middle East.
Exercise 2. Translate.
1. Вест-Индия это цепочка (chain) островов между Северной и Южной Америкой. 2. Аргентина получила свое название от латинского “argentum”, означающего “серебро”. 3. Эверест – высочайший пик в Гималаях. 3. Гаага – город в западной части Нидерландов, где заседает (sit) голландский парламент. 4. Вы бывали в Эрмитаже (Hermitage)? 5. Филиппины расположены в Юго-восточной Азии. 6. Пиренеи расположены на западе Испании. 7. На Кавказе горы моложе и выше, чем в Крыму. 8. Амазонка – самая крупная река в Южной Америке. 9. Кто первым пролетел через (over) Северный Ледовитый океан в Америку? 10. Египет расположен в северо-восточной Африке; его северная граница – Средиземное море, восточная граница – Красное море.
Exercise 3. Use the proper article with personal names.
1. ___ surgeon Barnard of South Africa was the first to perform a transplantation of the heart. 2. Are you talking about ___ writer Scott Fitzgerald or ___ jazz singer Ella Fitzgerald? 3. ___ music of ___ German composer Bach remained unknown to the general public for almost ___ century. 4. Husband and wife Curie made ___ great progress in ___ study of ___ nuclear physics. 5. Lots of children were brought up according to ___ system of ___ Doctor Spock. 6. ___ theory of conditioned reflexes was worked out by ___ academician Pavlov. 7. I’ll give orders about it to ___ Sergeant Brown. 8. He was ___ professor of English at ___ University of Texas. 9. What does ___ Professor Jones say about it? 10. When ___ uncle Podger was trying to hang the picture, it fell on ___ floor and ___ glass broke. 11. ___ father read to me ___ story of how ___ Brother Rabbit had outwitted ___ Brother Fox. 12. By the way, ___ uncle asked you to call him up about something important.
Exercise 4. Fill in articles where necessary; retell the story.
One day, when composer Beethoven was taking walk with poet Goethe, they noticed carriage of Archduke (эрцгерцог) of Austria approaching them. Poet at once stood aside and took off his hat, as was expected in presence of Royalty (член королевской фамилии). Composer, however, thought it good opportunity to show his independence, and, with his arms folded behind him, he marched straight forward, blocking way for imperial family. Although this showed complete lack of respect for highest authorities, result was not what Goethe had expected: Archduke not only made way for composer but even removed his hat, while his wife bowed to great musician.
Exercise 5. Fill in articles and comment on the use of proper names.
1. Within a short walk lived a family with whom ___ Bennets were particularly intimate. 2. ’The fact is they simply disliked all ___ Fosnachts’. ‘So what was the penalty for being ___ Fosnacht?’ – ‘I forget.’ 3. ___ Rubens, said Simpson, would be taken over to France, where it would pass into the millionaire’s possession. 4. Then there was also ___ Mr. Curie, of whom I could say nothing except that he had come down to discuss books with ___ Sir Ambrose. 5. You are not ___ Andrew Manson I married. 6. ___ impatient Granby called out to his companion. 7. He looked at himself in the glass. Here, then, was ___ modern Hercules – very distinct from that unpleasant naked figure with plenty of muscles, brandishing a club. 8. Can I then say that ___ America I have seen has put cleanliness first, at the expense of taste? 9. Aren’t you ___ Cicero, talking so finely! 10. Just note how different all these composers are – ___ touching Schubert, ___ graceful Mozart, ___ stormy Beethoven! And it is certainly hard to imagine ___ tragic Rossini or ___ light-minded Bach. 11. I happened to get ___ nicely illustrated Goethe the other day. 12. But it was ___ very subdued Rose who replied. And it was quite ___ frightened Rose who rang the bell.
Exercise 6. Translate.
1. Вас просит к телефону некий Петров. – А, это, наверное, Петров, с которым я встретился вчера в доме Павловых. 2. Крылова можно назвать русским Лафонтеном, а Лафонтена французским Эзопом – оба они переводили басни греческого поэта Эзопа. 3. Туземца (native), которого Робинзон Крузо спас от смерти, он назван Пятницей, так как это произошло именно в пятницу. 4. Что это за картина? – Мне кажется, это Рубенс. 5. Как истинный Форсайт, Джолион был рабом собственности. 6. В его интерпретации это был совсем иной Пушкин – такого Пушкина мы раньше не слышали. 7. О каком Толстом ты говоришь? – О Толстом, который написал “Петра Первого”. 8. Было трудно найти для Агнесс какую-либо параллель с классическими примерами: может быть, добросердечная Медея? Или Клеопатра с чувством долга? 9. Если ты рожден Эллиотом, ты рожден джентльменом, – так говорили Эллиоты. 10. Это был не тот Стэнли, которого все знали, а робкий и чувствительный Стэнли. 11. Он сейчас проживает, кажется, у некой мисс Браун. 12. В кипе книг на полу он нашел Шелли, в рваной бумажной обложке. Он осторожно поставил Шелли обратно на полку.
IV. Articles with Uncountable Nouns
Uncountable nouns may in certain cases be used with the indefinite article. For names of material this is the case when a slight change of meaning takes place making the noun countable, e.g. “Gold is a metal” (= one of the class of metals); “I’ll give you a wine that you never tasted” (= a kind of wine); “I’ll get you an ice(cream)” (= one portion); “Two coffees, please” (= two cups). It is however more important to practise uses like “I prefer good red (dry) wine”; “Where can I get good ice-cream?”
Exercise. Use the proper article.
1. It is well known that the English can’t make ___ good coffee. 2. I daresay that was only ___ river water, but we didn’t know, so it was all right. We tried ___ river water once, later on in the season. We filled our kettle with ___ Thames backwater and boiled it. 3. The wolf-traps are made of ___ heavy steel. 4. ___ fat results from the combination of glycerol and fatty acids. It is ___ greasy substance which is ___ organic compound supplying ___ body cells with energy. ___ fat is usually in, soluble in ___ water. 5. One third of the Earth’s surface is ___ land and two thirds is ___ sea. 6. He landed his aeroplane on ___ water.
Key:
1. coffee; 2. water, water, backwater; 3. steel; 4. fat, a substance, a compound, fat, water; 5. land, sea; 6. the water
By Valery Gurevich
to be continued