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The Articl






Article is a determining unit of speech nature accompanying the noun in communicative collocation. The semantic purpose of the article is to specify the nounal referent, to define it in the most general way.

Will you give me the pen? (i.e. simply the pen from the desk, you understand which).

A woman called while you were out, she left a message. (i.e. simply a woman, without a further connotation).

It has been a long debated question how many articles there are in English. Obviously, there are only two material articles, the definite article the and the indefinite article a (an). The definite article the and the indefinite article a(an). The definite article expresses the identification or individualization of the referent of the noun: the use of this article shows that the object denoted is taken in its concrete, individual quality. Look at the apple-tree.

The indefinite article, as different from the definite article, expresses a classifying generalization of the nounal referent or take it in a relatively general sense. A door opened on the wall. (a door, not a window).

However, many nouns are used without any article, as in the sentence Language is a means of communication. It is obvious that the absence of the article in this sentence is in itself means of showing that “language in general”, and not any specific language (such as English, or French, etc.), is meant. Hence we may say that there are three variants: the language, a language, language.

Now the question arises, how this third variant is to be treated. The older grammatical tradition described it as “omission of the article”, which is obviously inadequate, since there is not the slightest reason to believe that the article in such cases was ever “omitted”. Another view is that we should describe this as “absence of the article”. A third view is that the very absence of the article is a special kind of article, which is then termed “zero article”. According to this view, there would be three articles in English: definite, indefinite, and zero.

1) The meaningful absence of the article before the countable noun in the singular signifies that the noun is taken in an abstract sense, expressing the most general idea of the object denoted. The meaning is “absolute generalization”.

Law (in general) begins with the beginning of human society.

2) Zero article before the uncountable noun corresponds to the two kinds of generalization: both relative and absolute.

John laughed with great bitterness (that sort of bitterness – relative generalization). The subject of health (in general – absolute generalization) was carefully avoided by everybody.

3) The absence of the article before the countable noun in the plural corresponds to both kinds of generalization.

Stars, planets and comets (relative generalization – these kinds of objects) are different celestial bodies. (not terrestial bodies – relative generalization). Wars (in general – absolute generalization) should be eliminated as means of deciding international disputes.

There are two main views of the article:

1. The article is a word (possibly a separate part of speech) and the collocation “article + noun” is a phrase (of a peculiar kind).

2. The article is a form element in the system of the noun; it is a kind of morpheme or an auxiliary word of the same kind as the auxiliary verbs. In that case the phrase “article + noun” is a morphological formation similar to the formation “auxiliary verb + infinitive or participle”, which is an analytical form of the verb.


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