THE ARTICLE

THE ARTICLE

The general definition of the article in English is very general and does not go beyond the following: ²articles are determinatives which serve to give precision to the nouns/noun equivalents to which they are attached. On the other hand, the definite article the is by far the commonest word in English, and with a and an makes up 8.5% of all text² (Berry, 1993: V). Along with prepositions, the article is, probably, the most difficult part of speech to master and use in English; the forms are not difficult, but what is a real nuisance is the fact that the uses of the various articles in English are very different from the uses of the equivalent articles in other languages.

As articles in English can only function as determinatives of nouns/noun equivalents and are never used alone, some linguists argue that they should not even be considered an independent part of speech and never be treated as such. The view is relatively correct and, theoretically, this approach might be successful, but for practical purposes, it is far easier and simpler to accept the old tradition of the article as a separate part of speech and deal with it monographically as we intend to do with all the other morphological classes in English. It is also true that this approach will inevitably lead to interferences with nouns and other parts of speech; we hope, though, that the result will be worth studying.

At the present stage of language development, the article in English is an invariable part of speech - which is a positive characteristic of a language. As far as its position is concerned, be it definite or indefinite, it is proclitic, i.e. it is placed before the noun/noun equivalent it determines.

In certain approaches (Levitchi, 1970: 61-66) the authors identify 3 types of articles, the definite article, the indefinite article and the zero article and within each class other subclasses, e.g. anaphoric, generic, anticipatory, numerical, non-significant etc. For practical reasons we prefer to disregard these classifications and go only for definite and indefinite articles and within each type of article to describe the uses of the article or where it is not used.

1.1. The definite article

As far as its origin is concerned, the definite article goes back to a demonstrative adjective and pronoun, which in Old English had both the meaning of Modern English that and the meanings and functions of the definite article (Levitchi, 1970: 60).

1.1.1. Form

The definite article is the same for singular and plural and for all genders, for animate and inanimate nouns, e.g. the boy, the boys, the girl, the girls, the table, the tables, the writing, the writings, the dog, the dogs etc.

The definite article has an invariable form in writing, THE, but it is pronounced differently, depending on the initial sound of the following word; it is pronounced [D ] before consonants and semivowels and [Di] before vowels, e.g.

The [D ] dog is a friendly animal.

The D ] girls have already left.

The D ] definite article is not difficult.

or

The [Di] interior has been redecorated recently.

He was heading for the Di] other flight of stairs when somebody called out his name.

She put the Di] apple on the shelf.

NOTE:

It is the sound, not the spelling of the next word that matters, e.g. o is a vowel, but it is pronounced as a semivowel, [w], in words like:

one [wÃn], once [wÃns]

(to give smb. the `[D ] once-over, just the [D ] one, the [D ] one/s, the [D ] one-horse, the [D ] one-man band, the [D ] one way, the [D ] one-sided);

He was driving slowly on the D ] one-way street, trying to find her house;

The D ] one you gave me was blue;

U is also a vowel, but it is pronounced as a semivowel, [j], in the following words:

ubiquity [ju:¢biwiti]

ubiquitous [ju:¢biqwit s]

UFO ['ju:f u]

ufology [ju:¢f l dZi]

Ukraine [ju:¢krein]

ukulele [ju:k ¢leli]

UN [ju:en]

unanimity [ju:n ¢nimiti]

unicorn [¢ju:niko:n]

uniform ['ju:nifo:m]

uniformed [¢ju:nifo:md]

uniformity [ju;ni¢fo:miti]

unification [,ju:nifi¢keiSn]

The correct pronunciation of the definite article in front of these words is [D and not otherwise. The mispronunciation of the definite article in this position is very common with non-native speakers, e.g. in the following examples, some beginners pronounce the definite article as [Di instead of [D as they should, misled by the fact that the noun following the definite article begins in a vowel, u, never considering its pronunciation. So, the next examples are meant to prove the point:

She goes to the D university every day;

The D United States of America fight terrorism;

The D uterus is the place where the child develops;

the letter w in initial position is pronounced as a semivowel, [w], and, the definite article is pronounced [D , e.g.

waffle [w fl

wager [¢weidZ

wagon [¢wQg n

waistband [¢weistbQnd

There are 4 words and their derivatives in English beginning in h, which is never pronounced; consequently, the definite article is pronounced [Di in front of these words. These base words are:

heir [E honest [¢ n st]

honour [ n hour [au

He was the first of the heirs Di E z

The honest Di n st] participant is always rewarded;

The honour Di n of the participants has never been questioned;

It was the hour Di au of truth;

In Modern English there is a large number of words obtained from initials, and the pronunciation of the definite article is [Di] in front of abbreviations beginning in the consonants f, h, l, m, n, r, s, which are pronounced with a vowel [ef/eitS/el/em/en/a:/ es] e.g. FA (=Football Association), FAA (=Fleet Air Arm), FAO (=Food and Agriculture Organization), FBA (=Fellow of British Academy), FBI (=Federal Bureau of Investigation), FCO (=Foreign and Commonwealth Office), F-layer (the highest and most strongly ionised region of the ionosphere), f.o.r. (=free on rail), FP (=freezing point), FPA (=Family Planning Association), FRS (=Fellow of Royal Society), HB [=hard black (pencil lead)], HBM [=Her/His Britannic Majesty(s)], H-bomb (=hydrogen bomb), HCF (=1 highest common factor; 2 Honorary Chaplain of the Forces), HF (=high frequency), H-hour (=the hour at which an operation is scheduled to begin), HMS (=Her/His Majesty's Ship), HT (=high tension), LBC (=London Broadcasting Company), LCD (=1 liquid crystal display; 2 lowest common denominator), LCM (=lowest common multiple), L-plate (=a sign bearing the letter L, attached to the front and rear of a motor vehicle to indicate that it is being driven by a learner) etc.

However, if these terms consisting of more than one word are pronounced extensively, i.e. pronouncing all the words they consist of, the definite article is pronounced, where necessary, [ ] as in front of boy, chair etc.

The pronunciation of the definite article the is usually weak, [D , but it also has a stressed pronunciation, [Di], that is used in other instances, e.g.

when the definite article becomes a noun by conversion and is used as a subject, for instance, in a sentence: THE [Di] is the definite article in English

when it acquires an emphatic form because the speaker wants to contrast it with another element: I want THE [Di] book I lent you not just any English book (=I want a special book, not just any book);

sometimes it may get the force of a superlative: Shakespeare is THE [Di] poet (=Shakespeare este poetul prin excelenta);

when an orator needs to make a pause for effect, and, accidentally, this is done on the definite article, he/she may choose to pronounce it [Di] in order to avoid something that might sound close to the unpleasant habit of filling one's pauses in speech with [

this emphatic pronunciation also draws the audience¢s attention that something important may follow or, simply, draw their straying away attention to the orator.

1.1.2. Position

The definite article stands

before a noun, e.g. the student, the university, the food, the stadium, the attention, the development etc.

before modifiers, e.g. the nice book, the best book, the first competitor, the second interview etc. or

other determinatives or pronouns, e.g. the other delegate, the same interest, the others etc.

in George the Fifth, Jude the Obscure, Richard the Lion-Hearted, Alfred the Great, Stephen the Great, Canto the Third the position of the definite article is justified by the fact that the adjective or ordinal numeral is used postpositionally for emphasis and then the definite article precedes them in a very logical way. In the author¢s opinion it is not logical to say that the definite article can be used in postposition, because, actually, in the examples above the definite article determines the numeral or the adjectives, which themselves are used in post position for emphatic purposes, and not the proper noun (which is not normally used with the definite article)/common noun that has the first position.

1.1.3. The uses of the definite article

The definite article is used to show that the noun/noun equivalent has already been mentioned previously, either in the same sentence or earlier in the course of communication, (what in some books is referred to as anaphoric) e.g.

They have a son and two daughters, but the son is an adult person and already has a family of his own;

My mother bought a new dress yesterday, but the dress was so expensive that she changed her mind and took it back today;

My friends had a house built not far from ours; the house is made of brick and glass;

There are also set phrases in which the definite article refers back to something which was not mentioned previously but which the speaker knows about or can identify easily, e.g. at the (that) time, under the (these/those) circumstances, nothing of the (this) kind, to rise to (this/that) occasion etc.

The speaker/reader may sometimes refer to an object/objects already known to the former, to current notions known to the interlocutors, or to objects that are singularly identifiable under the circumstances, e.g.

Have you read the newspaper? (=the newspaper that our family usually buys and reads);

Have you locked the door? (=the door to our home);

Turn on the radio! (=the radio we have in the house/on the table etc);

The telephone is ringing. (=probably the phone in the house);

There is a special class of objects or groups of objects of which there is or we assume there is only one     in the context, e.g. the sun, the moon, the earth, the sea, the ocean, the North Pole, the South Pole, the equator, the Renaissance, the human race etc. or the kitchen, the city hall, the Queen, the last president etc. All could be made more definite, e.g. the sun belonging to the Earth, the North Pole of the Earth, the kitchen of this house, the queen of the country etc. Normally these explanations are unnecessary.

When a noun comes after a preposition, the definite article is almost always necessary, the sequence preposition + definite article + noun is a very common structure, e.g. under the table, on the wall, in the street, in the sky, in the field, after the lesson, behind the door, beyond the river, near the village, for the children, through the gates, at the museum, from the park, on the floor, into the drawer, on the way, by the way etc.

The definite article appears in certain set phrases and the readers are advised never to question these uses, only accept and use them as such. It is, probably, the moment to say that not all language structures have a clear and straightforward explanation! Usage is not infrequently the only logical explanation! E.g. to get the upper hand, to break the ice, to take the trouble, all the time, to tell the time, what¢s the time? to paint the devil blacker than he is, to join the colours, to have the time of one¢s life etc.

The definite article can also display a generic function; it shows that the noun/noun equivalent is used in its most general sense. The general sense of a noun/noun equivalent can be rendered in various ways, the definite article being one of them along with the indefinite article (see under indefinite article) and the non-use of article (see under the definite article is no used); it can be used with individual nouns in the singular, e.g.

The dog is a friendly animal;

The article is a part of speech;

The tiger is one of the big cats;

The Siberian tiger is in danger of becoming extinct etc;

Sometimes all three forms can be used alternatively, e.g. The dog is a friendly animal = A dog is a friendly animal = Dogs are friendly animals, while in other situations the meaning prevents the use of all 3 forms, e.g. The Siberian tiger is in danger of becoming extinct has an alternative form in Siberian tigers are in danger of becoming extinct; the indefinite article may discharge a generic function, e.g. *A Siberian tiger is in danger of becoming extinct but it is unacceptable because of the illogical meaning of such a construction: the death of one animal cannot endanger the whole species. To conclude, countable nouns can take any of the forms, i.e. with a definite article, an indefinite article and the plural form (with zero article), depending on what the speaker intends to say; uncountable nouns can only function without any article (or, as it is specified in other grammars, with the zero article).

The definite article is also used before nouns made definite by the addition of a clause or a phrase, e.g. the girl in red dress, the man with the suitcase, the dog with the short tail, the boy who came yesterday, the man (that) I saw, the book (which) Mary bought 2 days ago. The indefinite article is not forbidden in front of such nouns, but the meaning is different and the speaker should be able to distinguish between the two, e.g.

I saw a girl in blue crossing the street (= unidentified) and

I saw the girl in blue crossing the street (=previously identified and now reference being made to her).

The definite article is used before superlatives, e.g.

The nicest girl in our school is John¢s friend;

Mary is the most beautiful girl I have ever seen;

The definite article is used before ordinal numerals, e.g. the first, the second, the third, the fifth, the hundredth,     the fifty-seventh etc.

The definite article realizes the substantivisation of adjectives (see under adjective.)

The definite article and the proper names of persons: proper nouns are understood to have unique reference, e.g. Jane, Peter, Mike, and in a given conversation refer to one particular person. Here no the comes before the proper noun because the definite meaning is ²built² into the noun itself. However, if we need to distinguish two or more persons having the same name the definite article is used, e.g.

"I would like to talk to Mr. Smith, please".

"Which Mr. Smith do you want to talk to, because we have three".

"The Smith from the accounts office, please".

or "Susan came yesterday to ask for an English grammar book".

"Which Susan?"

"The Susan next door" (=not the Susan who works in your office);

Sometimes a whole family can be referred to by the + family name in the plural, e.g.

The Browns have just come (=all the members of the Brown family: mother, father and the son/s daughter/s);

The Kennedys (the spelling rule does not apply here) (father, mother and the two sons/daughters) have called to tell us they were not coming to the party;

The definite article with titles and ranks: all military ranks (sergeant, lieutenant, major, captain, colonel, general, commander), academic titles (professor, doctor), doctor (=physician), counsellor, president judge, governor etc. are preceded by the definite article when     used alone, i.e. without the surname, e.g.

The sergeant was very furious;

The general was invited to the party;

I went to see the doctor;

The professor was never late;

The president detains the highest authority in state;

However, when a person is called by his/her title or rank, the definite article is dropped, e.g.

Could I talk to you for a minute, professor As putea sa va retin un minut, domnule profesor?)

May I ask you something, doctor? (=Pot sa va intreb ceva, domnule doctor?)

Someone is looking for you, general (=Va cauta cineva, domnule general)

NOTE: in other languages the equivalent constructions often take a Mr./Mrs. e.g. Domnul/Doamna in Romanian.

The definite article is also dropped when the title or rank precedes the surname of the respective person, e.g.

Professor Johnson was invited to a Congress in Italy (=Profesorul Johnson a fost invitat la un Congres in Italia);

Doctor Brown is the best neurologist in our city (=Doctorul Brown este cel mai bun neurolog din oras);

General Hamilton has taken over the command of the army (=Generalul Hamilton a preluat comanda armatei).

The definite article is also used before titles containing the preposition OF, e.g. the Duke of York, the Earl of Southampton, the Duke of Edinborough, the Marquis of Bath etc.

The definite article is used:

before geographical (/or other) proper names of seas, rivers, groups of islands, chains of mountains, deserts, regions, e.g. the Black Sea, the Red Sea, the Mediterranean Sea, the Dead Sea, the Atlantic Ocean, the Pacific Ocean, the Indian Ocean, the Danube, the Mississippi, the Thames, the Nile, the Bermudes, the Azores, the Bahamas, the Great Australian Desert, the Suez Canal etc.

before names consisting of adjective + noun (provided the adjective is not one of the cardinal points), e.g. the New Forest, the High Street, the Great Britain, the United Kingdom, the English Channel, the British Museum, the White House etc.

before names consisting of a noun + OF + noun, e.g. the Cape of Good Hope, the Gulf of Mexico, the United States of America, the USA, the Bay of Biscay, the University of Berlin, the Commonwealth of Australian States and Territories, the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland etc.

before names of newspapers, e.g. the Times, the Guardian, the Washington Post, the Independent, the Wall Street Journal etc.

before simple geographical names of places, countries etc., e.g. the City, the Mall, the Strand, the Hague etc.

sometimes there are alternatives in use, the tendency being to use the form without the definite article (Berry, 1993: 56-57), e.g. (the) Sudan, (the) Yemen, the Argentine or Argentina, the Cameroon or Cameroun, (the) Ukraine, (the) Ivory Coast etc.

names of organisations, usually abbreviations, fall under two categories: if the name is pronounced letter for letter, the definite article is obligatory, e.g. the UN, the BBC, the FBI, the CIA, the MI5, the EC etc; if an abbreviation is pronounced as a word, then there is no article, e.g. OPEC, although the expanded name does take a definite article, the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries; NATO, but the North Atlantic Treaty Organization; UNICEF, but the United Nation Children¢s Fund etc.

In principle, neither the definite nor the indefinite article is used with names of meals, e.g.

She invited us to dinner;

Dinner is served at 8 o¢clock;

We have breakfast at 7;

They want to take their guests to dinner at a very famous restaurant etc.

However, when the name of the meal is preceded by a modifier or is followed by a prepositional phrase or a relative clause, it can be preceded either by the definite or the indefinite article, e.g.

They served us a very good lunch;

The dinner given in the honour of the ambassador was held at the Hilton Hotel;

The breakfast organised by their friends proved to be a failure.

and the indefinite one, e.g.

They gave us a very special breakfast;

I was invited to a dinner given to welcome the new members of the Club;

The definite article is used in the construction: to play the instrument, e.g. to play the piano/flute/the oboe/guitar/etc:

John plays the piano better than his sister;

Mary learned to play the guitar when she was 10 etc.

The definite article may have a distributive function when used with nouns expressing a unit, e.g.

He is paid by the hour;

The apples are four to the pound etc.

It is also used before nationality names or nouns showing the origin of persons or things, e.g. the English, the Chinese, the Japanese, the Swiss, the French, the Veronese, BUT, the Germans, the Americans, the Romanians, the Russians, the Spaniards etc.

1.1.4. The definite article is not used

The definite article is not used with proper names of people except in the situations mentioned under Uses of the definite article.

The definite article is not used with geographical proper names except in the situations shown under Uses of the definite article.

The definite article is not used before names of games, e.g.

He plays football every day;

The boys play volley ball at school etc.

The definite article is not used before abstractions, except when they are used in a particular sense, e.g. care, death, hatred, honesty, honour, hunger, love, e.g.

Men fear death (Oamenii se tem de moarte)

but    The death of the President was a real tragedy for the country (Moartea primului ministru a fost o adevarata tragedie pentru tara);

or    Honesty is very rare nowadays (Cinstea e rara in zilele noastre)

but The honesty of the competitors made the contest a triumph (Cinstea concurentilor a facut ca intrecerea sa fie un triumf) etc.

Romanian learners should notice that in their mother tongue the definite article is almost always needed before abstractions, unlike in English.

The definite article is not normally used before names of meals except in the cases shown under Uses of the definite article.

The definite article is not used before countable nouns in the plural when they are used in the general sense, see under Uses of the definite article.

The definite article is not normally used before parts of the body, articles of clothing, objects belonging to a specific person, its place being taken by the possessive adjective, e.g.

My head aches;

Put up your right hand;

Take off your coat and put it on the chair;

Where have I put my glasses? etc.

The definite article is not used in certain set phrases consisting of preposition + noun, in which the definite article is usually compulsory, e.g. by hand, at hand, on foot, from head to toe, from top to toe, by chance, by mistake, at present, at first sight, hand in hand, arm in arm, from cover to cover, from corner to corner, face to face, from dawn to dusk, from beginning to end, from right to left, from north to south, day by day, day after day, from end to end, from place to place, from time to time, to be in danger, in general, to be on duty, piece by piece, to learn by heart, to keep in mind, good for food, just in time, to look for help/aid, to put in order etc. These set phrases should be learned by heart without questioning the linguistic explanation (The standard construction is preposition + THE + noun, e.g. on the table, under the chair, near the bank, above the door, in front of the house, behind the gymnasium, in the house etc.)

The word nature, when referring to ²the physical world including all living things as well as the land and the seas² is used without a definite article in front, e.g.

Everybody likes nature;

If we do not take care of nature, human life on Earth may be in danger;

This is an opportunity to enjoy the beauties of nature in Alaska;

Barone¢s interest was in nature, wildlife and birds (MacMillan, 1999: 944).

No article is required when the meaning of the word is ²the basic characteristic of a person or an animal², e.g.

The pony has a very gentle nature;

It is not in my nature to be pushy or aggressive;

If we can appeal to Charlotte¢s better nature we can work out a compromise;

The word nature has still another meaning, that of ²basic quality and feature of something² + OF, when it is preceded by the definite article, e.g.

It is the nature of plastic to melt under high temperatures;

They must understand the nature of our opposition to nuclear testing;

The consultation will be more in the nature of a public meeting than a formal enquiry (MacMillan, 1999: 944).

The word home if not preceded or followed by a descriptive word or phrase is used alone, without the definite article, e.g. to go home, to be home, to stay home, to run home, to send someone home, to arrive home etc.,

I was sick on the plane home;

I went home to France;

How was your journey home?

If preceded or followed by a descriptive phrase, home is preceded by the definite article (or the possessive adjective), e.g.

John and Mary invited us to their new home;

They arrived at the bride¢s home;

That delapidated house was the only home she had ever known etc.

There are several nouns denoting places; when these places are visited or used for their primary purpose, the structure is motion verb + preposition (TO/FROM/AT) + noun, e.g. bed, church, court, hospital, prison, sea, town, school, college, jail, camp, exchange, harbour, port,     hall, university, work (place of work) etc., e.g.

to go/run/hurry + TO + noun

to be/stay/remain + AT + noun

to come/return/come back + FROM + noun

Mary goes to school every day (=she is a schoolgirl and this is her programme);

Paul ran to church to get there before the Mass was over (=he is a church-goer)

Her mother did not feel well and Mary insisted on taking her to hospital (=to be cured)

His parents are very sad because their only son has been in prison for over two years (=he has been doing time)

She went to bed early last night (=one sleeps in bed)

They are at sea as far as I know (=they are either sailors, or taking a cruise)

She never goes to work by bus (=to the place where she works)

They go to town sometimes to buy food (=the speaker's own town)

"Where have you been?" - "We were in town".

But, if the place is not used or visited for its primary purpose, then the definite article is used in front of the noun, e.g.

They went to the church to see the carvings (=they are tourists)

Mother went to the school last week to talk to the principal (=she was afraid her son might have missed some classes)

He went to the prison to deliver some lectures on social matters (=he was invited to deliver the speech)

Go to the bed and fetch my dress, please! (=move from here to there and fetch the dress)

They went to the sea (=to the seaside)

Our friends live by the sea (=in the neighbourhood of the sea)

NOTE: the words office (place of work), cathedral, cinema and theatre always take the definite article, e.g.

I think he is at the office (=the place where he works)

He never goes to the office on foot (=to the place where he works)

This Sunday they decided to go to the cathedral (=presumably the Mass was more impressive there)

They never go to the cinema after 10 p.m.

You could not find us at home because we were at the theatre last night.

To be in office = to hold an official position (=R. a detine o functie oficiala)

To be out of office = to be no longer in power (=R. a nu mai detine o functie oficiala)

1.2. The indefinite article

The indefinite article has the same origins as the numeral one, and is one of the most frequently used words in English. It is useful to mention from the very beginning that the indefinite article in English only exists for the singular form of countable nouns; for the plural and uncountable nouns certain indefinite adjectives are used and they will be treated under the respective heading (see Indefinite adjectives, section 4/5.2)

1.2.1. Form

The indefinite article is a [ and an [ n it has a unique form for all genders, e.g. a boy, a girl, a chair, implying no agreement with the noun/noun equivalent. The two forms of the indefinite articles follow the same rules of pronunciation as the definite article. The explanations in extenso and a large number of examples are given; where the definite article is pronounced [D , the indefinite article is pronounced [ ; where the definite article is pronounced [Di] the indefinite article is pronounced [ n]

The form a of the indefinite article is also pronounced [ei], as an emphatic form, in the following instances:

usually for emphasis, when the speaker makes a pause for effect, e.g. The members of the parliament were invited to a [ei] what do you think? to a bull fight!

when the indefinite article is used as a subject of the sentence, e.g. A [ei] is the indefinite article in English and one of the most frequently used words in the language;

when the indefinite article is stressed, e.g. She said a [ei] man!

1.2.2. Position

The indefinite article stands before the noun, but after rather, quite, such, half or after too, so, how + adjective, e.g.

This is rather a heavy box;

It is rather a shame that we cannot leave early;

There is a book on the table;

Paul and Mary have bought a new house;

but

What a man!

It was such a fine day!

He is too good a man not to choose in the team!

1.2.3. The uses of the indefinite article

The indefinite article is used with countable nouns in the singular. Countable nouns refer to things which are regarded as separate units. Most countable nouns refer to things which can be seen, touched, measured (=concrete nouns), e.g. table, chair, computer, desk, boy, girl, man, woman, child, book, telephone, pen, pencil, lamp etc. However, some countable nouns refer to things which cannot be seen, touched or measured (=abstract nouns), e.g. address, effect, election, idea, issue, method, minute, month, plan, problem, remark, scheme, shock, suggestion, week, year etc.

NOTE: Attention should be paid to those nouns which are uncountable in English but are countable in other languages and the students tend to apply the pattern of their mother tongue to English, making a series of typical mistakes (see also under Noun), e.g. advice, baggage, furniture, homework, information, knowledge, luggage, news etc.

The indefinite article is used to express indefinite meaning of singular countable nouns. It always implies the idea of number as its origin is in the numeral ONE. The main uses of the indefinite article a/an are:

The indefinite article is used before a singular countable noun when it is mentioned for the first time and represents no particular person or thing, e.g.

Mary needs a passport;

My friends bought a house;

We live in a house not far from the university;

It is used in expressions of price, speed, ratio, e.g., £50 a meter, 10p a dozen etc: here the indefinite article is replaceable by the Latin PER, but can never be replaced by the numeral ONE, e.g.

The car was running a wild 90 miles an/per hour;

She had to take the antibiotics 3 times a/per day;

Five pence a/per kilo is not much;

The indefinite article is used as an alternative to the numeral ONE, but the numeral ONE cannot replace the indefinite article in all cases (see above), e.g.

1,000 = a/one thousand

1,000,000 = a/one million

a/one score, a/one dozen

a/one third, a/one fifth

but    She paid a rent of 100 (a/one hundred) pounds a/per week - the indefinite article before the noun week cannot be replaced by one;

In other types of statement a/an and one are not normally interchangeable, because ONE + noun normally means ¢one only/not more than one¢ and a/an does not mean this (Thomson and Martinet, 1997: 17):

A shotgun is no good (=it is the wrong sort of thing)

One shotgun is no good (=one is not enough, I need 50)

The indefinite article is used with a noun complement; this also includes names of professions, e.g.

It was a rebellion;

It is going to be a success;

She is a teacher (=e profesoara)

He is an actor while his wife is a painter (=El e actor iar sotia lui e pictorita)   

My friend is a doctor (=Prietenul/Prietena mea este medic)

No article is needed when the profession is unique, e.g. headmaster, principal, manager, director, spokesman, spokesperson, etc., e.g.

John Williams is headmaster;

Our friend is sales manager;

NOTE: Romanian learners should notice the difference between the two structures; while the indefinite article in English is compulsory, in Romanian its presence in this construction is a mistake.

The indefinite article is placed before a singular countable noun which is used as an example of a class of things (for more comparative details see under Uses of the definite article, section 1.1.3), e.g.

A dog is a friendly animal (All dogs are friendly animals);

A dog likes to eat far more than a human being (Any dog likes that more than any human being);

A child needs love (All children need love);

A lion can be dangerous or The lion can be dangerous or Lions can be dangerous;

The indefinite article is used before proper names of people, usually placed before Mr./Mrs./Miss/Ms. + surname to show that the respective person is a stranger to the speaker or the speaker does not know of him/her. Imagine the chairman¢s secretary entering her boss¢ office and saying: - "A Mr. Brown would like to talk to you, Sir". - it is obvious that the secretary does not know Mr. Brown or of him.

The indefinite article is also used in set phrases; the use of the indefinite article in them can only be accounted for by tradition: not a word, not a trace, not a thought, at a draught, once a month, once upon a time, once in a while, for a time, to pay a call on somebody, just a moment, to catch a cold, as a matter of fact, as a rule, many a + noun in the singular (many a students etc.) etc.

The indefinite article, a, is used with little and few to distinguish them from the meanings of the forms without the indefinite article. Little and few are adjectives or pronouns, while little can be an adverb, too.

Little shows a small quantity and can be used before uncountable nouns (adjective) or instead of the same kind of nouns (pronouns), while few shows a small number of things and can be used before countable nouns (adjective) in the plural or to replace similar nouns (pronouns) in the plural. Used without an indefinite article they mean a small quantity or number or what the speaker considers to be a small quantity or number. The additional meaning is that the respective quantity or number is also insufficient under the circumstances (in Romanian: putin/a or putini/-e), e.g

I have little coffee left and I must buy some before the guests come. (=Am cafea putina si trebuie sa cumpar pana nu-mi vin musafirii)

or    I have only recently moved to this town and I have few friends here (=M-am mutat doar de curand in orasul acesta si am putini prieteni aici).

NOTE

a) This meaning is generally confined to written English;

b) Particularly in spoken English the use of little or few is generally avoided in such contexts because of the possible confusion with the alternative forms (a little and a few), and other constructions are preferred, e.g.

I don¢t have enough coffee and I must buy some before the guests come

or    I have only recently moved to this town and I don¢t have too many friends here.

c) Little and few can be used more freely when they are qualified by SO, VERY, TOO, EXTREMELY, COMPARATIVELY, RELATIVELY etc., e.g.

She was reluctant to going to that place because she knew so little about it and its inhabitants;

or    Some of the students have too many dictionaries while others have too few etc.

Used with the indefinite article, the two adjectives preserve the meaning referring to the small quantity or number, but either of them is considered enough under the circumstances (in Romanian: un pic/putina or cativa/cateva), e.g.

If you want we can go to my place. I have a little coffee left and we can chat over a cup of coffee (=Daca vrei, putem sa mergem la noi. Am un pic/putina cafea si putem sa tragem o barfa la o cescuta de cafea)

or I have a few grammar books and if you want I can lend you one (=Am cateva carti de gramatica, si daca vrei pot sa-ti imprumut si tie una.)

1.2.4. The indefinite article is not used

The indefinite article is not used with plural nouns as it does not have a plural form, e.g. a boy/boys, a chair/chairs, an egg/eggs, an hour/hours etc. An indefinite adjective is used with plural count nouns, e.g. some, any etc. (see under section.

It is not used before uncountable nouns, e.g. names of substances: bread, beer, cloth, coffee, cream, dust, gin, glass, oil, paper, tea etc.; abstract nouns: advice, beauty, courage, experience, fear, help, hope, information, relief, suspicion, work etc. (used in a particular sense, some of these nouns can be used with an indefinite article); nouns considered uncountable in English: baggage, damage, furniture, luggage, parking, shopping, weather etc.

NOTE

a) many mass/uncountable nouns can become countable when having a second meaning or referring to an amount of something in a container, e.g. if someone is offered a drink of whisky, it is normally assumed that it is a certain quantity less than ¢a bottle¢, so the standard question would be ²Will/Would you like a whisky, professor?², i.e. a glass of whisky. However, ¢a beer¢ can mean a bottle, a glass, a pint, a can of that beverage. Here is a list of words which are frequently used in this way: beer, brandy, coffee, Coke, gin, lager, rum, sherry, sugar, vodka, whisky, yoghurt etc.

b) according to Berry, (1993:12) ²an uncountable noun can be converted into a countable noun when the speaker means ¢a type of¢ or ¢a variety of¢ something. For example, ¢cheese¢ is a general word for that particular food and a cheese is a variety or kind of cheese, just as wine is the general word and a wine is a variety of wine, e.g.

a wine of the region.

I was impressed by a wine from Friuli.

Supper consisted of onion soup, black sausage with tomato salad and a local cheese with herbs.

When boiled to setting point with an equal weight of sugar, they make a very fine jam.

Here is a list of words which are frequently used in this way: beer, brandy, cheese, coffee, detergent, jam, lager meat, medicine, metal, paint, perfume, sauce, soup, tea, whisky, wine, wood etc.²

The indefinite article is not used before names of meals, except in special conditions, when they are preceded by an adjective or when a post determiner follows the noun, e.g.

Students have lunch at 12;

or We have dinner at 8;

or My aunt invited us to dinner;

but Mary was invited to a dinner given by her new boss;

They were served a very special breakfast;