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Syntactic function of the article is manifested in its position in the sentence –
it is placed before the word modified or before its attributes in pre-position.
the leaves, the green leaves, the glossy dark green leaves.
Syntactic function of the article is also prominent in some structural types of sentences.
Specific structure of a sentence brings forth the use of a certain article.
E.g. in sentences of the type He is a sailor we should use the indefinite article with
a predicative noun because the noun here denotes a person as belonging to some class.
In sentences with the construction there is/are it is necessary to use the noun-subject with the indefinite article
(if the noun is countable and used in the singular).
On the other hand, the noun functioning as an adverbial modifier in such sentences
is always accompanied by the definite article:
There‘s a portrait of her at Croy in the dining-room (R. Pilcher) It is connected with
the communicative purpose of the sentence – to introduce some new element into the environment
which is not new for the speaker. In this case the syntactic function of the article is closely interwoven
with its communicative role.
The same role of the article is also observed in sentences with a different structure.
The word-building function of the article is observed when words belonging to different parts of speech
are substantivized. In most cases these are adjectives and participles which are always preceded by
the definite article if the substantivization is partial (the rich, the blind, the learned, the wounded):
Does the world really need a voice for the poor, the weak, the oppressed, the unborn children?
The use of the articles, both definite and indefinite, with pronouns is also typical:
“That means everything to me. To us.” “Us? You know what, Marc, I don’t even believe there is an “us”.
When a verb is substantivized, it is preceded by the indefinite article: to give a smile, to have a swim.
The meaning of oneness is transformed into the meaning of a momentary action
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Absence of article. Lexicalization of article
The meaningful absence of the article is observed with nouns in the singular.
In this case it is the very essence and the quality of the object that are important:
Sun streamed instantly into the room.
That’s why articles are not used, as a rule, with material and abstract nouns.
If there is no article before a class noun in the singular it also shows
that the qualitative aspect of the object is meant.
We observe the absence of the article with some class nouns
when they express not objects proper, but the purpose for which
these objects are used (school, prison, bed, table, hospital, church, college).
Articles can be deliberately omitted due to stylistic considerations –
in titles, headlines, in telegrammes. These articles can be easily restored.
Lexicalization of the article.
When the use of the article cannot be explained from the grammatical point of view
we say that the article is lexicalized. This use of the article is fixed traditionally.
It is often observed in set expressions:
to take a fancy, it’s a pity, as a result, at a distance of, to play the piano,
on deck.
The article is also lexicalized in geographical and other proper names:
London – The Hague, Greenland – the British Isles, the United States of America – Great Britain,
Everest – the Alps, the Pacific Ocean, the Black Sea, the Thames – Lake Michigan.
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Meaning of the articles
There are several theories explaining the essence of grammatical meaning of the article:
-
the article is a means of expressing the meanings of
definiteness – indefiniteness (O. Jespersen, G. Curme, E. Kruisinga) ;
2) the article is a means of realizing the meanings of given and new information
3) the difference of articles is based on the numerical principle (V.J. Propp) ;
4) the article is a means of distinguishing between the general and particular
(A.I. Smirnitsky, M.V. Nikitin).
Nowadays the first of the views mentioned above is spread most widely.
Speaking about the meanings of the articles in particular,
the definite article expresses the identification or individualization of the referent of the noun.
Its use shows that the object denoted is taken in its concrete, individual quality.
This meaning is invariable and it is often called determining.
It becomes especially clear through a substitution test as the article can be replaced
by a demonstrative pronoun: Look at the picture! → Look at this picture!
Another variant of the meaning is generic, when the object is presented as a
symbol of the whole class: The giraffe lives in Africa. The rose is a beautiful flower.
In this meaning the article is used with class nouns in the singular and with proper names
in the plural:
We are going to visit the Browns.
As to abstract nouns, the generic meaning is rendered with them by absence of the article.
The generic meaning of the article is closely connected with the tense form of the predicate
and is observed in sentences where the predicate expresses some habitual, repeated action:
The owl cannot see well in the daytime. If the predicate denotes a concrete action in the past,
the article is deprived of the generic meaning: The owl could not see well in the daytime.
As for the indefinite article, it refers the object denoted by the noun to a certain class of
similar objects, i.e. it expresses a classifying generalization of the referent, or takes it in
a relatively general sense. To prove it we may use some transformations: We passed a water-mill.
We passed a certain water-mill.
This meaning of the article is often called classifying. It also has some variants;
one of them is the meaning of oneness, the article is characterized by it
when used with nouns denoting some measure of time, distance, weight, etc.
(e.g. hour, minute, year, mile, pound).
Another variant of the invariable meaning is generalizing, i.e. the article shows that the given
object can be looked upon as a typical representative of its class. What is said about it can be applied
to all the other objects of the class: A hill is an opposite of a valley. The sentence is a definition,
the object is taken without its individual peculiarities.
In some cases it is difficult to decide which of the articles to use: The/a violin is a stringed Instrument.
But if we mean some totality (совокупность) of objects only the definite article is possible:
The motor-car became popular during the last century.
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The adjective as a part of speech. Classification
| Meaning | Form | Function |
| Denotes property of a substance | Some English adjectives are invariable while others have degrees of comparison * Formation: - by affixation (suffixes -ful, -less, -able, -ive, -ish; prefixes – un-, il-, im-. | Combines with:
(is young)
Can be either attribute or a predicative |
when attribute, the adj. is dependent word, it modifies nouns and have no power in
the structural scheme of the sentence
when predicative, it is a part of predicate – an important element of sentence structure
THE MAJORITY OF ADJ-S CAN FUNCTION BOTH AS ATT.-S AND PREDI-VES
E.g.: a hungry man – the man is hungry
Some words are attributes only:
-atomic, eastern, woolen, outdoor etc. Using it as predicate=bad sentence:
My former friend ???? My friend is former ☹
In some cases, transforming is correct but meanings is different:
My old friend ???? -> My friend is old ☹
Some words are predicatives only:
-unable, well, sure, likely
The function also of an objective predicative:
-
They painted the door green -
I saw him sad
WHEN USED AS ELEMENT OF PREDICATIVE CONSTRUCTIONS,
THE ADJ. CAN BE PART OD ADV.MODIFIER:
I climbed to the roof, my face dirty and my hands cut
Classification
| Qualitative | Relative | * Expressing quantity (many, much, few, little) |
| Express quality of a substance, directly describing its size, shape, colour, physical or mental qualities Can be estimated as to their degree: very large, rather clever, too difficult | Denotes qualities of a substance through its relation to some other substance – material, place, time, action etc.: Italian, weekly, defensive, biological Many of them derived from nouns: silken, icy, industrial. | Stand close to adj-s as they have degrees of comparison BUT they also have chars of pronouns and numerals |
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The problem of degrees of comparison
This category is based on the opposition of the three forms: the positive degree which
has no features of comparison, the comparative degree which has the meaning
of restricted superiority limiting the comparison to two elements only, and the superlative degree
which expresses unrestricted superiority. The fact that the positive degree does not render any idea
of comparison led some linguists (H. Sweet, B.A. Ilyish) to the conclusion that it is not a degree
of comparison at all but just the basic form from which the degrees of comparison are derived,
and in this case the number of degrees of comparison is reduced to two: comparative and superlative.
However, grammatical oppositions contain an unmarked member, as a rule. So the positive degree can
also be treated in this way. This view is supported by some linguists, among them by M.Y. Blokh who
includes the positive degree into the paradigm of the degrees of comparison.
He puts forward one more argument to prove that it is really a degree of comparison:
the positive degree can be used in comparative syntactic constructions of equality or
of negative equality, so it is capable of rendering the meaning of comparison.
A.I. Smirnitsky combines the comparative and the superlative degrees
into one group and calls them “relative’. These forms are opposed to the positive
degree whose meaning is absolute.
Not every adjective has degrees of comparison. It depends on some factors,
one of them being semantic: as a rule, it is qualitative adjectives alone that can be
characterized by this category.
BUT:
A number of qualitative adjectives are invariable:
-
denoting some absolute quality: immobile, blind, deaf, final, perfect, single,
vertical, straight, unique, supreme, mortal, square, fatal, alone, instantaneous,
everlasting, universal, empty, wrong and some others;
-
with a negative meaning: illiterate; -
with the suffix –ish: reddish.
According to the rules of normative grammar, there are two main ways
of forming degrees of comparison: synthetic and analytical.
The question is how to treat formations with more and most.
According to a widely spread point of view, these are analytical degrees
of comparison, more and most being auxiliary elements. the actual meaning
of formations such as more difficult does not differ from that of the forms like larger, nicer.
Besides, difficult is a qualitative adjective and should have degrees of comparison.
However, there are some arguments against treating such formations as analytical forms:
-
the auxiliary elements in analytical forms should have no lexical meaning,
their only function is to render grammatical meaning of the form (has been writing, will be written).
As for the elements more and most, their lexical meaning is rather vivid and it is the same
in some other cases where they undoubtedly separate notional words: more time, most people;
-
combinations like more difficult, the most difficult may be opposed to less difficult,
the least difficult, which, in general opinion, are syntactic combinations of meaningful words.
In the sphere of degrees of comparison formed with the help of suffixes we don’t find
such parallel constructions. If less difficult is a phrase, not a word-form, it is hardly
correct to consider its antonym built in a similar way as an analytical form.
If this view is adopted, the range of English adjectives which are capable of having
degrees of comparison becomes rather limited.
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Substantivization of adjectives
In many languages adjectives may acquire the features of the noun and become substantivized,
e.g. in Russian: столовая, больной, мороженое, раненый, заливное, скорый.
If the adjective is wholly substantivized it has all the grammatical features of the noun –
it has the categories of number and case, it can be preceded by both the definite and the indefinite articles,
it combines mostly with adjectives and verbs, its typical functions are those of subject and object,
e.g. a white, a native, a private, a Russian, a relative, a noble, a contemporary. Some of them have only
the plural form: shorts, tights, sweets, greens. Such words have practically
become nouns formed from adjectives by conversion.
Besides, there are cases of partial substantivization – such adjectives can be used only in the singular
and with the definite article. They denote either a group of people or some abstract idea:
the blind, the deaf, the dead, the brave, the innocent, the unemployed, the Chinese;
the unreal, the exotic, the supernatural, the best: The British are very proud of their sense of humour.
In war the strong make slaves of the weak and in peace the rich make slaves of the poor. (O. Wilde)
The beautiful is not always the same as the good. (O. Wilde)
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The preposition as a typical formal part of speech
| What denotes: | Form | Function | Meaning |
| -relations between things and phenomena (B.A. Ilyish) -relations between parts of sentence (I.P. Ivanova) -relations between words in the sentence | Invariable | Combines with: -Nouns and pronouns -never used as separate part of sentence -can be components of objects, adv.modifiers. attributes and predicatives L.Tesniere included subordinating congunctions and preps.into one group and opposed them to coordinating conjunctions (соединительные союзы) | Problem |
It is not easy to state whether the preposition has any lexical meaning or
its only meaning is of grammatical nature.
The preposition has no function of nomination, it does not name the relation
expressed by it but just points to it.
That is why some linguists support the idea that the preposition
is deprived of its own lexical meaning (M.I. Steblin-Kamensky).
On the other hand, a lot of grammarians (B.A. Ilyish, A.I. Smirnitsky and others)
consider that any preposition expresses not a relation in general but some
definite relation which can be treated as its lexical meaning. B.A. Ilyish suggests
comparing the following sentences: The book is lying on the table and The book is lying under the table.
Due to the use of the prepositions on and under we clearly understand that
two different situations are described in these sentences, and this extralinguistic difference
is expressed by means of language.
However, in many cases the lexical meaning of the preposition seems to be missing and
it merely denotes relations between words: This depends on you. The use of the preposition
on (or upon) is predetermined by the verb depend which is always accompanied by this preposition.
On the other hand, in the examples The book is lying on the table and The book is lying under the table the use
of prepositions can’t be predicted, here we could also use near, in front of, by, in, above etc.;
all these sentences will be grammatically correct.
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