The Singular and the Plural 3 страница

Most big stores have a tea-room, a restaurant and a post-office. You will also find here a room were you can rest if you are tired.

Oxford Street, Regent Street and Bond Street are rightly considered the shopping streets in London. Their nice shops and department stores attract people from all over the country and from foreign countries as well.

Task: Retell the text.

Speak on: The department stores you know:

a) in London,

b) in Moscow,

c) in Minsk.

16. Give Russian equivalents to the following English proverbs. Use them in the situations of your own.

1. One man, no man.

2. A friend in need is a friend indeed.

3. Friends are thieves of time.

4. Life is not a bed of roses.

5. No news is good news.

6. When in Rome, do as the Romans do.

7. Too much knowledge makes the head bald.

8. Clothes do not make the man.

9. Caesar's wife must be above suspicion.

10. Time is money.

11. Business is business.

12. Business is first, pleasure afterwards.

13. After death, the doctor.

14. The way to man's heart is through his stomach.

15. Speech is silver, but silence is gold.

16. Misfortunes never come singly.

The Article

The article is a structural part of speech used with nouns.

There are two articles in Modern English: the indefinite a/an article used only with nouns in the singular (a book, an apple) and the definite the article used with nouns both in the singular and in the plural (the sun, the children).

The indefinite article is used:

1) with countable nouns in the singular to show that the noun belongs to a certain class (has the meaning of "какой-то, один из, любой"). In the plural no article is used in this case.	Have you got a car? - Never.     Give me a pen and a pencil, please.
2) with a countable noun mentioned for the first time.	I've bought a hat. It's expensive.
3) to talk about someone's job.	She is a doctor. He works as a pilot.
4) with a noun in general sense (has the meaning of every, any).	A drawing man catches at a straw.
5) in the meaning of "one".	Wait a minute!
6) after the construction: There is. . ./was. . ., and after: It is ... . This is ... .	There is a letter on the table. It is a book. This is a hotel.
7) after the words: such, rather. quite. What. . . ! (exclamations)	Ann is such a pretty girl. What a strange person!
8) with a noun modified by the adjective in the positive degree.	I've read an interesting book. Are you a good driver?
9) a/an + ordinal numeral has the meaning "ещё один ".	She gave me a second cup of coffee.
10) also with: a dozen, a hundred, a thousand, a million, a pound, a week, an hour, a mile, — in the meaning "one".	We have English classes twice a week.
11) in some expressions: a lot of, as a result, as a matter of fact, as a rule, it's a pity, it's a pleasure, in a hurry, to go for a walk	to have a good time/rest, to take a shower, to have a smoke, to give a call, for a while, to tell a lie, what a shame, in a week, a knife and fork, to catch (a) cold.

The definite article is used:

1) with a noun when it is clear in the situation which thing or person is meant, or with the noun mentioned before.	Can you turn off the light please? Will you pass me the salt, please? We stopped at a village. The village was very old but nice.
2) also: the police, the army, the fire brigade, the bank, the post-office, the doctor, the dentist.	The police are looking for the thief. John isn 't well. He has gone to the doctor.
3) when the noun is modified by a particularizing attribute (an of phrase or an attributive clause, always used in post position).	He knocked at the door of the nearest house. This is the flat that John bought. The apples I've bought weren 't ripe.
4) when the noun denotes a thing unique (the sun, the earth, the moon, the uni- verse) or a class, an inven- tion, musical instruments.	The earth goes round the sun. A. Bell invented the telephone. Can you play the piano ( the after play) But: They bought a piano.
5) with the nouns modified by the adjective in the superlative degree and the ordinal numbers. But: a most - in the meaning весьма, крайне.	This is the best day in my life. Major Yuri Gagarin was the first man to circle the Earth. It's a most interesting film!
6) with the adjectives: the following, next, last, same, very, only. But: next у ear/time, last week/year.	Answer the following questions. This is the only book on this problem. What is the next stop? But I saw him last week.
7) also: the sky, the sea, the ground, the country, the en vironment, the world, the cinema, the theatre, the radio (but: television), the weather, the government.	There are no stars in the sky tonight. Do you often go to the theatre ? I've heard this news on the radio. I have no time to watch television. But: Can you turn off the televi- sion, please?
8) the + adjective: the rich = rich people in general. These expressions are always plural.	The old, the poor, the sick, the blind, the unemployed, the young.
9) the + nationality words: the French = the French people.	The English, the Irish, the Welsh, the Scots.
10) with the names of the oceans, seas, rivers, canals, mountain chains, island groups, deserts, areas.	The Atlantic Ocean, the Thames, the British Isles, the Ontario (but: Lake Ontario), the Alps, the Sahara;
11) we say the with the names of the countries which include words like republic, union, kingdom, state, with plural names, regions.	The United Kingdom, the United States, the Republic of Belarus, the Philippines, the North, the South(of France), the East, the Westfof Russia). But: from East to West, from North to South.
12) also: the Crimea, the Caucasus, the Netherlands, (the)Ukraine, the Congo, the Sudan, the High Street, the Hague.
13) we say the before the names of the hotels, theatres, museums/galleries, cinemas, restaurants/pubs, newspapers.ships, also before the names with of.	The Hilton (Hotel), the British Museum, cinemas: the Odeon; the Classic; the Times, the Washington Post; ships: the Queen Elizabeth; the Tower of London, the Houses of Parliament;
But : a) many shop restaurants and banks are named after the people who started them. This names end in -s or 's. We do not use the with these names.	shops: Self ridge's, Harrods; hotels: Claridge's;
b) many names are two words. The first name is usually the name of the person or a place. We do not usually say the with these names. But we say: "The White House", "The Royal Palace", because "white" and "royal" are not names.	universities: Oxford University, Cambridge University, London University, but: the University of London London Zoo, Buckingham Palace, Westminster Abbey.
14) with the names denoting the whole family.	The Simons, The Smiths, The Nightingales.
15) with the noun in the singular used in the generic sense. But: a) We use "man" (= human beings in general) without "the". b) We do not use the with parts of the body. We use ту/his/her, etc.	The tragedy and the comedy first appeared in Greece. Man is the greatest creation of nature.   He broke his leg. She hurt her arm.
16) with the date (in speech).	On the fifth of May/on May the fifth.
17) with organizations, official titles, documents, the whole species.	The United Nations (but: Parliament, Congress), the President, the Constitution, the dinosaurs.
18) in some expressions: at the same time, in the original, on the whole, the other day (refers to the past), the day after tomorrow, the day before yesterday, in the morning / afternoon / evening, at the seaside, on the train,	in the rain, at the weekend, in the 1990s, at the end of /in the end, in the singular, in the plural, in the past, in (the) future, by the way, just the same, to tell the truth, to tell the time, out of the question, in the dark, in the sun.

There is no article:

1) before the nouns modified by the pronouns: possessive: my, his, her, its, our, your, their, demonstrative: this, that, those, these; interrogative: what, which, whose and in­definite: some, any, each, every, many, much and no, and also by cardinal numerals.	My friend and I would like to spend our holidays in some quite place. I'd like to read this book. What question have you dis­cussed? Take any book you like. There is no theatre here. Platform 2, size 42, page 50, room 20;
2) before the names of a person, streets, squares, towns, villages; before the names of sciences and subjects; before airports, stations, parks, mountain peaks, bridges, single islands and the names of planets.	Oxford Street is one of the biggest and most popular shopping centers in London. Heathrow Airport, Hyde Park, Tower Bridge. He is fond of mathematics and physics. Elbrus, Madagascar, Venus;
3) before plural countable nouns in general sense.	Children learn a lot from playing. I like pets.
4) after the verbs: elect, appoint, turn, commence.	He was elected President of the country.
5) before the nouns of material and abstract nouns in general sense.	Life is impossible without water and air. What fine weather! But: The weather is fine today.
6) Note: many abstract nouns and nouns of material used with the indefinite article become countable. Usually there is a difference in meaning.	ice-cream - мороженое, an ice cream - порция мороженого; also: a help, a love of/a knowledge of, and a pity / shame / hope /fear of. Paper was invented in China. I bought a paper on the way home.
7) with the nouns denoting titles and ranks followed by the names of persons.	Mr Brown, Mrs Simmons, Dr. Fox, Pr. Kemp.
8) with the nouns expressing relationships: a) followed by names of persons, b) nouns expressing relationship not followed by a proper noun when used by the members of the family.	Aunt Polly is coining tonight. Uncle James lives in London. Tom, hasn 't Father come yet? Where is Mother? Winter is my favorite season.
9) with the names of months, days, seasons. But: when these names are modified by a particularizing attribute, the definite article is used.	The May of 1945 will always stay in the memory of people. The winter of 1941 was very cold.
10) with the names of the countries and continents; with official titles.	Europe, Asia, Great Britain, Belarus, Poland. Queen Elizabeth, President Bush.
11) with the names of meals: breakfast, lunch, dinner, sup- per. But: we say a meal; we also say я when there is an adjective before dinner, supper, and the when the situation makes the idea definite.	What time is lunch ? I have breakfast at 8. I had a meal at home. How did you like the dinner? Thank you, that was a nice dinner.
12) the nouns: school, college, bed, jail, prison, church are used without an article when they express the purpose for which the objects denoted by these nouns serve.	to go to school = to be a schoolboy, to be in prison -to be a prisoner, to go to university = to be a student. But: Where is the University?
13) with names of languages when they are not followed by the noun language are used without article.	Do you speak English ? But: The English language is spoken all over the world.
14) most + noun (without article) - the noun is used in general sense. Most + of+ the - definite objects are meant;	Most children like ice-cream.   Most of the streets in London are not wide.
15) in some expressions: forages, at first, at first sight, at home, to go home, at school, at table, by chance, by heart, by name, by mistake, to go to bed, to go by bus (train, plane), to go out of town,	in/on time, to ask permission, to go to town, to fall in love, at/to work, on foot, in cash, in bad/fine weather, to be/go on holiday/on business, at/till night, by day, early morning, late evening, from morning till night, at Christinas, on Christmas Day, at Easter.

NOTES:

1. Articles are omitted in newspaper headings, telegrams, in stage directions.

2. Another means "какой-либо другой", "ещё один". The other means "определённый другой".

3. The last + noun is always used with the article, except in the expressions: last month, last year, last week, last winter, etc.

4. Next means "будущий" when referring to the time: next month, next week, etc.

Next time means "в следующий раз".

The next means "следующий": the next room, the next lesson.

5. A number means "many" - много, ряд. The number means "число, количество".

6. Few - "мало", a few - "несколько", the few - "те не­многие".

7. Little - "мало", a little - "некоторое количество", the little -"то небольшое количество".

8. Two - "два", the two - "оба, те два".

9. No article with the noun which expresses a post (occa­sionally the is used):

Mr Green, director (the director) of the company and Pr. Pet-rov, dean (the dean) of the English department left for London.

Practice

/. Read the following dialogue and analyze the articles used in it.

A Perfect Alibi

"At the time the murder was committed I was travelling on the 8 o'clock train to London", said the man.

"Do you always catch such an early train?" asked the inspector.

"Of course I do", answered the man. "I must be at work at 10 o'clock. My employer will confirm that I was there on time".

"Would a later train get you to work on time?" asked the in­spector.

"I suppose it would, but I never catch a later train".

"At what time did you arrive at the station?"

"At ten to eight. I bought a paper and waited for the train".

"And you didn't notice anything unusual?"

"Of course not".

"I suggest that you are not telling the truth. I think that you didn't catch the 8 o'clock train, but that you caught the 8.25, which would still get you to work on time. You see, on the morning of the murder, the 8 o'clock train did not run at all. It broke down at Ferngreen station and was taken off the line".

2. Which is correct?

1. Pacific Ocean/The Pacific Ocean.

2. Station hotel/The station hotel.

3. National Gallery/The National Gallery.

4. River Seine/The river Seine.

5. Gobi desert/The Gobi desert.

6. United States of America/The United Sates of America.

7. Oxford Street/The Oxford Street.

8. South of France/The south of France.

9. Apollo Theatre/The Apollo Theatre.

10. Heathrow Airport/The Heathrow Airport.

11. Lake Erie/The Lake Erie.

12. Netherlands/The Netherlands.

13. Trafalgar Square/The Trafalgar Square.

14. North America/The North America.

3. Complete the following exclamations.

What a/an ..! (countable singular)

What..! (plural and uncountable)

1. ... lovely song! 5. ... horrible place prison is!

2. ... clever student you are! 6. ... interesting job you were offered!

3. ... nice flat you have got! 7. ... pleasure to see you here!

4. ... awful weather! 8. ... hard texts these are!

4. Which of the following nouns take the indefinite article: darkness, poem, eye, environment, means, police, people, sea, storm, poetry, help, music, apple, literature, truth, bread, for­eigner, moon, beauty, cheese, stupidity.

5. Answer the questions in the way shown.

Model: - Was it a good film?

- Yes, it was the best film I've ever seen.

1. Is it a big hotel? ... in the city.

2. Is he a rich man? ... I've ever met.

3. Was it a bad accident? ... I've ever seen.

4. Is it a cheap restaurant? ... you will find.

5. It's hot today, isn't it? ... day of the year.

6. Is Shakespeare a great playwright? ... in the world.

7. Is N. Baskov a popular singer? ... in Russia.

8. Is the screen version of "Gone with the Wind" an excit­ing film? ... I've ever seen.

9. Could you show me a short way to the station? - This is ....

10. Is there a large department store near here? - Sel-fridge's ....

6. Choose the correct form.

1.Life/the life indeed would be dull if there were no diffi­culties.

2. The vegetables/vegetables are good for health.

3. Women/the women are often better teachers than men/the men.

4. In Britain coffee/the coffee is more expensive than tea/the tea.

5. Most people/the most people still believe that mar­riage/the marriage and family life/the family life are the basis of our society.

6. Second World War/The Second World War ended in 1945.

7. Do you know people/the people who live next door/the next door?

8. Two of the biggest problems facing our society are crime/the crime and unemployment/the unemployment.

9. I hate violence/the violence and cruelty/the cruelty among people.

10. He followed a/the letter, but not a/the spirit of the law.

11. Language/the language is art/the art of concealing thoughts.

12. One of the most/most pleasant things in the world/ world is going to a/the journey.

13. -/the police searched a/the house of the/a suspect.

14. Most of-/the roads in this district are not suitable for-/the motorcars.

15. To love our country, to be interested in its concerns, is natural for all the/- men.

16. Truth/the truth is that I don't like to stay here any longer.

17. We are studying an/the/- architecture. We are studying - /the architecture of the/-/a Renaissance period.

18. Love/the love is blind, but at the same time it is a/-/the wonderful thing. It makes a/the world go round.

19. I'm going to a/the post-office. I want to post a/the parcel.

20. We are installing a/- solar heating. We want to save an/-/the energy.

7. Put a/an, the or nothing into each gap.

1. ... Beethoven whose music you have just listened to was one of ... world's greatest composers.

2. ... youth is full of ... pleasure and ... hope.

3. There are five students from ... Japan here, so we have ... good opportunity to practice ... Japanese.

4. We looked at ... cars standing near the store, ... first two were far expensive, but ... other ones were rea­sonably priced.

5. This morning I bought ... newspaper and ... magazine. ... newspaper is in my bag, but I don't know where ... magazine is.

6. I saw ... accident this morning. ... car crashed into ... wall. ... driver of ... car was not hurt, but ... car was badly damaged.

7. We live in ... old house in ... middle of the village. There is ... beautiful garden behind ... house. ... roof of ... house is in ... bad condition.

8. I'm looking for ... job. Did you get ... job you applied for?

9. Could you close ... door, please? They live ... next door.

10. We live in ... small flat near ... center of the city.

11. Did ... police find ... person who stole your car?

12. This morning I had ... boiled egg and toast for ... breakfast.

13. As I was walking along the street, I found ... 10 $ note on ... pavement.

14. Have you got ... car? - No, I've never had ... car in my life.

15. I went into ... shop and asked to speak to ... manager.

16. ... President of ... United States is elected for four years.

17. What ... beautiful garden! ... flowers growing here are beautiful too.

18. It's ... very interesting film. I advise you to see it.

19. You got into ... wrong train. Your train is at ... plat­form 5.

20. ... truth is that he is ... only man she obeys.

21. My cousin, ... young man of twenty-five, works as ... interpreter. He has ... wide range of ... interests and ... good knowledge of three foreign languages.

8. Complete the sentences.

a)

1. There were no chairs in the room so we had to sit on ....

2. As soon as we saw the fire, I called ....

3. We didn't have any stamps, so we had to go to ....

4. I had a toothache, so I made an appointment with ....

5. Ann had to catch a train, so I took her to ... .

6. When we found that someone had broken into our house, we called ....

7. Tom wasn't feeling well, so he went to ....

8. We didn't have any money, so we had to go to ....

9. The plain was delayed, so we had to wait at... for three hours.

10. Somebody robbed the bank, but he was caught by ....

b)

1. I was very tired and it was very late, so I went ... at nine o'clock.

2. My parents are not religious people. They never go ....

3. In Britain, children from the age of five have to go ....

4. There is a lot of traffic in the morning when everybody is going to ....

5. Mr. Smith has just had an operation. He is still ....

6. When David leaves school, he wants to study econom­ics ....

7. My job is great. I don't have to be ... until nine o'clock.

8. My father doesn't like hospitals. He is going to stay ... in spite of being seriously ill.

9. I'll give you my telephone number. You can phone me

10. There was no bus, and I had to go ... on ....

9. Put in a/an, the or leave it blank.

1. Julius Caesar who was ... powerful Roman general came to ... Britain in 55 B.C.

2. ... English language was brought onto ... British Isles in ... middle of ... fifth century by ... An­gles, ... Saxons, ... Jutes who came there from ... North of ... Germany.

3. ... British Prime Minister lives in ... Downing Street 10.

4. One of ... nicest parks in London is ... St. Jame's Park which is very near ... Buckingham Palace.

5. Frank is ... student at... London University.

6. Mr Readdles reads ... Daily Telegraph but his wife reads ... Times.

7. ...Tower of London is situated within ... City.

8. ... London Underground (or Tube) is ... oldest and longest in ... Europe. 9. ... Regent's Park is ... largest, it is still one of ... most popular places of rest of ... Londoners on ... hot summer days.

10. ... oldest part of London is ... City, ... business center. But ... political center is ... Westminster which is in ... West End.

11. ... Londoners like to say, "When ... man is tired of London, he is tired of ... life".

12. Do you usually see films at ... Classic or at ... Odeon?

13. ... National Gallery and ... Tate Gallery are famous all over ... world.

14. Near ... British Museum you can see the tall building of... University of London.

15. ... London University was built in ... 19-th century.

16. ... West End is for ... rich - with ... theatres, ... smart restaurants and ... beautiful shops.

17. ... English Channel separates ... Great Britain from ... Continent.

10. Insert the articles, if any.

1. ... Moon goes round ... Earth every 27 days. 2. ... Soviet Union was ... first country to send a man into ... space. 3. Did you see ... film on ... television or at ... cinema? 4. After ... lunch we went for ... walk by ... sea. 5. I'm not hungry. I had ... big breakfast not long ago. 6. ... Mother was ... only person I could talk about it. 7. It was ... beautiful day, ... sun was shining brightly in ... sky. 8. What is ... highest mountain in ... world? 9. We don't go to ... theatre very often these days. In fact, in ... town where we live there is no ... theatre. 10. Could you turn down ... television, please? It's a bit loud. 11. Do you listen to ... latest news over ... radio or ... television? 12. Mary plays ... piano very well, but she can't play ... violin. Can you play ... guitar? 13. ... giraffe is ... tallest of all animals. 14. What is your beautiful flower? - ... rose. 15. What is ... largest living bird? -... eagle. 16. Every English child knows ... story of Robin Hood. It is said that he robbed ... rich and gave the money to ... poor. 17. ... man must do everything possible to save ... environment and ... life on ... planet of ... Earth. 18. Those people with jobs have enough money, but life is not so easy for ... unemployed. 19. What do you call ... people of ... England? - ... English. 20. Jane is ... teacher. Her parents were ... teachers too. 21.1 would like to be ... economist. 22. ... indifference and pride look very much alike. 23. AH over the world, people are in ... prison be­cause of their political beliefs. 24. On ... way to London we passed through ... small village with ... old church. We stopped to visit ... church. It was ... beautiful building. 25. How many people go to ... university in your country? 26. Some children hate ... school. 27. Bill left ... university without doing his ex­aminations. 28. When will you go to ... hospital to visit your sick friend? - ... next week. 29.1 really hate ... people who chew ... gum all the time. 30. ... traffic is one of ... biggest problems in our cities.

11. Insert the articles: a/an, the, -.

1. We want ... government to do something about ... problem of unemployment.

2. ... cities are usually exciting - in ... London, for exam­ple, you can have tea at ... Ritz and then go to ... thea­tre in ... evening.

3. I must go to ... bank and see ... bank manager. I want to borrow ... two hundred pounds.

4. She has two children, ... girl and ... boy. ... girl is five and ... boy is only one.

5. He goes to ... work in ... City by ... train every day. His office is in ... Baker street.