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CHAPTER 14. SINGULAR COUNTABLE NOUNS |
1. The use of determiners with singular countable nouns
In English, singular countable nouns usually cannot be used alone; they must be preceded by a word such as
a,
the,
each or
every.
e.g.
a box
the person
each child
every tree
The words
a,
the,
each and every are examples of a group of
words which can be referred to as
determiners. Such words, when used
together with nouns, help to determine to which particular entities the
nouns are referring. Determiners other than
a and
the are dealt
with in detail in a separate chapter.
Singular countable nouns must usually be preceded by determiners even
when the nouns are also preceded by various descriptive words.
e.g.
a heavy, awkward box
the right person
each young child
every tall tree
The meanings of the words
a and
the are less specific than the
meanings of the other determiners.
A and
the are sometimes referred
to as
articles. They are the determiners most frequently used with
singular countable nouns.
2. A and An
The word
a is often referred to as
the indefinite article. The
indefinite article has two forms:
a and
an. The form
a is used
before words which begin with a consonant sound.
e.g. a broom
a garage
a green apple
As well as being used before words beginning with consonants,
a is
also used before words which begin with vowels, but which are pronounced
with an initial consonant sound. For instance,
a is used before words
beginning with
eu and words beginning with a long
u, since these
words are pronounced with an initial
y sound.
A is also used before
the word
one, since
one is pronounced with an initial
w sound.
e.g. a euphonium
a utensil
a one-way street
As was mentioned in Chapter 3, a vowel followed by a single consonant,
followed by another vowel, is usually pronounced long.
A is used before
the following words which begin with a long
u:
| |
| ubiquitous | unanimous |
| unicorn | unification |
| unified | uniform |
| union | unique |
| unison | unit |
| united | university |
| uranium | use |
| useful | useless |
| usual | usurper |
| utensil | utility |
| Utopia | |
The word
an is used before words beginning with a vowel sound.
e.g. an apple
an old broom
an umbrella
an hour
As well as being used before words beginning with vowels,
an is also
used before the following words which begin with a silent
h:
heir
heirloom
honest
honor
honorable
honorarium
honorary
honorific
hour
hourglass
hourly
See
Exercise 1.
3. The use of A and An before singular countable nouns
In many languages, the word for
a is the same as the word for
one.
This was also formerly the case in English. Because of the association
of
a and
an with the idea of
one,
a and
an are usually used
only with singular countable nouns.
a. A weakened form of One
A or
an frequently has the meaning of a weakened form of
one.
e.g. I would like
a cup of tea.
A car is parked in front of the house.
The child owns
a bicycle.
b. Naming a profession
When a sentence such as the following is used to name someone's
profession,
a or
an must precede the name of the profession.
e.g. She is
an artist.
He is
a student.
c. Making a general statement
A is referred to as the
indefinite article because it can be used to
refer to something in general terms.
A and
an are often used in
general statements.
e.g.
A bank account can provide
a good means of saving money.
An accountant must have
a good knowledge of arithmetic.
A good pair of scissors should be used for cutting cloth.
d. Referring to something not mentioned before
In dialogue and descriptions,
a and
an are used with nouns that name
something which has not been referred to previously.
e.g. Where can I find
a telephone?
Suddenly we heard
an eerie sound.
All at once
a moose appeared in front of us.
In these examples, it is assumed that the things referred to by the
nouns
telephone,
sound and
moose have not been referred to
previously.
e. A or An with the meaning of Per
A or
an can also be used with the meaning of
per.
e.g. once
a week
two dollars
a dozen
four times
a year
In these examples,
a has the meaning of
per. For instance,
once a week
means
once per week, and
two dollars a dozen means
two dollars per dozen.
4. The use of The before singular countable nouns
The word
the is often referred to as
the definite article. The Old
English word from which
the is derived was used as a demonstrative
pronoun, with a meaning similar to that of the modern English words
this and
that. In modern English, the word
the is usually used
with a noun when the speaker or writer feels that there will be no doubt
about which particular thing is meant.
a. Referring to something mentioned before
The is used with nouns referring to things previously mentioned.
e.g. Here is
the book I mentioned to you last week.
As I was walking to work I passed a garden.
The garden was full of roses.
In the first example,
the is used with
book, because the book has
been mentioned previously. In the second example, the first time the
garden is referred to, the indefinite article
a is used, because the
garden has not been mentioned previously. The second time the garden is
referred to, the definite article
the is used, because the garden has
already been mentioned.
See
Exercise 2.
b. Referring to something unique
The is used when referring to things which are unique, since in such
cases there can be no doubt about which particular thing is meant.
e.g. I have found
the answer.
This is
the shortest route into town.
In the first example,
the would be used if there is only one possible
answer. In the second example,
the is used because only one route can
be the shortest one.
Expressions such as
middle of and
top of are generally preceded by
the, since it is considered that there can, for example, be only one
middle or one top of something.
e.g. There is a car stopped in
the middle of the road.
She is at
the top of her class.
They like to be
the center of attention.
The police are determined to get to
the bottom of the mystery.
c. Referring to something when it is considered obvious what is meant
The is also used when, because the thing being referred to is the most
important one of its kind to the speaker or writer, it is assumed that
it will be understood which particular thing is meant.
e.g.
The house needs to be painted.
The sun rose at six o'clock this morning.
I'm going to
the park.
Don't slam
the door.
These sentences give examples of the use of
the to refer to things
which are not in fact unique, but which are uniquely important to the
speaker or writer. The expression
the house is often used when
referring to one's own house. The expression
the sun almost always
refers to the sun which is closest to the earth. The expression
the
park might be used to refer to the only park in the vicinity, or to a
park which one visits often. In the sentence
Don't slam the door, the
expression
the door might refer to the door of the room or building
which one is presently occupying.
d. Referring to something as a class
When preceded by
the, a singular countable noun can be used to
represent something as a class.
e.g.
The telephone is a modern convenience.
The horse is a domesticated animal.
The eagle is a bird of prey.
In the first example,
the telephone refers to telephones considered as
a class. Likewise, in the other examples,
the horse refers to horses
considered as a class, and
the eagle refers to eagles considered as a
class.
It should be noted that
the is not used when the word
man represents
the human race considered as a class.
e.g.
Man has invented many things.
The dolphin may be as intelligent as
man.
See
Exercise 3.
