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олимпиадные задания по теме

The Indefinite Article: 'a/an'    

I. a/an is used in the nominating meaning with countable nouns (=1) we give the name to an object; 2) a/an = one; 3) we introduce an object for the first time (new information). e.g. I bought a camera yesterday. There is a flower in the vase. Cf. The flower is in the vase.

                Exercise 1. Put in the article where necessary.

1. I need … picture-hook to hang this picture.                                                4. Have you got ….. cat at home?
2. You should use … hammer to drive in those nails.                                    5. We got  …..  Christmas card from London.
3. I was walking in the park when I saw … strange object in the sky.             6. I read …..  novel. I read …… very interesting novel.

★ In the plural we use no article or we use some or any when we refer to 'quantity'.

   e.g. 1. I bought a book last week. → I bought books last week. → I bought some books last week.

         2. There is a sandwich on the plate. → There are sandwiches on the plate. → There are some sandwiches on the plate.

 ★ We use numbers in place of a/an and some/any only when we are counting.

e.g. There is only one sandwich left.→ There are only four sandwiches left.

             Exercise 2. Turn these sentences into the plural, making all necessary changes.

1. Do you want a potato?                                    4.  How well can a cat see in the dark?                       6. Can you lend me a camera?

2. Why should a compact disc be so dear?         5. I borrowed a compact disc.                                      7. There isn't a car in the street.                            

      3. Why is a car so expensive?                            

II. a/an is used in the classifying meaning with countable nouns (with predicative nouns). → (In the plural – no article; no ‘some’)   

      e.g. He is a doctor. It is a tree. → They are doctors. They are trees.

          I am a student. → We are students.      It is a pen. → They are pens.      This is a book. → These are books.

           ★We can also use adjective + noun: He is a good doctor.                           That is a book. → Those are books.

             Exercise 3. Put in the article where necessary.

1. What does he do? He is …. architect.  They are … architects.
2. What does he do? He drives …. taxi. → He is ….. taxi-driver.    They are …… taxi-drivers.
3. What's that? → It’s ….. ant.   They are …… ants. 
4. What does she do? She teaches ….. children.   She is …  teacher.   They are …  teachers.
5. He says he is going to be …. millionaire one day.

III. a/an is used in the numerical meaning with countable nouns. (a/an = one)  → (In the plural – no article; no ‘some’)

     e.g.  Let’s wait a minute, shall we? An apple a day keeps the doctor away.   A penny saved is a penny gained. Не истратил – всё равно, что  

               заработал. An hour in the morning is worth two in the evening. A stitch in time saves nine. Один стежок, сделанный вовремя, стоит девяти  

              = то, что делается вовремя, экономит много труда впоследствии = своевременная мера

IV. a/an is used in the general meaning with countable nouns. (a/an = any, every) → (In the plural – no article; no ‘some’)   

e.g. We can say: A cat is a domestic animal. (= ‘any, every cat’)  (Plural – no article) - Cats are domestic animals. (= 'cats in general')

                          A tiger is dangerous.  A drowning man catches at a straw. A detective story helps to while away the time. 

                        A square has four sides. Squares have four sides.

    ★ General statements with a/an often take the form of definitions.

          e.g. A lion is a large wild animal.  A surgeon is a doctor who operates on people.

            Exercise 4. Make the singular sentences plural and the plural sentences singular.

1. A small computer isn't expensive.                                                                            6. A dog is a good friend.
2. A quartz watch doesn't last for ever.                                                                       7. A doctor needs years of training.
3. A bus leaves here every hour.                                                                                   8. I admire politicians who are sincere.
4. A big city is always fascinating.                                                                                9. Restaurants shouldn't charge too much.
5. A road map is always out of date.                                                                            10. How much do car radios cost?

The Definite Article: 'the'

I. the is used in the specifying meaning (в точно определенном, конкретном значении) (the = тот самый, который) When we use the, the listener  

          or speaker knows or can understand what we are referring to. (In the plural – the is used)  

     (a) We use the when we are talking about a person or thing for the second time, (the = this; the = these)

       e.g. 1. I bought a hat yesterday. The hat becomes me, I think.         2. I bought two hats yesterday. The hats become me, I think.  

          3. I watched a car as it came up our road. The car stopped outside our house and a man got out. The man was carrying a case in       

                his  hand. With the case in his hand, the man looked like a salesman.

          Exercise 5. Supply a/an or the in the following text.

1. During our journey we came to 1 …..a …bridge. As we were crossing 2 ….. bridge, we met 3 …..old man and spoke to him.4 …. man refused to answer us at first. He could tell at a glance that we had escaped from 5 ……… prisoner-of-war camp and he was afraid of getting into trouble. We weren't6 …….. first prisoners of war (военнопленный) to have escaped from7 …… camp. As soon as Jim produced 8 …….. revolver,9 ……… man proved very willing to answer our questions. He told us exactly where we were and directed us to 10 ……farm where we might find food.  

★ the can combine with singular countable nouns (the book), plural countable nouns (the books), and uncountable nouns,

    which are always singular (the furniture). I like the furniture that I bought the other day.

★ the never differs in form whether it refers to people or things, singular or plural:  

    1. He's the man I know well. → They're the men we met last night.   2. She's the woman we met last night. → They're the women we  

      met last night.    3. This is the shirt I bought yesterday. → These are the shirts I bought yesterday.

(b) We use the when we know what particular object is meant: e.g. How did you like the play?      Please close the window.

(c) We use the when the listener knows exactly what we are referring to from the context: 1. The river is very deep. 2. This  

      is the front room. The ceiling and the walls need decorating, but the floor is in good order. We'll probably cover it with a/the carpet.

(d) We use the when there is a limiting attribute pointing out a particular object, expressed:

• by ‘of-phrase’: the door of the room;  on the other side of the road 

                         The students of our group are taking the exam now.

                                      The life of Napoleon was very stormy.             There is a supermarket in the middle of our city.

                   Cf.  the roof of the/a house   -    a cup of tea,     a sheet of paper,    a loaf of bread,    a glass of milk

• by a clause; by a phrase: The man I’m talking  about is a colleague of mine.        

                                  The house in which I live is very far from the centre of the city.        The book lying on the table is new.

II. the is used in the generic meaning with a countable noun.  Such nouns represent a whole class of objects, thus becoming the symbol of that class, the image of it; a genre [ʒa:ŋr]. We mainly find here names of animals, plants, professions and occupations, collective nouns denoting social groups, grammar terms. (In the plural – no article; no ‘some’)  

e.g. The ant is industrious. → Ants are industrious. The violet is a lovely flower.  →   Violets are lovely flowers.  The dog is a good friend.  

   The true botanist knows a tree as soon as he sees it.  The article is a word specifying the noun. The wolf is a predator.  Волк является  

    хищником.  Conan Doyle is a master of the detective story.

      ★  Sometimes it is possible to use the indefinite article to denote any representative of the class.

              • A violet is a lovely flower.  →  Violets are lovely flowers.  A dog is a good friend. →  Dogs are good friends.

     ★  But the indefinite article is not used when invention, genre, a phenomenon is meant.

e.g. The telephone was invented in the 19th century. (Cf. There is a telephone in the room.) The tragedy and the comedy first appeared  

       in Greece. The topic of our lesson today will be the verb.  

   Cf. A/the horse is a domestic animal. A horse has four legs.   The horse was domesticated as early as the first century B.C.  

Cf. The tiger lives in the jungle.  The tiger is in danger of becoming extinct.  The tiger in the circus performs twice a day. The tiger is  

      sleeping in the cage.   A tiger is a large fierce animal belonging to the cat family. Tigers are orange with black stripes.

Cf. A cobra is a very poisonous snake.  The cobra is dangerous.  Cobras are dangerous.

         ★  The nouns MAN, WOMAN, CHILD used in a generic meaning, take no article. (The noun ‘woman’ may have the in this meaning.)      e.g.  Now I know what man is capable of.  Man doesn’t live by bread alone. Woman is man’s helpmate. Man needs something for the sake of which to live.      Man, woman, child - these are eternal notions.

Cf. When I entered the room, I saw a man standing at the window.    The man standing at the window is my friend.

III. ★We often say: the cinema, the theatre, the supermarket, the bank, even if we don't know exactly which:

     e.g. He has gone to the cinema/the theatre/the supermarket/the bank.

       ★ We refer to the country, the mountains, the seaside even if we don't know exactly where:

     e.g. We're spending the weekend in the country/in the mountains/at the seaside.

       ★ We use the with nouns denoting things unique: the earth, the globe Земля, the world, the sea, the ground, the sky, the sun, the moon, the solar system, the galaxy, the universe, the atmosphere, the horizon, the equator, the Milky Way, the Great Bear, the Little Bear,  the Cosmos, the hemisphere, the Bible, the Pope папа римский, the South, the North,

the East, the West:

     e.g. The earth doesn't belong to us.        The moon moves round the earth.        He sailed round the world.

• But if these nouns are preceded by descriptive attributes, the indefinite article may be used in its aspective function.

            e.g. We all hope to see a better world. The sun shone in an unclouded sky.   I was guided by a full moon.

Exercise 6. Supply a/an, the or  '  -  '. 

1. We were looking for…a …place to spend…the…night.  …….place we found turned out to be in ….charming village.  …. village was called …… Lodsworth.
2.  What do you do for a living? – I’m …. postman.              Who's at …… door? - It's ……. postman.
3.  When you go out, would you please go to …… supermarket and get some butter.
4.  We went to …… theatre last night and saw Flames. It's ……. wonderful play.
5.  We prefer to spend our holidays in ….. country, in ……. mountains or by …….. sea.
6. …... sun was getting warmer.          … earth is millions kilometres from ... sun.             … sun had already sunk on ....... horizon.
7. It was a glorious night, with …..  great full moon gleaming in …… purple sky.
8. What's he doing these days? - He's working as …… doctor.
9. Where is …...  key?        Open ….. door, please.          Go to …….  kitchen.
10. We stopped at …… small village.   ……  village was very pretty.
11. …...  flowers were splendid!  I liked …...  present a lot.           We can’t travel there without …. cars.
12. You are …...  man we are looking for.              I can’t find .….. red pencil which you gave me yesterday.
13. ….. lions in this area prey on deer and other wild animals. to prey охотиться 
14. At …… end of …… street we saw ….. big house.
15. There is …… new hospital in the town, not far from ….  church.
16. Let's put …..  coffee table opposite …..  bed.  
17. Popov invented …… radio.      ……  pine grows in northern countries.      …… horse is …… useful domestic animal.
18. …..  apples on that tree are quite ripe.              ….. water in this river is very cold.
19. He was born in …..  village in …..  North of Ireland.
20. Both his sons are ……. students of Moscow University.

IV. We use some words as adjectives or nouns when we want to describe people.

◉ When we use them as countable nouns, we always put a/an in front of them e.g.

• nationality: She is American. (adjective); [pl. They are American.] or: She is an American. (noun) ); [pl. They are Americans.]
• religion: She is Anglican. (adjective) or: 

              She is an Anglican. (noun)

• politics: He is Conservative. (adjective) or: 

              He is a Conservative. (noun)

◉ We can use a/an in front of proper nouns for:

- members of a family: He is a Forsyte. (= a member of the Forsyte family)

- literature and art: It's a Dickens novel. It's a Brecht play. Sometimes we can use the name on its own. We can say: 

   It's a Rembrandt painting or It's a Rembrandt.

p 43  Put in a, some, any or'-'. Alternatives are possible.

AT YOUR SERVICE, SIR!

1        ~        robots are common in industry and perhaps they will soon be common in the home.

2        robot working in the home must be able to behave like3        human. You could

ask it to make breakfast for you. 'I'd like4        pot of coffee, please and5        boiled

eggs.' 'How many, sir?' 'Two please.' You wouldn't have to worry about bringing friends home to

dinner. 'I've broughte        friends for dinner,' you would say, 'please prepare7        meal

for six.' Your robot would be8        cook,9        servant and 10        cleaner, and

perhaps it could even do the shopping. 'We haven't got11        tomatoes,' you would say. 'Be

12        good robot and get some from the supermarket.'13        robots would never need

to sleep, and would never complain. But I wouldn't want them wandering round the house at night!

The use of 'a/an' when something is mentioned for the first time

[> LEG 3.8, 3.10.2]