A practical english grammar 4th ed

1 Articles and one, a little/a few, this, that 3 £1 = a/one pound £1,000,000 = a/one million pounds (See chapter 36.) But note that in The rent is £100 a week the a before week is not replaceable by one (see 2 F). 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 A shotgun is no good. (It is the wrong sort of thing ) One shotgun is no good. (I need two or three ) 2 Special uses of one (a) one (adjective/pronoun) used with another/others One (boy) wanted to read, another/others wanted to watch TV.(See 53 ) One day he wanted his lunch early, another day he wanted it late. (b) one can be used before day/week/month/year/summer/winter etc or before the name of the day or month to denote a particular time when something happened: One night there was a terrible storm. One winter the snow fell early. One day a telegram arrived. (c) one day can also be used to mean ‘at some future date’. One day you’II be sorry you treated him so badly. (Some day would also be possible ) (For one and you, see 68 ) B a/an and one (pronoun) one is the pronoun equivalent of a/an: Did you get a ticket? ~ Yes, I managed to get one. The plural of one used in this way is some: Did you get tickets? ~ Yes, I managed to get some. 5 a little/a few and little/few A a little/little (adjectives) are used before uncountable nouns: a little salt/little salt a few/few (adjectives) are used before plural nouns. a few people/few people All four forms can also be used as pronouns, either alone or with of: Sugar? ~ A little, please. Only a few of these are any good. B a little, a few (adjectives and pronouns) 1 Articles and one, a little/a few, this, that 4 a little is a small amount, or what the speaker considers a small amount, a few is a small number, or what the speaker considers a small number. only placed before a little/a few emphasizes that the number or amount really is small in the speaker’s opinion: Only a few of our customers have accounts. But quite placed before a few increases the number considerably: I have quite a few books on art. (quite a lot of books) C little and few (adjectives and pronouns) little and few denote scarcity or lack and have almost the force of a negative: There was little time for consultation. Little is known about the side-effects of this drug. Few towns have such splendid trees. This use of little and few is mainly confined to written English (probably because in conversation little and few might easily be mistaken for a little/a few). In conversation, therefore, little and few are normally replaced by hardly any A negative verb + much/many is also possible: We saw little = We saw hardly anything/We didn’t see much. Tourists come here but few stay overnight = Tourists come here but hardly any stay overnight. But little and few can be used more freely when they are qualified by so, very, too, extremely, comparatively, relatively etc. fewer (comparative) can also be used more freely. I’m unwilling to try a drug I know so little about. They have too many technicians, we have too few. There are fewer butterflies every year. D a little/little (adverbs) 1 a little can be used: (a) with verbs: It rained a little during the night. They grumbled a little about having to wait. (b) with ‘unfavourable’ adjectives and adverbs: a little anxious a little unwillingly a little annoyed a little impatiently (c) with comparative adjectives or adverbs: The paper should be a little thicker Can’t you walk a little faster? rather could replace a little in (b) and can also be used before comparatives (see 42), though a little is more usual. In colloquial English a bit could be used instead of a little in all the above examples. 1 Articles and one, a little/a few, this, that 5 2 little is used chiefly with better or more in fairly formal style’ His second suggestion was little (= not much) better than his first. He was little (= not much) more than a child when his father died. It can also, in formal English, be placed before certain verbs, for example expect, know, suspect, think: He little expected to find himself in prison. He little thought that one day. Note also the adjectives little-known and little-used: a little-known painter a little-used footpath 6 the (the definite article) A Form the is the same for singular and plural and for all genders: B the boy the girl the day the boys the girls the days Use The definite article is used. 1 When the object or group of objects is unique or considered to be unique: the earth 2 the sea the sky the equator the stars Before a noun which has become definite as a result of being mentioned a second time: His car struck a tree; you can still see the mark on the tree. 3 Before a noun made definite by the addition of a phrase or clause: the girl in blue the man with the banner the boy that I met 4 the place where I met him Before a noun which by reason of locality can represent only one particular thing: Ann is in the garden. (the garden of this house) Please pass the wine. (the wine on the table) Similarly, the postman (the one who comes to us), the car (our car), the newspaper (the one we read). 5 Before superlatives and first, second etc. used as adjectives or pronouns, and only: the first (week) the best day the only way C the + singular noun can represent a class of animals or things. The whale is in danger of becoming extinct. The deep-freeze has made life easier for housewives. But man, used to represent the human race, has no article 6 1 Articles and one, a little/a few, this, that If oil supplies run out, man may have to fall back on the horse. the can be used before a member of a certain group of people: The small shopkeeper is finding life increasingly difficult the + singular noun as used above takes a singular verb. The pronoun is he, she or it The first-class traveller pays more so he expects some comfort. D the + adjective represents a class of persons: the old = old people in general (see 23) E the is used before certain proper names of seas, rivers, groups of islands, chains of mountains, plural names of countries, deserts, regions: the Atlantic the Netherlands the Thames the Sahara the Azores the Crimea the Alps the Riviera and before certain other names the City the Mall the Sudan the Hague the Strand the Yemen the is also used before names consisting of noun + of + noun the Bay of Biscay the Gulf of Mexico the Cape of Good Hope the United States of America the is used before names consisting of adjective + noun (provided the adjective is not east, west etc ): the Arabian Sea the New Forest the High Street the is used before the adjectives east/west etc + noun in certain names: the East/West End the East/West Indies the North/South Pole but is normally omitted Smith Africa North America West Germany the, however, is used before east/west etc when these are nouns the north of Spam the West (geographical) the Middle East the West (political) Compare Go north (adverb in a northerly direction) with He lives in the north (noun an area in the north) F the is used before other proper names consisting of adjective + noun or noun + of + noun the National Gallery the Tower of London It is also used before names of choirs, orchestras, pop groups etc the Bach Choir the Philadelphia Orchestra the Beatles 1 Articles and one, a little/a few, this, that 7 and before names of newspapers (The Times) and ships (the Great Britain) G the with names of people has a very limited use the + plural surname can be used to mean ‘the family’ the Smiths = Mr and Mrs Smith (and children) the + singular name + clause/phrase can be used to distinguish one person from another of the same name: We have two Mr Smiths Which do you want? ~ I want the Mr Smith who signed this letter the is used before titles containing of (the Duke of York) but it is not used before other titles or ranks (Lord Olivier, Captain Cook), though if someone is referred to by title/rank alone the is used: The earl expected The captain ordered Letters written to two or more unmarried sisters jointly may be addressed The Misses + surname: The Misses Smith. 7 Omission of the A The definite article is not used: 1 Before names of places except as shown above or before names of people. 2 Before abstract nouns except when they are used in a particular sense: Men fear death but The death of the Prime Minister left his party without a leader. 3 After a noun in the possessive case, or a possessive adjective the boy s uncle = the uncle of the boy It is my (blue) book = The (blue) book is mine 4 Before names of meals (but see 3 C) The Scots have porridge for breakfast. but The wedding breakfast was held in her father s house. 5 Before names of games: He plays golf 6 Before parts of the body and articles of clothing as these normally prefer a possessive adjective: Raise your right hand He took off his coat But notice that sentences of the type She seized the child’s collar. I patted his shoulder. The brick hit John s face . could be expressed: She seized the child by the collar. 1 Articles and one, a little/a few, this, that 8 I patted him on the shoulder. The brick hit John in the face. Similarly in the passive: He was hit on the head. He was cut in the hand. B Note that in some European languages the definite article is used before indefinite plural nouns but that in English the is never used in this way: Women are expected to like babies. (i.e. women in general) Big hotels all over the world are very much the same. If we put the before women in the first example, it would mean that we were referring to a particular group of women. C nature where it means the spirit creating and motivating the world of plants and animals etc., is used without the: If you interfere with nature you will suffer for it. 8 Omission of the before home, before church, hospital, prison, school etc and before work, sea and town A home When home is used alone, i.e. is not preceded or followed by a descriptive word or phrase, the is omitted: He is at home. home used alone can be placed directly after a verb of motion or verb of motion + object, i.e. it can be treated as an adverb: He went home. I arrived home after dark. I sent him home. But when home is preceded or followed by a descriptive word or phrase it is treated like any other noun: They went to their new home. We arrived at the bride’s home. For some years this was the home of your queen. A mud hut was the only home he had ever known. B bed, church, court, hospital, prison, school/college/university the is not used before the nouns listed above when these places are visited or used for their primary purpose. We go: to bed to sleep or as invalids to hospital as patients to church to pray to prison as prisoners