In a: The speaker is talking about any dog, all dogs, dogs in general.. In &:The speaker is talking about any fruit, all fruit, fruit in general.. *Sometimes a speaker uses pn nrprrssion
Trang 1( L ~ I I nau sume rea
@) I had two cups of tea
(c) I ate some toast
(d) I ate one piece of toast
lo menuon a speclnc quanury or a noncount noun, speaKers use units of measure such as m cups of or me piece ojf A unit of
measure usually describes the container (a cup of, a bowl of), the
amount (a pound of, a quart of),* or the shape (a bar of soap, a sheer of paper)
I 1 1 -7 USING UNITS 0 1 : IM~<ASUIIII WITH NONCOUN?' NOUNS
'Wdght measure: ow pound = 0.45 kilograms/hilos
liquid measure: one quam = 0.95 litreafliters; four quaw = one gallon = 3.8 liues~liters
EXERCISE 16 Units of measure with noncount nouns (Chart 11-7)
Directions: What units of measure are usually used with the following nouns? More than
one unit of measure can be used with some of the nouns
PART I YOU are going to the store What are you going to buy? Choose from these units
of measure
1 bag b o t h b m can * (tin) jar 1
*a can in Amaican English = a tin in British English
324 CHAPTER 11
Trang 2p m 11 You are hungry and thirsty What are you going to have? Choose from these units of measure ,
3
15 a c h p / d a s s of green tea
19 a of apple pie
20 a of orange juice
22 a of cantaloupe
24 a of noodles
25 a of mineral water
27 a of cheese
29 a of strawberries
and ice cream
EXERCISE 17 Wrltlng actlvlty: count and noncount nouns (Charts 11-1 - 11-7)
use the name of a dish that your reader is probably unfamiliar with, describe it in
parentheses For example:
I l l y goisg t o i w g i s e F 6 r yo& the pedect weal I aly 6s a tevvace high a s a hillside i s Nepal Uhes 1 look o~+, 1 s e e show-carppeA w h s t a i r s
i s the A i s t a s c e The v a l l e y below is h a z y asA b e a h t i $ d I'm w i t h m y
& e s A s 01ga a s A Robevto The table has a while tablecloth asA a
vase 04 bhhe Flowevs I l l y g o i v t o eat a11 oF lyy Favovite kisAs 4 4ooA Evst the w a i t e v is goisg t o b v i v escavgots (Escargots eve s s a i k
Etc
Trang 311-8 GUIDELINES FOR ARTICLE USAGE
,., A dog makes a good pet
@) A banana is yellow
o (c) A m c i l contains lead
z
I I (d) 0 Dogs make good pets
(e) 0 Bananas are yellow
( I (g) 0 Fruit is good for you
A speaker uses a with a singul- count noun when s h e is maldng
a generalization
In (a): The speaker is talking about any dog, all dogs, dogs in general
A speaker uses no article ( 0 )
with a plural count noun when
s h e is making a generalization.*
In (d):The speaker is talking about any dog, aU dogs, dogs in general
Note: (a) and (d) have the same meaning
A speaker uses no article ( 0 ) with a noncount noun when s h e
is making a generalization
In (&:The speaker is talking about any fruit, all fruit, fruit in general
(j) I saw a dog in my yard
[k) Mary ate a banana
:I) I need a p c i l
[m) I saw some dogs in my yard
:n) Mary bought some bananas
(0) Bob has somopencils in his
$) I bought some&uit
:q) Bob drank some coffee
:r) Would you like to listen to
some music?
*Sometimes a speaker uses pn nrprrssion of quantity (e.g., ahnost dl, most, some) when she makes s gcncralhation:
Almm dl dogs ntalrr gwd pnr Most dog, a Smne &@ h a w shon hait
326 CHAPTER 1 l
Trang 4A speaker uses a with a singular
count noun when s h e is talking
about one thing (or person) that
is not specific
In (j): The speaker is saying, "I
saw one dog (not two dogs, some
dogs, many dogs) It wasn't a
specific dog (e.g., your dog, the
neighbor's dog, that dog) It was
only one dog out of the whole
group of animals called dogs!'
A speaker often uses some* with
a plural count noun when s h e is
talking about things (or people)
that are not specific
In (m):The speaker is saying, "I
saw more than one dog They
weren't specific dogs (e.g., your
dogs, the neighbor's dogs, those
dogs) The exact number of
dogs isn't important (two dogs,
five dogs); I'm simply saying that
I saw an indefinite number of
dogs."
A speaker often uses some* with
a noncount noun when s h e is
talking about something that is
not specific
In (p):The speaker is saying, "I
bought an indeiinite amount of
fruit The exact amount (e.g.,
two pounds of fruit, four
bananas, and two apples) isn't
important And I'm not talking
about specific fruit (e.g., that
fruit, the fruit in that bowl.)"
USING THE
(s) Did you feed the dog?
(t) I had a banana and an apple I gave the banana
to Mary
(u) The pencil on that desk is
Jim's
(v) The 8un is shining
(w) Please close the door
(x) Mary is in the kitchen
(y) Did you feed the dogs?
( 2 ) I had some bananas and apples I gave the bana?zas to Mary
(aa) The pencib on that desk
are Jim's
(bb) Please turn off the lights
(CC) Thefruit in this bowl is
ripe
(dd) I drank some coffee and some milk The c&e was hot
(ee) I can't hear you The
is too loud
(ff) The air is cold today
The is used in front of (1) singular count nouns: the dog
(2) plural count nouns: the dogs
(3) noncount nouns: thefiuit
A speaker uses the (not a, 0, or
aomo) when the speaker and the Listener are thinking about the same specific person@) or thin&)
In (s): The speaker and the listener arc thinking about the same specific dog The listener knows which dog the speaker is talking about: the dog that they
own, the dog that they feed every day There is only one dog that the speaker could possibly be talking about
In (t): A speaker uses the when
s h e mentions a noun the second time
First mention:
I had a banana
Second mention:
I gave the banana
In the second mention, the listener now knows which banana the speaker is talking about: the banana the speaker had (not the banana John had, not the banana
in that bowl)
*In addition to somr, a speaker might use d , a&, a lot of, ex., with n p l m l count noun, or a El*, a lo: of, a,,
with a noncoun; n0.m (See Chart 11-5, p 318.)
- - I ,
Trang 5EXERCISE 18 Count and noncount nouns (Chart 11-8)
Dkcti012~: Discuss Speaker A's use of articles in the following dialogues Why does Speaker A use a, some, the, or O? Discuss what both Speaker A and Speaker B are thinking about
L A dog makes a good pet B: I agree
lIALOGUE 4:
lIALoGUE 7:
r: Fruit is good for you B: I agree
L: I saw a dog in my yard lUUK;UE 5:
L: I saw some &gs in my yard IIALOGUE 8:
,: I ate somefruit
828 CHAPTER 1 1
Trang 6B: Oh?
B: Oh?
B: Oh?
L: Did you feed the dog? B: Yes
L: Did vou feed the d m ? B: Yes
h: Zkfrvit in this bowl is ripe B: Good
Trang 7EXERCISE 19 THE vs AIAN (Chart 11-8)
Directions: Here are some conversations Try to decide whether the speakers would probably use the or d u n Are the speakers thinking about the same objects or persons?
1 A: Did you have a good time at & party last night?
B: Yes
A: So did I I'm glad that you decided to go with me
2 A: What did you do last night?
B: I went to party
A: Oh? Where was it?
3 A: Do you have - car?
B: No But I have - bicycle
4 A: Do you need - car today, honey?
B: Yes I have a lot of errands to do Why don't I drive you to work today?
A: Okay But be sure to iil1 - car up with gas sometime today
5 A: I bought - table yesterday
B: Oh? I didn't h o w you went shopping for furniture
6 A: Have you seen my keys?
B: Yes They're on - table next to - front door
7 A: Is Mr Jones - graduate student?
B: No He's - professor
8 A: Where's - professor?
B: She's absent today
: 9 A: Would you like to go to - zoo this afternoon?
B: Sure W h y not? ;.:
10 A: Does San Diego have - zoo?
B: Yes It's world famous
11 A: Let's listen to - radio
B: Okay I'll turn it on
12 A: Does your car have - radio?
B: Yes, and - CD player
330 CHAPTER 1 1