Luận văn english articles in compaison with vietnamese equivalent expressions

Hopefully, this thesis will help learners know more how to use English article and the comparison with Vietnamese equivalent expression will help learners understand more deeply the mean

The material in this study was originally developed over more than one year andduring this time I received a lot of help and encouragement from my teachers, myfriends and my family

I’d like to express my great gratitude to my supervisor, Ms NguyÔn ThÞ Têng whohelp me much in constructing the outline, collecting data and material andcompleting the study I also would like to thank Mr Chris who help me a lot solveproblems I have meet

I owe a particular debt to a few of the teachers in the Department of ForeignLanguages

I should like to thank some of my friends for giving me materials, encouragementand ideas

Finally, I want to express my thanks to the members in my family for all they havedone for me

Vinh, May 2004TrÇn Thanh Mai

II The aims of choosing the topic

D The with some names of proper nouns 20

Chapter II The omission of article “the” 24

Chapter III Both definite article and zero article 33

some special cases

ChapterIV English articles in comparison with Vietnamese 38

equivalent expressions

I Indefinite articles “a/an” in comparison with Vietnamese equivalent 39

expressions

II The omission of article “the” in comparison with Vietnamese equivalent 42

I.The reasons for choosing the topic

English is one of many languages, which is full of problems for learners andlearners often feel confused to study because English is very complex in someaspects If learners have not got good knowledge of English, it will be difficult forthem to use it well in their occupation and learners will not master incommunicating unless they have competences of grammar, vocabulary,pronunciation, listening or speaking

Particularly, grammar is considered as one of efficient means to helplearners succeed in studying and learning English, with grammar, English hasmany complex problems that learners often meet and feel very embarrassed anddifficult to solve One of those problems is article and how to use articles correctly

is not easy for all learners Most languages of western European origin, have

article systems like English so learners should know the following contents

which we are going to present and the correct use of the articles a,an and“a,an and

the is one of the most difficult points in English grammar because of its0

complexity In order to use them correctly, we should have the good knowledge of them.

Eg :- Giang has a fan The fan which she bought last year is noisy.

A is indefinite article and it is talked first so article is indefinite and“a,an and 0

the is definite article .We can explain why definite article is used here

“a,an and 0

because according to the use of definite article, that fan is repeated and it stands in the relative clause so it is definite article.

It is one of many uses of article Through these , studying English article

is not easy and most of the important problems are dealt with the following sections In this study, we mention English article on some certain knowledge

of it

Hopefully, this thesis will help learners know more how to use English article and the comparison with Vietnamese equivalent expression will help learners understand more deeply the meaning of it in Vietnamese so we decided to choose the topic English articles in comparison with Vietnamese“a,an and

equivalent expressions 0

II The aims of choosing the topic

As people know it cannot be denied that English is the most widely used language in the world It has been used in all spheres of public activity in the world Because of its importance we have chosen English to study and learn in order to become teachers of English in the future And mastering it

is not easy people all know that its grammar is very problemic so we like studying and doing research on its grammar It makes us interested in spending much time on this field Because English grammar is very wide, we

have not enough time to study all so we decided to choose English article which we like to study most These are the folowing aims of choosing the thesis.

Fisrtly, We will be teachers of English in the future , being good teachers need good knowledge of all grammatical aspects and English article

is a problem of grammar, and we want to master it, that is our aim.

Secondly, many people find difficult and confused in translating English article into Vietnamese, even they can misunderstand the meaning of speech and our desire of this topic is to make learners understand well about the use of English articles and Vietnamese equivalent expressions.

Thirdly , We ourselves get benefit from this thesis, this knowledge is essential and useful for teachers of English in secondary school.

III The methods of studying

+ Contrastive and comparative method

+ Statistic method.

+ Analytic and systematic method

IV The main contents of the thesis

The thesis consists of 3 main parts : Introduction, Contents, Conclusion Part A Introduction presents the reasons for choosing the topic and the aims

of choosing the topic, the methods of the study, the main contents of the thesis.

Part B Contents present the majority of the thesis They are consist of five chapters which are the use of English article, the omission of article the , the“a,an and 0

different meaning of definite article and zero article in some special cases and English articles in comparison with vietnamese equivalent expressions.

Part C The conclusion of the thesis

Part B: CONTENTS

CHAPTER I THE USE OF ENGLISH ARTICLES

I Characteristics of articles

Article is a difficult problem in use in English The correct use of the

articles (a,an and the) is also one of the most important points in English

grammar

As we know each of word class has its own historical development and thearticles also have their own historical development Article is divided into two

types They are “a,an anda, an and the0 “a,an anda, an0 are called indefinite article and “a,an andthe0 is

called definite article Like other language, these articles have origin

Indenifite articles are derived from the number “a,an andone0, definite article “a,an andthe0

is originated from demonstratives “a,an and this , that, these ,those0.

Michael Swam states that the articles “a,an anda, an and the0 belong to a group

of words called determiners and determiners also include possessives like my,

their, your, his, her, its and quantifiers like all The articles normally come at the

second position in a complete English noun phrase

Eg:- All the English dictionaries are very good.

There is one difference between the articles and other determiners The articlescan not stand alone because they themselve have no independent lexical meaningwithout a noun they precede

Eg: - The shirt you bought yesterday is nice.

-* The you bought yesterday is nice (“a,an andthe0 here has no meaning)

Especially, articles are used to show whether we are referring to things thatare known both to the speaker/writer and to the listener/reader “a,an anddefinite0, or thatare not know to them both “a,an andindefinite0

Articles can also show whether we are talking about things in general orparticular things

Eg: -The man who is overthere is an actor (particular man).

- Man can not live without women ( man is general ).

Take note that with plural and uncountable nouns we use no article, and not

“a,an andthe0 to talk about people or things in general.

Eg: - Gold is decreasing in price ( not the here).

But we can sometimes use the + singular countable noun to generalize.

Eg:- Who made up the book on funny stories?

II Form and common rules

We do not normally pronounce the sound  so before a vowel, the article

a  changes to an Compare :

Eg: - an hotel ( but a hotel is more common).

- an historic occasion ( a historic occasion is more common ).

The first syllable is stressed, for example, a housewife, not an housewife

A “A” ” and an “A” ” sometimes pronounced  ei, ein before a hesitation, when

we want to emphasize the following word or when we want to make a contrast

with “a,an andthe0

What about “a,an andthe0 ?.

“a,an andThe0 is pronounced  i: before a vowel and   before a consonant

Eg: - the ice  i: ais

- the snow  snu

The choice between  i: and   depends on pronunciation, not spelling,

We pronounce  i: before a vowel sound, even if it is written as a vowel

Eg: - the university   ju:niv3 : sti

- the one - pound coin   wn paund kin

We sometimes pronounce the stressed  i: before a hesitation or when wewant to stress the following word, even if it begins with a consonant

2 Common rules

It is essential to make a distinction between specific and generic reference.

The distinctions that are important for count nouns with specific referencedisappearing with generic reference This is so because generic reference is used todenote what is normal or typical for members of a class Consequently, thedistinctions of number and definiteness are neutralized

We can thus set up two different systems of article use depending on thetype of reference

The dog The wine A dog wine

Generic The dog

winereference A dog

dogs With definite specific reference, the definite article is used for all noun classes

Where is the mirror

Where is the mirrors I bought yesterday?

Where is the milk

With indefinite specific reference, singular count nouns take the indefinite

article a(n).

Specific

reference

While non-count and plural count nouns take zero article or unstressed some ( any in non- assertive)

Eg:- He need a shirt /some shirts/ some butter.

- He doesn’t need a shirt / any shirts/ any butter.

For count noun : all kinds of article can be used with count-noun

+ “a,an and The0 is used when the noun is definite.

Eg: -The bicycle which I bought yesterday is broken.

+ “a,an andA, an0 is used when the noun is not definite.

Eg: - He has got a bicycle.

+ “a,an andZero article0 is used to talk something in general.

Eg: - Bicycles are made of steel

For uncountable nouns : uncountable nouns are the names of materials, liquidsand other things which we do not usually see as separate objects

In general, all uncountable nouns cannot be used with article a/an

Eg:- water (not a water )

- weather ( not a weather)

When uncountable nouns are referred in general, both concrete and abstractnoncountable nouns are used with the zero article

Eg : - He likes wine, wood, cream, cheese, etc

music, literature, poetry, history, etc

Post modification by an of-phrase usually requires the definite article with a

head noun, which thus has limitted generic ( partitive) reference.

the music

Eg:- He likes the food of France.

the beauty

Article “a,an anda/ an0 goes with noncountable nouns by using measurement

Eg: - A kilo of rice

A pound of butter

As we know, the use of English is very complex From the point of view ofgrammarians, it is clear that indefinite article is differed from definite article Theycan be used in many common expressions

Basing on the main contents of many famous grammarians, we colllect the

their famous books present English article very clearly and typically such asRandolph Quirk and Sidney Greenhaum, Michael Swam, Digby Beaumont andColin Granger, E Moutsou S Parker, Mike Brain, Michael Vince

Additionally, we collect a lot of them from English structures used by nativespeakers through the process of studying

III The use of indefinite articles a/an “A” ”

The use of article system belongs to the study of grammar and manygrammarians mentioned it very clearly and sufficiently In fact, basing on theserules we still overuse it or omit it freely The following part is clear and easy tounderstand and learners will hardly make mistakes The collection of the uses ofindefinite articles from many famous authors gives learners clarity andunderstandability

The following is series of lists

1 Digby Beaumont and Colin Granger show the uses of indenifite articles.

a We use a/an before singular nouns, we do not use a/an before plural countable nouns For example, we cannot say a students, or an ideas We do not normally use a/an before uncountable nouns For example, we cannot say a water or a

music.

b We use a/an when the listener or reader does not know exactly which person

or thing we mean

Eg : - She has a dog

c Some nouns are uncountable in English, here are some of the most of theseuncountable nouns, together with some related countable expressions,which are

used with indenifite article such as a bit of advice, a piece of advice, a piece of information, a sum of money, a loaf of bread, a good knowledge of French, a cup

of coffee, a lack of fear, a little more

Eg: - Roger ! It’s Mother !I bought a cup of coffee for her (11,1)

-The kindness indicated a lack of fear (20,11)

2 According to E Moutsou S Parker with “a,an andEnter of the world of Grammar0.

The indefinite article is used in certain expressions:

Eg :- It is ( such ) a pity /shame !

- What a relief !

+ The indenifite article is used before a noun which is mentioned for thefirst time and represents no particular person or thing

Eg : -They live in a flat

+ Before a noun which represents a group of people, animals or things

Eg: -A car is faster than a bike

+ When talking about someone’s character, job or nationality

Eg: - He is a wonderful singer I sang so well on Tuesday night because

of him (17,2)

+ In certain nummerical expressions

A couple/dozen, a half/quarter, one kilo and a half, a hundred/

million/thousand…,one and ,one and a half kilo, a great deal of, a great many, many a +

noun, a pair of, a couple of, a number of …,one and

Eg : - A dozen small countries were created out of the ruins (67,19)

- Clifford had quite a number of friends.(20,11)

+ Talk about price per weight or item

distance per amount of fuel or speed

frequency per time

certain illnesses

+ Before Mr / Mrs / Ms + surname , when refer to someone unknown

Eg :- A Mrs Jone wants to see you.

3 Michael Swam shows that there are some exceptions

Uncountable nouns treated as countable to express the meaning “a,an and a type of0

or “a,an anda portion of0

Eg: - Have you got a shampoo for dry hair ?

Many other normally uncountable nouns can have “a,an and partly countable0 uses:

they do not have plurals, but can be used with a/an This can happen when the

meaning is particular rather than general

Eg : -We need a secretary with a knowledge of English

We use a/an after a copular verb or as to classify people and things to say

what class, group or type they belong to …,one and

Eg : - I’m looking forward to being a grandmother

Note that a/an is not normally left out in negative expressions, after

preposition or after fraction

4 Indenifite articles are used in the expressions of quantity of certain

“a,an andpartitives0

Such as a foot of water, a mile of, a sheet of paper, a block of, a stick of, a bar

of soap, a slice of, a gain of…,one and

Eg: - A sheet of newspaper was tied round the little creature’s wire

prison (301,9)

5 Indenifite articles are used with most in the sense of very

Eg: - He is a most dangerous driver.

6 Indenifite articles are used in some English structures

+ In the structure “a,an and such / rather/ quite + a/an noun0.

Eg :- She is such a mean woman.

+ In the structure “a,an and so/too + an adjective + a singular noun.

Eg :- We would certainly make every efford to avoid scandal in

so delicate a matter

( Sherlock Holms , Sir Author Connan Doyle)

+ In the structure “a,an and a noun + of ( passessive adjective ) + noun s ’s 0.

Eg :- A friend of my father’s has gone to hospital last week.

+ In the structure “a,an and person like somebody0.

Eg : -“a,an andYou sang like an angel0 the man’s voice said.(12,9)

+ In the structure “a,an and so/as + adjective + a/an noun as0.

Eg :- I am not so clever a learner as my friend.

7 Indenifite articles are used in the expressions “a,an and for a long time , as a result0 Eg: - They waited for a long time (17,1)

8 Indefinite articles appear in many English idioms

Eg: a snake in the grass

a big fish un a little pond

a grave yard cat ! A hen that prowls the fields !

as bold as a lion

as greedy as a wolf

a bear garden

a bird in the bush

9 We use “a,an anda/an ” with singular countable nouns in exclamations after what.

Eg : - Albert said “a,an and fifty years old today ! what a wonderful dress !0(4,2)

10 We use “a,an anda/an ” in the structure “a,an and a of mine/yours … …of mine/yours … …of mine/yours 0

Eg :- a friend of mine ( not say a my friend ).

Note : “a,an anda/an ” cannot normally be used with an adjective alone ( without a noun

)

- It’s a good car ( not say it’s a good ).

In conclusion , We have just presented the use of indefinite articles We hopethat listing them systematically will be useful for people to know the use ofindefinite article more and a big important part of the thesis that we will present isvery interesting The following list gives a number of common expressions withdefinite article

IV The use of definite article the “A” ”

Randolph Quirk and Sidney Granbaun, Michael Swam, Digby Beaunt, CoinGranger, E Moutsous Parker, and Mike Brain and Michael Vince give definitearticle systematically and sufficiently The following uses are cases of definitearticle with names of geography, proper names, some common expressions, andsome special cases

A Common rules

Michael Vince states “a,an andthe0 doesn’t mean all, we donot use “a,an andthe0 with

uncountable or plural nouns to talk about things in general For example, to talkabout all books, all people or all life

The “A” ” does not mean “a,an andall0 Instead , we use no article Compare:

- Move the books off that chair and sit down ( = particular books )

- Books are expensive ( the sentence is about books ingeneral - all books ).

- I am studying the life of Beethoven ( = one particular life )

- Life is complicated ( The sentence is about the whole of life )

Sometimes we talk about things ungeneral by using “a,an andthe0 with a singular

countable noun

Eg: -School should pay less attention to examination success , and

more attention to the child

“a,an andThe0 is used before definite nouns when listener/reader knows particular

thing or a person we are talking about We can compare some examples

- Did you meet the deliverer ? ( The deliverer here is known by the listener )

- There is going to be a deliverer here ( The listener does not know who a

deliver is ).

According to Randolph Quirk and Sidney Greenbaum, The definite articlepresupposes an earlier mention of the item so determined But in actual usage therelation between presupposition and the definite may be such less overt Forexample, a conversation may begin :

- The house on the corner is for sale

and the post modification passes for some such unspoken preamble as

“a,an and There is , as you know, a house on the corner0

E Moutsou S Parker says that the definite article “a,an andthe0 is used before

countable and uncountable of all genders both in the singular and the plural The definite article is used :

1 Before countable and uncountable nouns which are specific or have beenmentioned before

Eg: - I’ll see the doctor tomorrow

Before nouns ( uncountable and countable ) are already mentioned once in

speech with article “a,an anda/an0 or adjective “a,an andsome0 or with no article

When we want to mention it again, we use definite article before noun

Eg :- A husband and wife got ready and went to a party The party started

in the early evening (302,14)

2 Before unique nouns such as the world, the sky, the universe, the earth, the sun,the moon, the star, the ground,…,one and

Eg: - The morning came, the sky, which had been remarkable clear down

to within a day or two…,one and (97,9)

3 Before jnatural phenomenons such as the wind, the snow, the jog, the rain …,one and

Eg: - The big shivered in the wind, the grain of the deal tables showed

(98,9)

…,one and

4 Before names of musical instruments and ability to play

Eg: - She could softly play the piano, up in her room …(86,1)

5 Before the singular count noun in order to represent for the whole class ofanimals or things

Eg :- The rose is the symbol of love

( the rose means roses in general not any certain roses)

Note : When the word “a,an andman0 is used to represent for human race it appears

without “a,an andthe”

Eg :- Man is the cruelest of all.

B “A”The with some special cases ”

Michael Vince, E Moutsou S.Parker give the rules of the use of English

article “a,an andthe0 and they point out how definite article “a,an andthe0 is used:

1 With buidings : cinemas, theatres, museums, galleries, pubs, restaurants, hotels,institutions, pubs, houses, towers …,one and

Such as The Odeon Cinema The Royal Theatre The British Museum The National Gallery The Black Buoy The Pasta House

The White House The Hilton Eg: - Poken games and parties became as common at the White

House as political conferentces (119,19)

2 With newspapers, ships, services, organizations, music bands

Such as : The Guardian, The United Nations, The Titani, The Times,The Beatle,The Blues

Eg : - The ethical quality of the Civil Service has been generally

outstanding.(45,15)

-The Times and The Guardian , and it rivalled The Times (161,15)

3 Before noun of noun

The Gulf of Mexico, the Statue of Liberty, the Archbishop of York.

Eg : - The Archbishop of York, who is “a,an and Primate of England0(170,3)

4 With the superlative degree of adjectives and adverbs

Eg : - He was one of the best player at the Cambridge Tennis Club (18,1)

5 With only, some, ordinal numbers + nouns

Eg : - The north west is the only English region where woman out number

men smokers (15,15)

6 Before the noun following of which to denote possessive things of something

Eg : - The door of which was never locked because the inmates had

nothing to lose (82.9)

7 Before items which are followed by a descriptive phrase, which makes themdefinite ( post- mocdification )

Eg :- The young man, who could now read the lines …(101,9)

8 Before national groups

Eg :- ., in many respects the British have a deep sense of cultural

cohesion and unity (103,15)

9 Mike Brain with “a,an andadvancelanguage pratice0 shows that definite article is used

with titles

These tend to be unique

Eg : - The Queen set the mood when she said (32,19)

but not say the Queen Elizabeth I ( only Queen Eliabeth I )

Titles of books and films etc donot have “a,an andthe0 unless there is post

-medification

The Pantom of The Opera.

The Mayor of Casterbridge.

“a,an andThe0 is used emphatically, this is heavily stressed and emphasises the

following noun

Eg : - This hotel is the place to stay.

10 The in of phrase after words expressing quantity.

Eg : - Most of the teachers have a good knowledge.

11 “a,an andThe0 is used before adjective in order to make up abstract nouns

the beautiful , the kind , the good, the bar, the true, the natural, the old …,one and

Eg : - Which guaranteed free health and education, pensions and

benefits for the old , disable , sick or unemployed.(78,15)

12 When mentioning a typical object or a typical thing, “a,an andthe ” is used:

Eg :- The telephone was invented in 1876

13 “a,an andThe0 is used with names of family

a “a,an andThe0 with plural surname added “a,an ands0 to indicate the family.

Eg : - The Browns live happily.

( The Browns consist of Mr and Mrs Brown and their children )

b “a,an andThe0 with surname + brothers/sisters to indicate the sons/the daughters in

the same family

Eg : - The Nam brothers look like two drops of water.

c “a,an andThe0 with people’s names to distinguish different people who have the

same name

Eg : - There are three Huongs in my room I like the Huong who

learns best

14 “a,an andThe0 with the words “a,an and telephone, radio0 expressing the meanings; talk

through the telephone, listen to the radio

Eg : - I often listen to the radio everynight

15 “a,an andThe0 goes with the noun “a,an and language0 preceded by an adjective indicating

Eg :- Mr Long, the engineer, is my friend

When talking about parts of the body we generally prefer “a,an andthe0 in prepositional

phrases related to the object of a clause (or the subject of a passive)

Eg : - She hit him in the stomach.

- He was shot in the leg.

This can also happen in prepositional phrases after be + adjective

Eg: - He is broad across the shoulders.

17.The nouns “a,an and country, countryside0 showing rural places are used with “a,an andthe0

Eg : - The Germans continued to spread over the country.(6,1)

C “A”The with some names of proper nouns ”

In English, “a,an andthe0 goes with proper nouns in many cases but “a,an andthe0 also does

not go with them in some cases Many grammarians choose some typical caseswhich are common with people to remember The following cases are typical

E Moutsou S Parker expresses that definite article is used:

1 Before names of seas, oceans, rivers, channels, canals, groups of islands,mountain ranges, coasts, deserts countries or regions :

The Soviet union, The Federal Republic of Germany, The Mediterranean,The

pacific, The Mississippi, The English channnel, The Panama Canal, The Blue Coast, The Kalahari Desert, The Nether Lands, The Phillipins, The Highland,

The Bahamas, The Andes, The United States, The United Kingdom, The West

Indies, The Alps, The Atlantic…,one and

Eg : - She also tried to get her warship allowed into the

Mediterranean by international agreement.(13,19)

- …, captured Riaochow and ocoupied German islands in the Pacific.

(67,19)

2 With historical events or references

The Greek Revolution, The American Civil War, The Napoleonic War, but

World War II

Eg : - The American Civil War, in Which equally matched armies

slaughtered each other for five years, was ignored (8,19)

3 With the North, the East, the West, the Middle East, the Far East …,one and

Eg : - The French wanted a line of colonies extending from Bakar

in the west to the Gulf of Aden in the East (19,19)

4 Before names of historical events or periods

The Minh Dynasty, The French Revolution, The October Revolution, The

Chou dynasty …,one and

Eg: - Confucius lived during the Chou dynasty, a period of great

intellectual ferment in China (28,10)

5 With names of law enforcement bodies, civil military

Eg : - The cristics say the first job of the Army Corps of Engineers is to support shipping of the Missouri (27,22)

6 With names of organizations, political organiations, parties such as the World Health Organization, the World Trade Organization, the Conservative Party, the

Liberal Democrats …,one and

Eg : - Suddenly the Conservative Party seemed not only bitter

divided (52,15)

7 With proper names that are preceded by words or phrases

Eg : - , first made famous in the nineteenth century by the

great romantic poet William Wordsworth…(22,15)

8 With proper names that are used to show the characteristics

Eg : - He is considered the Othello of jealousy.

D “A”The with some common expressions ”

There are many certain expressions with definite article we often meet duringstudying This part is very large so grammarians normally give some typicalcommon expressions With the experience of process of studying, I find a lot of

common expressions with “a,an andthe0 in English Let us see the following lists.

1 Michael Swam indicates that the use of “a,an andthe0 in measuring expressions

beginning with by

Eg : - Do you sell eggs by the kilo or by the dozen.

- She drinks cough medicine by the litre.

In the expression “a,an and the of a … …of mine/yours.0, in classifying expressions of this kind,

the first article is definite even if the meaning of the whole expression is indefinite

Eg : - Lady by the size of the road we saw the wheel of a car.

2 “a,an andThe0 is used in the expressions tell the truth , keep the house “A” ”

Eg : - There have been repeated evasions by government from

telling the truth ….(145,15)

3 “a,an andThe0 with expressions for the time being , out of the question, in the “A” original, the whole + noun ”

Eg : - They just are like the weather …,one and the sort that will have to be

for the time being (25,11)

4 “a,an andThe0 with the expression the rest of noun “A” 0

Eg : - Well, there it was, fated like the rest of things (14,11)

5 “a,an andThe0 goes with the expressions of recreation, entertainment.

Such as : - to go to the cinema

Eg: - I’m going to the cinema tonight.(213,14)

6 We often meet many other expressions which use “a,an andthe0.

Such as : + In the morning , in the afternoon, in the evening , in the night…,one and

Eg : - And came if he sang her in the night, she also helps

him in the morning.(86,11)

+ All the year round, in the open, in the air, in the field…,one and

Eg : - , answered a councilman who stood in the field with the

mayor …,one and (96,4)

+ At the same time, by the time, in the meantime, for the first time …,one and

Eg : - By the time this message arrived the slowly retreating

Austrias …,one and (3,19)

+ At the beginning of, at the end of, in the past, in the last, in the middle

Eg : - At the end of each chapter are lists of printed materials.

(75,4)

+ By the way, on the way, in the wrong way, in the way that, out of the way,

at the way …,one and

Eg : - She should be raising nerry hell at the way she was being

+ In the distante, in the country, in the city, in the mountain, in the sky, in

the dark, in the corner of the room, in the event that …,one and

Eg : - At last, when they all were weary, the tramp of a horse was

heard in the distant.

+ When we mention season, in general “a,an andthe0 is not used.

But we have : In the winder of

In the spring of

In the summer of

In the autumn of.

Eg : -Molke’s methods were copied and the German Empire

created in the winter of 1871 …,one and (9,19)

+ In the 1980s

Eg : - One Cabinet secretary in the 1980s became notorious for

his admission (46,15)

In brief, the above presentation is the study of English article, the omission of

article “a,an andthe0 and the different meaning of article and zero article in some special

cases These chapters have taken a selection of grammatical concepts and haveattempted to show how article is used when learners study article, They feel it easy

to follow All is not enough if we donot mention interference between twolanguages English and Vietnamese What do we understand its meanings inVietnamese equivalent expression? We will study the following chapter

CHAPTER II THE OMISSION OF ARTICLE THE “a,an and 0

When we have generic reference, both concrete and astract non-cout nounsand usually also plural count - nouns are used with zero article In English, thereare many cases without article In this chapter, we shall start on the ground which

we often meet in English writting Much of the arguement in language teaching ofthe problem whether article is used or not in the same case Learners often makemistakes when using article, someone overuses it, the other doesnot know how touse We have just presented the use of English article above very clearly, in order

to avoid making mistakes, we shall study it on every aspect It is essential for us toknow the use of zero artile So as to use English article perfectly, the followingchapter can be expressed

Some grammarians mention the use of zero article systematically Weessentially base on the content of their presentation These grammarians are E.Moutsou Spark, Randolph Quirk Sidney Greenbaun and Michael Swam

I Some common rules

The definite article is not used:

1 Before countable nouns which refer to something general or have not been

mentioned before, especially "the" is not used with indefinite nouns

Eg - Books and papers covered the old man's desk (35,4)

2 With meals (breakfast, lunch, dinner, snack)

Eg - I came up in the morning from Voking and had dinner with

Charlie Symons (72,4)

But when we talk about a special meal, we use "the"

Eg: - I do not like the meal on the plane.

3 With astract nouns, nouns indicating substances, materials, colours

Eg: - Nothing is more precious than independence and

freedom.

4 With some diseases (cancer, malaria, mumps, flu, tenus)

Eg - You should be vaccinated against malaria if you want to

travel to the tropics

5 Before names of sciences, arts, magazines, sports, games, school subjects andlanguages such as tennis, chess, card, ect

Eg: - The old man spoke to me in German (38,4)

But these names are used with "the" in some cases.

Eg: - The Economist is popular.

6 Before the words such as bed, court, church, home, hospital, prison, school,university, work when they are used for the purpose for which they exist

Eg: - His father went to prison for his debts and the family

went, too (127,14)

But these words are used with "the" in different meanings.

Eg: - Patrick went to the university to visit his professor.

II The omission of article "the" in special cases

1 "The" is not used before names of people or countries (except for the cases

above we have already mentioned)

Eg: - Chase found himself just looking at her ( not the Chase ).

2 Names of the days of a week, names of months, seasons, years

Eg: - The academic year begins in late summer, usually in

Septemper (148,15)

3 Man and woman

Unlike other singular countable nouns, man and woman can be used in a generalsense without articles.

Eg: - Man and woman were created equal.

But in modern English we more often use a woman and a man or men andwomen

Eg: - A woman without a man is like a fish without a bicycle

(old feminist joke)

4 Television, (the) radio, (the) cinema, and (the) theatre

When we talk about television as a form of entertaiment, we do not use article

Eg: - It's not easy to write plays for television.

- Would you rather go out or watch TV?

But article is used when television means "a television set" Compare:

- What's on TV?

- Look out! The cat is on the television!

5 We do not use "the" in titles like Queen Elizabeth, President Lincoln.

Eg: - Queen Elizabeth had dinner with President Kenedy

and "the" is not usually used in the complement of a sentence, when we say that

somebody has or gains a unique position

Eg: - They appointed him Head Liberian.

6.The nouns 'God, Christ, Paradise" are not used with "the"

Eg: - then pray to God that you never may, your man (73,9)

7 Names of holidays, festivals are not preceded by "the" such as Christ,

Thanksgiving, Tet, May, Day, Easter, etc

Eg;- , and is divided into terms, with holidays for Christmas.

(148,15)

8 Plural year without "the" if it has an ‘s genitive

Eg: - There are many great songs in 1970's (but in the 1970s).

9 ‘S genitives:

A noun that is used after an 's genitve ( John's, American's) has no article ( justlike a noun used after a possessive)

10 The noun "town" is not used with "the" such as in town, go town, leave town,

but in the town centre

Eg: - Take you to the best restaurant in town (26,2)

Eg; - I have a habit of standing on my knees while playing cards.

12 The abstract nouns such as "death, war, peace" are not used "the".

Eg:- All the countries in the two geat power groupings were at

war except Italy (60,19).

13 Nouns indicating crime such as robbery, theft, shoplifting, murder (except fordefinite cases)

Eg: - She was sentenced to 20 years for murder.

14 Before words father, mother, mum, dad (when we referto our own parents)

Eg:- Father/Dad taught me how to drive.

15 With phrase of time " next sunday, month, last night " and cardinal numberfollowing nouns

Eg:- We are going to Hanoi next Sunday.

16 Abbreviate styles

We usually leave out article in abbriviated styles

newspaper headlines man killed on mountain

Chapter2 Section Bpicture caption mother and childnotices, postersetc SUPER CINEMA, RITZ HOTELinstructions open packet at other end numbering and labelling go through door A

dictionaries entries palm inner surface of handlist take car to garage, pay phone bill notes I think company needs new office

III The omission of article "the" in some expressions.

There are number of count nouns that take the zero article in abstract or ratherspecialized use, chiefly in certain idiomatic expression (with verbs like be and gowith preposition)

The following list gives a number of common expressions with zero article,for comparison, usage with the definite article is also illustrated

bed

be in church

go to prison

hospital

Eg:- We can stay in bed in the mornings.

- Ivan doesn't go to school and his father doesn't have a job + "the" is not used with means of transport (by).

bicycle on foot, on horseback

+ Zero article with time of the day and night (particular with at, by, after, before)

at dawn,day break, when day breaks, at sunrise,at sunset, at/ around noon/midnight, at dusk/ twiling,at/ by night/ midnight, before morning came, eveningcame on, after night fell

Eg: - by midnight on 4 August all the countries the two great power groupings at war except Italy.(1870,9)

But we use "the" in these expressions.

During the day, admire the sunset/ sunrise, in the afternoon, see nothing in the dark, waking in the night, in the day time, in/ during the morning, in the evening,

stay for dinner

Eg: -Dinner will be served soon.

Eg: - He enjoys the lunch because the lunch was well cooked.

+ Zero article with paralled structures such as arm in arm, hand in hand, day byday, day after day, month after month, teaspoonful by teaspoonful, inch by inch,husband and wife, man to man, face to face, from dawn to dusk, from beginning toleft, from west to north, with knife and fork, from hand to mouth, from head tofeet

Eg: - , for he is far too rich and far too cunning to work from

hand to mouth(25,22)

- From time to time, we get risque brides who want to be

naked or in sheer gowns (25,22)

+ We have some following expressions in English such as to shake hands withsomebody, to catch fire, by land, with names of tools, at first sight, on conditionthat, by chance/ heart/ mistake/ accident, for hours/ years/months/ nights, at war/peace, to lose heart/ face, in time, on time, out of work/ date/ fashion/ door/sight/order/mind/doubt/breath/reach , in addition to, by post, in jail

Eg: - In addition to those living in hostels (192,15)

- She ran out of breath and anger at about the same time.

IV The omission of "the" in names of proper nouns.

1 Names of continents

(North) America (Medivial) Europe

(Central) Autralia (East) Africa

Eg: - In Europe you can pick fruit most of the year.

- There are SOS children's villages in Africa, North and South

America, Asia and Europe

Note: We have the Antartic, the Arctic.

2 Names of countries, counties, states, etc ( normally no article withpremodifying adjectives)

(modern) Brazil (industrial) Stafford shire(west) Scotland (northern) Arkamasas

Exception: places whose name is a common noun like republic, state, union, (eg:

the people's Republic of Chine, the United Kingdom, the United states)

note also the Netherlands

3 Cities and towns, streets (normally no article with premodifying word(downtown), (ancient) Rome, (suburban) London, Oxford streets (New Street,Willow Road).

Note: the Hague, the City, the West, the East (of London).

4 Lakes

Lake Windermere

Silver Lake

Lake Michigan

5 In British English, "the" is unusual in the titles of the principal public buidings

and organizations of a town such as Oxford University Hull Station, St Paul'sCathedral, Salisbury Cathedral, Birmingham Airport, Bristol Zoo, Manchester CityCouncil, Chelteham Football Club

Eg.- The train stopped at John Station and more people got on

7 Personal names with appositive titles

Dr Watson Lady Churchill

President Kenedy Cardinal Spellman

Mr and Mrs Johnson Judge Darking

Experor Haile Selassie

Exception: the Emperor (Napoleon)

the Duke (Wellington) the Lord(god)

(the) Czar(Alexander)

8 Names of airlines or companies: Air France, Interamerica, BMW, etc

9 Zero article with restaurants, hotels, shops, banks ect whose names include thename of the founder or another proper name

Euston Square Westminston

Holland Park Kenedy Airport

High Park Oxford Street

Greenwich Village Madison Avenue

Portland Place Westminster Bridge

But: The Albert Hall, the Mansion Hause, the Haymarket, the Strand, the Mall, theMerrit Parkway, the Pnnsy Lvania Turnpike, the London road

11 "The" is not used with names of planets, constellation, stars such as: Mar,

Jupiter, Venus, Comet, Evening Star, Morning Star

In shorts, we have a lot of cases of the omission of article which are the rules ofuse of English article and we want to master it that we have to know how toremember the rules of omisson of article The chapter which will be presented inthe following part is very interesting We will know many uses of English article

in every aspect and understand more about article

Chapter III THE DIFFERENT MEANING OF DEFINITE

ARTICLE AND ZERO ARTICLE IN SOME SPECIAL CASES

The use of article "the" in English is very complex, we sometimes make

mistakes, the cases above are regular so we are easier to use them when we knowthe rules In some cases, when we set sentences in specfic situation, we use article

"the" A noun can be used with both definite article and zero article but it has

different meaning Let's have a look at examples

- Children go to school everyday.

- My father goes to the school 6 mornings a week.

We can see clearly the different meaning in the two sentences The first sentence

has no article but the second has article "the" The first sentence contains "school" that means"to go to school to learn" and the second contains "the0 before "school"

that means "to go to the school to work".we will see the following special cases:

1.Sea

a To go to sea and to go to the sea

- "To go to sea" means that sailors or fishers go to sea for work

Eg: - The fishermen in Ha Tinh go to sea every mor

- "To go the sea" means that visitors or travellers go to the sea for a

holiday

Eg:- The Marthas go to the sea every summer.

b To be at sea and to be at the sea

-"To be at sea" means being at the middle of the sea

Eg:- The ship is at sea but there will be a storm in an hour.

- To be at the sea (at the beach)

Eg: - Many tourists are at the sea today because it is fine.

2 School

a To go to school and go to the school

-"To go to school" means that children, pupils, students go to school to learn

Eg:- My younger brother goes to school in uniform everyday.

-"To go to the school" means that teachers or professors go to the school to work

Eg: - Mr Tuong does not go to the school today.

(Mr Tuong is a teacher here)

b To be in school and to be in the school

-"To be in school" shows those who are learning in school

Eg:- My friends are in school now.

-"To be in the school" shows those who are working in the school

Eg; - The school master is in the school now.

3 Hospital

a To go to hospital and to go to the hospital

-"To go to hospital" shows patients or the injured are taken to hospital because of

Eg:- He went to hospital to have his heart examined.

-"To go to the hospital" means that nurses, doctors, or someone comes to thehospital to visit patients or works in the hospital

Eg:- He goes to the hospital to look after his sick mother.

b To be in hospital and to be the hospital

- "To be hospital" shows those who are staying in hospital

Eg: - How long have you been in hospital?

-"To be in the hospital" shows those who are working in the hospital

Eg:- Mrs Lan is in the hospital now

4 Prison

a To go to prison and to go to the prison

-"To go to the prison" shows those who work or come tp see prisoners in theprison

Eg:- His mother is going to the prison to see him.

- "To go to prison" means "to be sent to prison" for crime or sin

Eg:- His father went to prison for his debts (127,12)

b To be in prison and to be in the prison

-"To be in prison" means being in prison for crime or sin

-"To be in the prison" means be working in the prison or seeing a prisoner

Note: We have "send somebody to prison"

5 College/ university

a To go to college/ university and to go to the college/ university

-"To go college/ university" means that students go to college/university to study.-"To go to the college/ university" means that teachers or someone goes to work

Eg: - Miss Kelly doesn't go to the university today.

b To be at/in college/ university and to be at/ in the college/ university

-"To be at/in college/ university" means that students are present in college/university

-"To be in /at colloge/ university"means that teachers or someoneis teaching orworking

Eg:- Now, Mr John is at the college.

Note: to leave school, college, university

6 Court

-"To be in court" means that guilty or witnesser is present in court

Eg:- The murder is in court.

-"To be in the court" means that someone goes to the court to hold a trial

Eg:- I am in the court to see the case.

7 Office

-"To be in office" means to say someone with a high position, political power

Eg:- His father is in office He is a minister of contruction.

-"To be in the office" means to say someone present in the office

Eg.- Mr Dinh is in the office today.

8 Space

a When space means the universse, the open air "the" is omitted.

Eg:- There are many stars in space.

b When space means the limited empty space/ place, "the" is used

Eg:- My mother put my desk in the space near the window.

9 Nature

a When nature means the world of spirit creation, plants and animals etc, it is used

with "the".

Eg: - , by nature slow, made no response (95,9)

b When nature means quality, innate characters, "the" is used.

Eg: - In the nature of things, Farfrae, it is almost impossible

that a man (74,9)

10 Home

a When “a,an andhome0 is not preceded or not followed by descriptive words or phrases,

"the" is omitted.

Eg: - You can't sing Margarita tonight Stay at home and donot

go to the Opera House.(18,2)

b When “a,an andhome0 is preceded by descriptive words or phrases, "the" is used.

Eg: - They came to start housekeeping and married life in the

rather folorn home of the Chatterleys (5,11)

11 Market

-" To go to market" means "to go to market to buy something"

- "To go to the market " means "to go there for another purpose"

13 Church

-"To go to church" means "to go for pray"

To sum up, the study of the omission of article "the" and the different

meaning of article and zero article in some special cases These chapters havetaken a selection of grammatical concepts and attepted to show how article is used.All is not enough if we donnot mention interference between two languages It is

to the question that we turn next

Chapter IV English articleS in comparison with vietnamese equivalent expressionS

In this chapter, We present the contrast between English article andVietnamese equivalent expression In fact, second language learners are oftenaffected by difficulties which mother tongue brings The differences andsimilarities between mother tongue and foreign language directly causesinterference in language learning Interference is an affect of grammatical patterns

of mother tongue so the contrast between two languages is necessary for everylearner to understand well about them so that the learners can shorten mistakes

As we know when you learn any language in the world, our mother tongue has adeep affect on our target language Difficulties occur as obtacles that learnersoften meet We often use foreign language mechanically and translate into ourmother tongue freely without considering the differences between them, in order

to avoid these difficulties It will be useful for learners to understand anddistinguish the differences and similarities betwween English article andVietnamese equivalent expression

The aims of studying this field are to consolidate the previous knowledge andhelp learners apply this area in both their study and future teaching

There is no system of article in Vietnamese as in English, however we often meetmany eqivalent words to English article A noun can be with many kinds of

equivalent words For example, “a,an and the moon0 can be translated into Vietnamese:

“a,an andvầng trăng, mặt trăng, ông trăng, nàng trăng, mảnh trăng, etc0 As we know,

there are only two kinds of article: definite and indefinite On the contrary, thereare many equivalent words in Vietnamese

According to the Professor Đỗ Thị Kim Liên, the equivalent words to English

article are called “a,an andclassifiers0 ( từ chỉ loại ).

She states that “a,an and classifiers0 bring their vague meanings They donot show a thing or a phenomenon: cây, con, cục, cái, chiếc, bức, hòn, tấm, mảnh, etc.

These words are used to confirm the meaning of a class/ a type They are usedbefore common nouns to particularize and individualize those common nouns Forexample

+ Cái, chiếc stand before inaminate nouns

Khi chiếc lá xa cành

Lá không còn màu xanh

+ Con stands before animate nouns

Chém cha con gà kia!

Mày vội gáy dồn

Mày làm tao mất vía, kinh hồn về nỗi chồng con

(ca dao)

Con cò mà đi ăn đêm

Đậu phải cành mềm lộn cổ xuống ao

Con cò bay lả bay la

Bay từ ngọn gạo, bay ra cánh đồng

(ca dao)

Now, we see the study of each aspect, the contrast between indefinite article

“a,an anda/an0 and equivalent expression, the contrast between definite article “a,an andthe0and

equivalent expression, the contrast between zero aticle and equivalent expression

I Indefinite articles a/an in comparison with Vietnamese equivalent“a,an and 0

expressions

“a,an andA/an0 means one ( một) It often stands before countable nouns.

Eg:- I have a book

- Tôi có một quyển sách

“a,an andA/an0 can be understood as “a,an andmột0 in vietnamese “a,an andMột0 often stands before

Eg:- She has just bought a book

- Cô ây vừa mới mua một quyển sách

The most different thing between English and Vietnamese is that we donot often

use any words before the noun in Vietnamese while we use “a,an anda/ an0 before

countable nouns in English

For example,

_ A dog is a wise and a faithful animal.

Chó là loài động vật thông minh và trung thành

_ A cow has four legs.

Bò có bốn chân

_A book is the friend of students

Sách là bạn của sinh viên

_ A woman should have a family to take care of.

Phụ nữ nên có gia đình để chăm sóc

Through these above examples of a class or a thing in the sense of any in

generic use We obviously see that indefinite articles “a,an anda/an0 occurs in sentences,

but there is nothing before nouns in Vietnamese

Similarly, We can see many examples, they are contrastive Some English

expressions use “a,an anda/an0 but we translate into Vietnamese that no word before the

noun occurs and it loses its own meaning

For example:

- What a pity! Thật đáng tiếc

- It is a shame that you stole the car

Thật xấu hổ bạn đã đánh cắp chiếc xe ấy

Looking at some examples of jobs

Eg - She is a teacher of English.

Cô ấy là giáo viên tiếng anh

- My father is an engineer.

Bố tôi là kĩ s

- He became a doctor five years ago.

Ông ấy là bác sĩ đã đợc năm năm rồi

Sometimes leaners of English often omit “a,an anda/an0 before the noun because of

their mother tongue

Some equivalence can be understood as “a,an and một0 in expressions of measurement.