46.1 DEFINITE AND INDEFINITE REFERENCE
In English, the grammar obliges us to refer to people and things as definite, indefinite, or generic. This is done syntactically by the use of determinatives, and among these, in particular, by the definite,indefiniteandzero articles, which are traditionally treated separately as a subsystem of the system of determination.
Definite reference is made by theor a deictic determinative (this, that, these, those) or a possessive (my, your, etc.). Indefinite reference is made by a(n), unstressed some, any or the absence of a marker, which, since its absence is grammatically significant, is called the ‘zero article’. ‘Zero’ doesn’t mean that an article has been omitted, as may occur in a newspaper headline, such as Plane crashes on village, but is a category in its own right.
The three articles are distributed as follows with mass and count nouns:
SUMMARY
1 Definiteness is marked by the definite article theand by the determinatives this, that, these, thoseor by the possessives my, your, etc. + noun.
2 Indefiniteness is marked by a(n), some, any and zero. Indefinite nouns are specific or non-specific.
3 Generic reference by zero (+ singular mass, plural count nouns); by a(n) and bythe.
Mass Singular count Plural count
definite the butter the woman the women
indefinite – (zero) butter a woman – (zero) women
(unstressed) some butter – (unstressed) some
women
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An entity is considered as ‘indefinite’ if there is nothing in the discourse or the situation or our general knowledge of the world that identifies it for us. This is the case witha tiger, a child of six, a showanda schoolin the news item from The Sunday Times below.
Once the entity has already been mentioned it can be considered as ‘definite’: the 200lb animal, the boy, the animal’s jaws. Definiteness is inferred if there is sufficient information to identify it, either in the text (its handler, the head teacher) or in the non-linguistic situation (Don’t forget to lock the door) or in general knowledge (The Olympic Games).
Note that neither the handler nor the head teacher in this text had been previously mentioned. We identify them in relation to ‘tiger’ and ‘school’, respectively through general knowledge and inference: animals on show have a handler and schools have a head teacher. This is known as indirect anaphoric reference.
46.2 INDEFINITE REFERENCE: SPECIFIC AND NON-SPECIFIC Although the term ‘indefinite’ might appear to be synonymous with ‘non-specific’, it can in fact be applied to both non-specific and specific entities, whether these are count or mass:
singular: I’ve bought a new car. (indef. specific) I need a new car. (indef. non-specific) plural: I’ve got some friendsin London. (indef. specific)
I’ve got friendsin London. (indef. non-specific) mass: I managed to find some work. (indef. specific)
I managed to find work. (indef. non-specific)
The examples show that with singular count nouns (a car), the article a(n)refers to both specific and non-specific entities, the different interpretations being deduced prag- matically from shared knowledge and also from the different predicates. When we need a car, it is obviously not yet specific, but potentially any car. When we have bought a car, it is obviously a specific one. The article a(n) can be indeterminate, however, between specific and non-specific interpretations:
Ted wants to buy a house in Sussex. (= any house, as long as it’s in Sussex) Ted wants to buy a house in Sussex.
It’s number 2, Farm Road, Brighton. (= a specific house)
A tigerattackeda child of sixduringa showata schoolin California after its handler lost control of the 200lb animal. The head teacherwrestled the boy from the animal’s jawsand he was flown to hospital.
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As an indefinite determinative, some (unstressed) is used mainly with mass and plural count nouns, but the stressed form is sometimes used with mass or count nouns with the meaning of indefinite specific as in: There is still some hope of recovery, or non-specific as in I’ll need some book or other to read on the beach. Either would be meaningful here.
46.3 INDEFINITE PROPER NOUNS
Since proper nouns (Albert Einstein, William Shakespeare) refer to unique entities, they are already definite and cannot logically be conceived of as indefinite. On the other hand, since it is often possible for several entities to be denoted by the same name, such as persons or days of the week, they can be treated sometimes as classes composed of individual members. This allows expressions such as the following:
Is there a John Smithin this class? (indef. specific) It would be better to meet on a Monday. (indef. non-specific) We had a very hot Junelast year. (indef. specific)
Indefinite reference can be made to proper nouns used as common nouns:
I’d like a Martini.
46.4 DEFINITE REFERENCE
The definiteness of a common noun is indicated by the article the. This does not by itself identify the referent, but indicates that it can be identified within the text, or outside the text in the situation or from general knowledge. Within the text, the reference may be anaphoric (backwards) or cataphoric (forwards). The anaphor often expresses the antecedent in different words, as in the following news item:
The referent of a definite head noun can be identified cataphorically by the information contained in the post-modifer, as in: the bus coming now, the journey home, the Ministry of Health; or by a determiner or pre-modifier: this bus, the first bus, the red bus.
Reference to shared knowledge immediately identifies the referent of, for example, the sun, the sky, the rain, the government, the political situation, the television.
Ten lionesses at the city zoo are to be put on a contraceptive pill to prevent a population explosion. For 20 years the lions1 have prided themselves on their breeding capabilities. Now, the treatment2will make them infertile for 3 years and so stop the increase.3
1= ten lionesses; 2= a contraceptive pill;3=apopulation explosion
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Clearly dependent upon inference for their interpretation, but totally normal in certain professional registers of English are metonymic uses, where the thing stands for the person, as in the following examples:
The ham sandwichhas left without paying.
The kidney transplantin 104 is asking for a glass of water.
When a personal noun, such as secretary, queen, director, head, functions as Subject Complement in a clause and refers to a unique social role, definiteness can be marked either by theor by zero, with certain lexico-grammatical constraints:
He soon became director/the directorof the firm.
When the noun functions as Complement in a verbless clause introduced by when,while, if,although, definiteness can be marked by zero:
While Minister of Health, he introduced many reforms.
Although not party leader, he greatly influenced the party’s policies.
46.5 DISCOURSE FUNCTIONS OF DEFINITE AND INDEFINITE NOMINAL GROUPS
The semantic function of the articles is to present the referents of NG heads as definite, indefinite or generic.
The first two meanings are basically discourse functions, associated with the infor- mation packaging of the content of a clause, sentence or extended discourse into Given andNewinformation; that is, what is taken by the speaker as known to the hearer, and what is taken as not known, respectively (see Chapter 6). The following paragraph, also from Alan Ayckbourn, giving the stage directions for the play, illustrates these functions.
‘New’ is marked by a/anorzero, and ‘Given’ by the:
The text begins naturally with New items (a garage, a houseanda private estate); followed by a second mention of the garage, which is now known or ‘Given’; then a ‘New’ item, a workbench, with indefinite ‘New’ tools, and a second mention, by inference, to the whole
February.Agarage attached to amedium price executive house on aprivate estate belonging to DENNIS and VERA. Down one wall of thegarageaworkbench littered untidily with tools, etc. In fact thewhole place is filled with theusual garage junk, boxes, coils of rope, garden chairs, etc. In themidst of this, asmall popular car, at least seven years old, stands neglected. Over thework bench agrimy window which looks out over asmall paved ‘sitting area’. On theother wall adoor, leading across asmall dustbin yard to thebackdoor of thehouse. There is also apaved walkway roundtheside of thegarage, nearest us, leading to the‘sitting area’.
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place. The text continues to build up a description of the stage cohesively, bit by bit, in a straightforward, coherent way. This is a normal way of introducing Given and New information in a text of this kind.
Quite commonly in fiction, however, a writer introduces a new referent at the beginning of a story as if it were already known. This happens in the novel Watership Down, where the first sentence is ‘The primroses were over’. The use of the definite article here perspectivises the story from a particular viewpoint: that of the rabbits, the protagonists of the story, as readers soon discover.
46.6 GENERIC REFERENCE
Each of the articles can also be used when we wish to refer to a whole class of entities, usually with regard to their typical characteristics or habitual activities:
the+singularcount noun: They say the elephantnever forgets.
a(n)+singularcount noun: They say an elephantnever forgets.
zero+pluralcount noun: They say elephantsnever forget.
zero+massnoun: They say exercisekeeps you healthy.
In the everyday use of English, the zero form with plural count nouns (elephants) is most applicable, while with mass nouns (e.g. love) the zero form is obligatory. The three articles express genericity from different points of view, which we will gloss as follows:
• therepresents the referent of the noun as a single undifferentiated whole class of entities;
• a(n)represents any individual member of a class of entity as typical of the whole class;
• zero implies that all or most members of the class of entity possess the characteristic that is predicated of it.
The four structures mentioned above are not freely interchangeable in all generic statements. The generic use of a(n) is restricted, in that it can’t be used in attributing properties which belong to the class as a whole. For example, thebut not ais acceptable in the following, since an individual kangaroo does not constitute a species, whether near extinction or not, whereas the class as a whole, represented by the, does:
Thekangaroo is far from being extinct.
*Akangaroo is far from being extinct.
Boththeanda(n)are acceptable with a characterising predicate, as in our next example, since carrying its young in a pouch is characteristic of each and every female kangaroo:
The female kangaroo carries its young in its pouch.
A female kangaroo carries its young in its pouch.
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The article thetends to generalise more readily than a(n), which refers essentially to a singular indefinite member as representative of its class. The+ singular count noun may have a generalising value, even when not used in a generic statement:
Do you play the piano?
Some people sit for hours in front of the television.
The definite article is also used:
• with certain adjectival or participial heads of NGs referring to abstract qualities (the unknown);
• for groups of people named by a nominalised Attribute, the underprivileged, the vulnerable;
• with nouns derived from PPs (the under-fives, the over-forties);
• for nationalities (the Dutch, the Swiss).
All but abstract qualities have plural concord with the verb:
Science proceeds from the knownto the unknown.
Nursery schools for the under-fivesare desperately needed in this area.
Not all adjectives and PPs can function in these ways and the non-native speaker should be cautious in choosing them.
The loosest and therefore most frequent type of generic statement is that expressed by the zero article with plural count nouns or with mass nouns:
Kangaroosare common in Australia.
Wineis one of this country’s major exports.
Zero article with plural count nouns may have generic or indefinite reference according to the predication:
Frogshave long hind legs. (generic = all frogs)
He catches frogs. (indefinite = an indefinite number of frogs)
A mass noun with zero articlecan be considered generic even if it is modified:
Colombian coffee is said to be the best. It is definite, however, if preceded by the. Contrast, for example:
generic: Nitrogenforms 78% of the earth’s atmosphere.
definite: The nitrogenin the earth’s atmosphere is circulated by living organisms.
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