8. Experiencing substantiality:
Determination
TASKS
1. Observe the use of determiners in the following bi-lingual notice which is placed on a
train station operated by the Slovak railway company.
2
Identify all classes of
determiners
in
the
following passage and
observe the patterns of
their use.
M. Ferenčík: English Grammar in Discourse. Workbook
1
Noun Phrase
pre-
distributing
quantifying
pre-head modification
determinative
central
posta
defining,
specifying
numbering
ordering
HEAD
M
German
describing
classifying
intensifying
PP
post-head modification
RCl
woman
ENTITY
identifying
elaborating
particularising
3
Identify the types of endophoric references and observe how they are used in constructing the
opening to the short story (E. Hemingway The Old Man and the Sea). Explain the use of the
definite article in the title.
The Old Man and the Sea
He was an old man who fished alone in a skiff in the Gulf Stream and he had gone
eighty-four days now without taking a fish. In the first forty days a boy had been with him. But
after forty days without a fish the boy´s parents had told him that the old man was now
definitely and finally salao, which is the worst form of unlucky, and the boy had gone at their
orders in another boat which caught three good fish the first week. It made the boy sad to see
the old man come in each day with his skiff empty and he always went down to help him carry
either the coiled lines or the gaff and harpoon and the sail that was furled around the mast.
the sail was patched with flour sacks and, furled, it looked like the flag of permanent defeat.
EXERCISES
1.Comment on the peculiarities of the use of articles:
1.
2.
3
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.
11.
12.
13.
14.
15.
16.
17.
article
Wrigley Spearmint is the chewing gum.
It´s the [ði:] quality of the proposal that I object to.
The King´s eldest son is the heir to the throne.
I said a [ei] solution not the [ði:] solution.
For the moment, I´ll take them one at a time.
It´s too good a message to be true.
Many a true word is spoken in jest.
One small step for a man, one giant leap for a mankind.
(N. Armstrong)
It is no longer acceptable that woman is supposed to stay
at home.
The poor and the rich will never be reconciled.
He is a first cousin of mine
The methodology was worked out by the present author.
VITAL TELECOM LAW CLEARS PARLIAMENT
Freedom of speech is worth fighting for.
He was elected a member of the committee and, later
chairman of the board.
Will you stay to tea?
A: Are your parents at home? B: No, father went to
M. Ferenčík: English Grammar in Discourse. Workbook
peculiarities of their usage
2
town, mother is still in hospital.
2.State the difference between these pairs of sentences:
1.
A rhinoceros died in the zoo yesterday.
A rhinoceros is a dangerous animal.
2.
The rhinoceros charged at our Landrover.
The rhinoceros is not found in Europe
3
Airlines charge high airfare.
The airlines charge high airfare
4.
The mobile phone is a recent invention.
A mobile phone is a useful thing.
5.
He went to bed.
He went to the bed.
6.
I bought a book in a bookstore. Later I gave a book to
my sister as a present.
I bought a book in a bookstore. Later I
gave the book to my sister as a present.
7.
She is the girl I was dating.
She is a girl I was dating.
8.
an only child
the only child
9.
last time
the last time
10.
next week
the next week
11.
young Martin
old Martin
12.
the young Mozart
the old Mozart
13.
keep house
keep the house
3. Who may be referred to in the sentence I am going to bring a friend to a party?
4. Explain why the following sentences are anomalous:
1.*Do you know that you have the scar on your cheek?
2.*How did you get a scar on your cheek?
3.*A platypus is a rare animal at present.
4. A (knows that B lost his key): *Have you found a key?
B: Not yet.
5. A:Have you ever tasted lasagna?
B:*Yes, I have tasted the lasagna in Italy.
5. Identify the type of reference in the sentences:
1.Beware of the dog!
2.Oh, look at the clouds. I´d better take the train.
3.When we look further away from Bratislava, to the countryside, it becomes more difficult to
find good managers.
4.The Slovak parliament approved a new Freedom of Information law during its regular
session. The basic principle of the law will take effect on January 2001.
M. Ferenčík: English Grammar in Discourse. Workbook
3
5.What are the questions to consider when planning such an implementation?
6. Use the following words in sentences with the definite article and without an article:
bed
dinner
bus
evening
church
home
college
hospital
night
prison
7. Insert the articles the, a(n) or Ө:
1.He drank it all at ... drought.
2.A:Have you had your tooth pulled? B: Nothing of ... kind. I ran away.
3.What followed was ... hysterical scene.
4.Look, this is ... U and this is ... H.
5.What ... lie! How can you tell such ... thing.
6.Many´s ... time I´ve wondered what happened to her.
7.I´ve been to the capital many ... time.
8.He was ... FBI agent before he became... UN spokesman.
9. ... man must change in order to survive.
10.In some cultures, you can´t share the same bedroom if you´re not ... man and ... wife.
11.Can you play ... violin or ... piano?
12.In ... last three years I´ve been there five times, though ... last year I was there only once.
13.Nelson, ... Admiral of the Fleet, became a national hero after winning several victories at
... sea.
14.He studies ... best of all the students. I admire his successes ... best of all.
15.... elder sister is ... more pleasant, but ... younger one is ... more intelligent than all of us.
16.While she became ... engineer, he turned ... linguist.
17.... Wright brothers are famous for making ... first powered flight.
18.All right, ... father, I´ll go and meet ... Uncle at the station.
19.What time do you have ... tea?
20.When in Britain, I read ... Times and ... Newsweek, stayed in ... Park Hotel, visited ...
Trafalgar Square, ... Westminster Abbey and ... Haymarket.
8. Correct mistakes in these sentences, if there are any:
sentence
This is beer I never drank before.
He returned to San Francisco damaged by earthquake.
He became a Pope in 1978.
As a chair of this board I cannot express my personal
opinions.
As a husband and a father he was never great success.
M. Ferenčík: English Grammar in Discourse. Workbook
correction (if needed)
4
He turned a traitor.
I was born on a Monday.
Man is mortal.
The Germany of Goethe and Schiller can hardly be
compared with the Germany as it was before the WW I.
He is still in the bed.
The English is quite an interesting language.
It´s practical to use a fork and a knife when eating.
When I travel I always take a book and a camera.
History of his family was quite turbulent.
ADDITIONAL ACTIVITIES
1. A silly question:
Two fathers and two sons ask for a cup of tea. The waiter brings only three cups. Why?
2. Humorous quotations:
a/ Genius is one percent inspiration and ninety-nine percent perspiration.
b/ You can lead a boy to college, but you cannot make him think.
3. A joke
Waiter: We have everything on the menu today, sir.
Customer: So I see. May I have a clean one?
M. Ferenčík: English Grammar in Discourse. Workbook
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