 |
 |
 |
 |
|
 |
 |
152
Are we on the right road?
He is the only man for this position.
Morning light ... touched the opposite seat.
That’s the great Rita. The one and only Rita.
My first job was not a success. But the second job was a sensational success.
Apparent exceptions to the rule are caused by a certain shift in the meaning of premodifiers, which may
acquire a new qualitative tinge. Thus an only child means a child who has no brothers or sisters, a first
impression or a first attempt has its own qualitative peculiarities, a last look is a farewell look, a second, a
third, a tenth means one more, another. In such cases the classifying force of the article prevails. See the
examples below, the last of which also suggests reference to a class, namely to the class of books in their first
edition.
I haven’t got four brothers. I’m an only son.
Alec turned up as if for a last look at the retreating figure.
It was a good first impression.
What made him spot Boot? It’s a sixth sense
He picked up a first edition of “The Torrents of Spring”.
Note:
There is no article if the numeral is part of a proper name: Fifth Avenue, Sixty-Sixth Street.
2) An object or a group of objects may be specified by reference to file preceding context (backward
reference). This use of the definite article is qualified as anaphoric. The noun with the definite article may be a
mere repetition of the noun mentioned before (see examples a) and b) below); it may be referred to the words or
statement just mentioned (ex. c, d), or may be a final statement prompted by the context (e):
a) My wife always had a passion for owls. The passion’s grown since our marriage.
b) Three little kittens lost their mittens ... The three little kittens they found their mittens.
c) ‘My wife has left me.’ Dirk could hardly get the words out.
d) Dainty spoke aloud. The habit was certainly growing.
e) My daughter’s getting married at the week-end, but I don't think I shall go.
—You don’t like the man?
3) One of the most usual ways of singling out an object or a group of objects is situational specification.
Though the object is mentioned for the first time, no attribute or context is necessary for the speaker (or the
writer) to point it out and for the listener (or the reader) to understand what object is meant.
After visiting a theatre we may say: I liked the acting and I enjoyed the music too. After a flower exhibition:
The flowers were splendid. In many everyday situations: Go to the kitchen. Open the door. Pass the butter.
Keep off the grass.
When we say Let’s go to the river, depending on the place we live in, it may be the Neva, the Thames, the
Amazon, etc. With reference to a certain school we may say: The bell rang and the teacher came in, or Miss ,
Smith came in.
If the situational reference is not clear enough to the listener, the speaker should employ another specifier as
in the following: “Hilary, would you mind if we fixed the day?” “What day?” “The day for me and Crystal to
get married.”
4) The definite article in its specifying function is used with unique objects or notions. They are the sun, the
moon, the earth, the sea, the world, the universe, the horizon, the equator, the south, the north, the west, the
east.