The Indefinite Article

§ 2. With countable nouns, both concrete and abstract, the in- definite article is used when we wish to name an object (a thing, a person, an animal or an abstract notion), to state what kind of ob- ject is meant.

e.g. He gave her a cigarette and lighted it.

There came a tap at the door, and a small elderly man en- tered the room, wearing a black cap.

This function may be called the nominating function.

But at the same time, owing to its origin from the numeral one, the indefinite article always implies the idea of oneness and is used only before nouns in the singular.

The idea of oneness may sometimes become quite prominent. It occurs in the following cases:

a) a hundred, a thousand, a minute, a mile, etc.

2. after the negative not — not a word, not a trace, not a thought, etc.

3. in some set phrases — one at a time, at a draught (as in: He emptied his glass at a draught), a stitch in time saves nine, etc.

§ 3. When the speaker uses the indefinite article, he just names an object which is usually new to the hearer. So the indefi- nite article is often used to introduce a new element in the sen- tence. Since the new element is, as a rule, important and attracts attention, the noun with the indefinite article frequently becomes the centre of communication and is marked by strong stress.

e.g. I think he is a stupid fellow.

Presently the Browns arrived. They brought with them a

small child, a governess and a dog. The table was covered with a white cloth.

In contrast to this, the definite article usually indicates that a definite object is meant and that it is not new to the hearer. That is why it often serves to show that the noun is not the centre of communication. Compare the following sentences:

e.g. I bought a book yesterday. I bought the book yesterday.

From the first sentence the hearer learns what object was bought yesterday. So a book is the new element in the sentence. From the second sentence the hearer learns when the book was bought (he already knows that the speaker bought a book). In this case the book is not the centre of communication.

In the Russian language which has no article, the centre of communication is usually marked by word-order and also stress.

Cf.

A boy rushed into the room. The boy rushed into the room. They were sent to a conference

in May. They were sent to the conference

in May.

В комнату вбежал мальчик. Мальчик вбежал в комнату. Их послали в мае на конфе

ренцию. Их послали на конференцию

в мае.

This distinction between the two articles is very helpful in most cases but the rule does not always hold good. We may find sentences in which a noun with an indefinite article does not serve as the centre of communication and is not marked by strong stress , (a) and, vice versa, a noun with the definite article marked by strong stress may become the most important element of communi- cation (b).

e.g. a) A camel can carry heavy loads, b) "Shut the door," he ordered.

It follows from the above examples that the use of the indefi- nite article with nouns serving as the centre of communication is i to be regarded as an additional rule.