§ 12. The use of articles with countable nouns modified by participles. Attributes expressed by participles (see "Verbals''.

§§ 173-180; 252-254) are placed either in pre- or post-position to , the noun they modify.

When they are placed in pre-position, they are usually de- scriptive attributes, like adjectives.

e.g. They lived in a newly painted house. There was a faded photograph and an ash-tray on the desk. The use of the definite article in this case is usually accounted for by the context or the general situation.

e.g. At the corner of the street there shone the lighted windows of a club.

She collected the scattered pages of the letter and put it away into her desk. In post-position we usually find participle phrases but not sin- gle participles. They may be either descriptive (a) or limiting (b) attributes, according to the context or situation.

e.g. a) It was a very small room, overcrowded with furniture.

He took a medicine prescribed by the doctor. b) I adopted the tone used by my uncle Henry.

At length I reached the sixth floor, and knocked at the door numbered thirty-two.

§ 13. The use of articles with countable nouns modified by ing forms. Attributes expressed by ing-forms (see "Verbals", §§ 163-172; 227-232) are placed either in pre- or post-position to the noun they modify.

When they are placed in pre-position, they are usually de- scriptive attributes.

e.g. He looked at me with a mocking smile. He turned and saw a crying boy.

In post-position the ing-form may be either non-prepositional or prepositional. We generally find phrases and not single ing- forms here. Both kinds of these phrases may be descriptive (a) and limiting (b) according to the context or situation.

e.g. a) There was no answer and he sent a telegram saying that he needed some work done urgently.

John had an odd way of looking at things. b) He took the path leading to the lonely cottage.

He could not bear the thought of leaving her in such a state.

§ 14. The use of articles with countable nouns modified by in- finitives. Attributes expressed by infinitives tend to be descrip- tive. e.g. He willingly accepted an invitation to spend the weekend out

of town.

I made an attempt to smile. He suddenly felt an impulse to laugh.

Yet, sometimes, depending on the situation or context, the in- finitive may become a limiting attribute.

e.g. They did not have the money to buy the house. That's not the way to speak to your parents.

At last he forced himself to lie quietly on his back fighting the desire to answer back.

§ 15. The use of articles with countable nouns modified by clauses. Nouns can be modified by two kinds of clauses — attrib- utive (a) and appositive (b).

A. Attributive clauses qualify the noun. They may be intro- duced by the relative pronouns who, whose, which and that, by the relative adverbs where and when or asyndetically.

e.g. I will not describe the pictures that Strickland showed me. His pictures gave me an emotion I could not analyze. He wandered about the place like a man who has nothing else to do.

Attributive clauses fall into two groups:

1) Attributive clauses that can be removed from the sentence without destroying its meaning. They are marked by a pause sep- arating them from the principal clause. In writing they may be separated by a comma. These clauses are never joined to the prin- cipal clause asyndetically. Clauses of this kind are called non-de- fining clauses and they are always descriptive and do not influence the choice of the article. So the use of the article is determined by other factors (the context and other attributes).

e.g. She told me that she had discovered a wonderful young man, who was going to help her in the East End.

She asked me a question, which I did not hear.

On her sofa there was a note-book open, in which she was preparing her lessons for the term.

When he at last got to the office, where he spent so many dull hours, he gave a sigh of relief.

2) Attributive clauses so closely connected with the antecedent that they cannot be left out without destroying the meaning of the sentence. There is no pause between this kind of clause and the principal clause, and in writing they are never marked off by a comma. Such clauses may be joined to the principal clause ei- ther by connective words or asyndetically. Attributive clauses of this kind are called defining clauses and they may be limiting or descriptive, depending on the situation or context.

When attributive clauses are limiting, the definite article is used with the antecedent.

e.g. He took the cigarette that Robert offered him.

I remembered what I used to feel about the young men Charles

brought to the house. In the back of her mind was the memory that it was the city

her friend came from.

In Russian the antecedent in this case may be modified by the words тот самый... который.

When attributive clauses are descriptive, the article with the antecedent is determined by the context or the situation.

e.g. She stared at me with an expression that made me uncom- fortable.

"It's not a story I could tell anyone else, Harry," he said. As a girl my mother had expected a husband who would give her love and position.

In Russian the antecedent in this case may be modified by the words такой, который ..., такого рода (типа), который... .

В. Appositive clauses disclose the meaning of the noun. They can modify only certain abstract nouns, such as idea, feeling, hope, thought, impression, sense and the like. Appositive clauses

are usually introduced by the conjunction that ('что') and are similar to object clauses.

e.g. He had the feeling that all his efforts proved to be futile.

He put off the thought that he ought to have tackled the con- versation differently.

Appositive clauses are generally limiting attributes.

e.g. "I am sorry", she said, and I had the impression that she

meant it.

The idea that he can be of use made him happy. I was annoyed by the sense that nothing intellectual could ever trouble him.

Occasionally, however, the noun modified by an appositive clause is used with the indefinite article.

e.g. She had an impression that Charlie was speaking to his cous- in rather than to her. I had a growing feeling that time was running out.