新编英语语法教程大学生用书 7. Determiners

UnitSevenDeterminersTopicsforthislectureAdefinitionofthedeterminerCollocationsbetweendeterminersandnounsCollocationsbetweendeterminersArticles1.1AdefinitionofthedeterminerWordsthatprecedeanypre-modifyingadjectivesinanounphraseandwhichdenotesuchreferentialmeaningsasspecificreference,genericreference,definitequantityorindefinitequantityarereferredtoasdeterminers.1.2TypesofdeterminersDeterminers,asaclosedclassofwords,include:

articles

(definitearticle,indefinitearticle,andzeroarticle)possessivedeterminersgenitivenounsdemonstrativedeterminersrelativedeterminerscf.p.98cf.pp.54-5cf.p.106interrogativedeterminersindefinitedeterminerscardinalandordinalnumeralsfractionalandmultiplicativenumeralsotherquantifiers1.3ThedifferencebetweendeterminersandadjectivesSyntacticdistribution:Adjectivescanberecursivelystackedinfrontofthenountheymodify,whereasdeterminerscannotbestackedinthisway,cf.eg:Adjective:men;handsomemen;darkhandsomemen;talldarkhandsomemen…Determiner:thecar;*amycar;*thatthecar;*thathisthecar;*athatcar,etc.Determinershavetoprecedeadjectives:cf.eg:mynicenewclothes*nicemynewclothes*nicenewmyclothesNounphrasecannotenteradiscoursewithoutadeterminer,eg:A:Whatareyoulookingfor?B:*Chair/*Comfortablechair/Acomfortablechair/Anotherchair/Thischair/Mychair.Determinersissensitivetothenumberoftheheadnouna.Canyougivemeachair/*achairs/*afurniture.b.Canyougivemeacomfortablechair/somecomfortablechairs/somecomfortablefurniture.Determinersconstituteafunctionalcategory/closedclasswhereasadjectivesarealexicalcategory/openclassforthelatterhavedescriptivecontentbuttheformerdonot.Differentfromadjectives,determinerislesssensitivetothesemanticpropertiesoftheheadnoun.Compare:athoughtfulfriend/?cat/??fish/???pan/*problema/the/another/this/myfriend/cat/fish/pan/problem2.CollocationsbetweendeterminersandnounsWiththreetypesofnouns(i.e.singlenouns,pluralnouns,anduncountablenouns)OnlywithsinglenounsOnlywithpluralnounsOnlywithuncountablenounsWithbothsingleandpluralnounsWithbothsingleanduncountablenounsWithpluralanduncountablenounsNote:Asamatteroffactitistheheadofanounphrasethatlimitsthechoiceofdeterminers.

3.ThecollocationbetweendeterminersIfanounphrasecontainsmorethanonedeterminer,thereoccurstheproblemofwordorderbetweendeterminers.Threesub-classesofdeterminer:centraldeterminerspre-determinerspost-determiners3.ThecollocationbetweendeterminersWordorderofthreesubclassesofdeterminers

Pre-D+central-D+post-D+NPre-D+central-D+NCentral-D+post-D+NPre-D+pre-D+NCentral-D+central-D+NPost-D+post-D+NPre-D+post-D+NAAAUUAA3.1Discussion:identifythetypeofdeterminersan,no,several,what,your,both,alotof,these,one-third,(a)few,one,what(ever)CentralDeterminer:Predeterminer:Postdeterminer:

an,no,what(ever),your,thesewhat,both,one-thirdseveral,alotof,(a)few,one3.2Discussion:Arethefollowingacceptableornot?Why?alltheselastfewdaysmythatbookthenextfewdaysNosucharecommendationhasbeenmadesofar.Theenemy’severymovementwasbeingcloselywatchedbythePLAmen.Somestateshaverequestedthe10timesamounttheyhavebeenallotted.AUAUAU3.3Discussion:Arethefollowingexpressionsacceptable?Ifyes,what’sthedifference?alotofdelegatesalotofthedelegatesagreatdealofmoneyagreatdealofthemoneyagroupofstudentsagroupofthestudentsAlotofhousesroundherehaveglassinthefrontdoor.

Alotofthesehousesroundherehaveglassinthefrontdoor.3.4Howarethefollowingsentencesorganized?Imaderatheramessofit.Thewarninghadcomeasquiteashock.SVOC;TheobjectcomplementisrealizedbytheNP“ratheramess”inwhichratherisusedasapredetermineroranadverb.SVA;TheadverbialisrealizedbythePP“asquiteashock”inwhich“quite”isusedasapredetermineroranadverboftheNP“quiteashock”.Exerciseon67Chooseanappropriatecombinationofdeterminerstofillineachblank;Correcterrors;TranslationAproblemcanbesolvedwithrecoursetogrammarbookordictionary?Exercise6D15.Ican’tforalltheliferemember.Aproblemcanbesolvedwithrecoursetogrammarbookordictionary?Exercise7E5.MarycanspeakFrenchinfashion.Aproblemcanbesolvedwithrecoursetogrammarbookordictionary?Exercise7E12.Putthesebooksonthetopoftheothers.Aproblemcanbesolvedwithrecoursetogrammarbookordictionary?Exercise7C37.Canyouimagineaworld/theworldwithnowars,nohunger,nopain?3.5.1Theusageofsomeimportantdeterminers(pp.68-69)Theusageof“many”and“much”oninformaloccasions(seep.69);Compare:Hasshegotmanyfriendshere?No,notmany.Yes,quitealot/quiteafew.Yes,shehasalotof/lotsoffriends.Idoubtwhether/ifthere’llbemanypeopleattheshowonthisrainyday.Doyourememberthis?3.5.2Theusageofsomeimportantdeterminers(pp.69-70)Acceptableorunacceptable?You’llhavetowaitagoodfewweeks.Ifonlytherewerelessholesintheroof.Ifonlytherewerefewerholesintheroof.Lessandlesspeoplecanaffordtogoabroadfortheirholidays.Fewerandfewerpeoplecanaffordtogoabroadfortheirholidays.3.5.3Theusageofsomeimportantdeterminers(p.70)Compare:a.Ididn’tbuyanybooks.b.Ididn’tbuysomebooks.ItwasnotthecasethattherewerebookswhichIbought.ThereweresomebooksanditwasnotthecasethatIboughtthem.3.5.4Theusageofsomeimportantdeterminers(pp.70-72)Acceptableorunacceptable?I’vecheckedallthefiles.Nonewas/weremissing.I’vecheckedallthefiles.Noonewas/weremissing.Noneofthetwostudentsfailedtheexam.Everysideofthestreetwascrowdedwithpeople.AUUUeachvs.everyCompare:Eachchildwillfindhisownpersonalroadtosuccess.Everychildwillfindhisownpersonalroadtosuccess.ExerciseandPracticeFillintheblankswithappropriatedeterminersorcorrespondingindefinitepronounssemanticallyrelatedtoquantity.(p.72)Whichisbetter?On_____(each/either)sideofthestreettherewereassembledalotofsoldiers.ThestatementcallsforregularexchangesbetweenMr.ObamaandMr.Hu,andasksthateachsidepaymoreattentiontothestrategicconcernsoftheother.(/2009/11/18/world/asia/18prexy.html?_r=1&hp)PastAmericanpresidentshaveusuallyinsistedinadvanceonsomeconcreteachievementsfromtheirtripsoverseas.PresidentBushreceivedvigorousendorsementsofhistopforeignpolicypriority,theglobalwaronterrorism,duringhisvisitstoBeijing,andPresidentBillClintonguidedChinatowardjoiningtheWorldTradeOrganizationafterprolongednegotiations.Wheneitherofthosepresidentsvisitedthecountry,Chinaoftenmadeamodestconcessiononhumanrightsaswell.Can“each”beusedhere?Fillingtheblankswith“each,either,neither”Thetwosidesarealsomeetingatatimewhen______isexperiencingfastinternalchanges.Languageitselfhasnophonology/phonetics,ornosemantics,or______.Onthephoneticside,therearenosuchproposals,tomyknowledge.Onthesemanticside,theyarecommon.Whatistheirsubstantivecontent,on_____side?eachneithereitherHehasbeenthereeversince,althoughalargepartof_____yearisdevotedtotravelingaroundtheworldgivingcountlesslecturesandinterviews.(Chomsky:Ideas&Ideals:2)each4.ArticlesTheimportanceofarticlesTypesofarticlesGenericandspecificreferenceArticlesinusewithdifferentclassesofnoun4.1Theimportanceofarticles“‘The’isthewordthathammersimportanceontorigidfactandfixestoittheburdenofbeingabsolute.”(RoyHinks,1979)WheneverwordfrequenciesarereportedforEnglish,thearticlesaccountforalmosttenpercentofmosttexts.ItwouldseemtobehardtomakesenseofhowEnglishworkswithoutunderstandingtheroleofthesecommonforms[thearticles].Doyourememberthis?4.2TypesofarticlesthedefinitearticletheindefinitearticlethezeroarticleWhyweintroducethenotionof“zeroarticle”intoEnglishGrammar?Twocompetinghypotheses:

Awatchwasfoundinhisbag.

Moneydoesnotmeanhappiness.

Themoneywasspendonuselessthings.

Thewatchwasfoundinhisbag.

Thewatcheswerefoundinhisbag.Hypothesisone:Singularcountnounsmustbeprecededbyanarticle;noncountnounscannotbeprecededbyanindefinitearticle;bothnoncountnounsandpluralcountnounscanbeprecededbythedefinitearticle.Hypothesistwo:anynounshouldbeprecededbyanarticle(indefinite,definite,orzero)ifitentersintodiscourse;itisthearticlethatdeterminesthereferencemeaningofanNP.Whichhypothesisismorepowerful?4.3Genericandspecificreference

GenericreferenceSpecificreferenceAnaphoric,cataphoric,andsituationalreference4.3.1GenericreferenceWhenwesaythereferenceisgeneric,wearetalkingaboutanymemberrepresentativeofaclassofpeopleorthings.Onlythedefinitearticlecanbeusedgenericallytorefertothemembersofaclassasawhole.Trueoffalse?TFThedifferencebetweenthethreetypesofarticlesconcerninggenericreferenceWhenusedtomakeagenericreference,_________________canusuallyonlybefollowedbypluralnounsornoncountnouns;_______________canonlybefollowedbyasingularnoun;______________canonlybefollowedbyasingularnounoranadjective.zerodeterminertheindefinitearticlethedefinitearticleThebullterriermakesanexcellentwatchdog.Abullterriermakesanexcellentwatchdog.Bullterriersmakeexcellentwatchdogs.genericgenericgenericThedifferencebetweenthethreetypesofarticlesconcerninggenericreferenceWithsingularhead,“the”isoftenformalorliteraryintone,indicatingtheclassasrepresentedbyitstypicalspecimen;Withsingularhead,theindefinitearticlepicksoutanyrepresentativememberoftheclass;Withpluralheadsornoncounthead,thezeroarticleidentifiestheclassconsideredasanundifferentiatedwhole.Whenusedtoindicateagenericreference,indefinitearticleisrestrictedinthatitcannotbeusedinattributingpropertieswhichbelongtotheclassorspeciesasawhole.Thus:Thetigerisbecomingalmostextinct.Tigersarebecomingalmostextinct.*Atigerisbecomingalmostextinct.Atigerisawildanimal.

Tigersarewildanimals.

Thetigerisawildanimal.Norahasbeenstudyingthemedievalmysteryplay.Norahasbeenstudyingamedievalmysteryplay.Norahasbeenstudyingmedievalmysteryplays.genericspecificspecificNote:Whenusedtoindicategenericreference,theindefinitearticleandzeroarticleisaffectedbythesyntacticposition.“the+singularnoun”canbeusedeitherinthesubjectslotorinthenon-subjectslot;when“a(n)+singular”and“zero+plural”usedinthenon-subjectslots,themeaningcanbechanged.Infact,agenericinterpretationcomesfromthewholecontextofanounphraseandnotfromthearticles.Readthefollowingtextcarefullyandtrytodecidewhicharegenericandwhythearticleused(zero,the,a)seemsappropriateinthatcontext.InwintertheHawaiianIslandsplayhosttoacelebrityofsufficientdistinctiontohavebeendesignatedtheStateMarineMammal.WhilenotanywherenearasnumerousasthehumanswhocometoHawaii,thehumpbackwhales’arrivalnonethelessgenerateagreatdealofexcitementandinterest.Mostpeoplewhoseethewhalesgetagreatofsatisfactionandexcitementfromtheexperience,butisclearthatfewreallyunderstandwhatahumpbackwhaleis,andhowitdiffersfromothermammals,otherinhabitantsoftheocean,orotherwhales.Inordertodevelopanaccurateperceptionofthehumpbackwhale,itisbothinterestingandinformativetoplaceitinthecontextofthegeneralgroupofmarineanimalsknownascetaceans.(FromYule,2002:45)ThedefinitespecificreferenceSpecificreferencereferstoaparticularspecimenoftheclass:definitespecificreference&indefinitespecificreference.Definitespecificreference:Itimpliesthatapersonoranobjectcanbeidentifieduniquelyinthecontextoraccordingtothecommonknowledgesharedbyspeakerandhearer.Thedefinitearticleismostfrequentlyusedinthissense.Iownadogandacat.Thedogisbrown,andthecatiswhite.I’vejustbeenbackfromthemarket.anaphoricreferenceAnaphoricreference:whenwhatisreferredtooccursinapreviouscontextandthedefinitearticlehastopointbackwardforitsmeaning,e.g.Iorderedabooksometimeago.Thebookhasnowarrived.Hiscarstruckatree;youcanstillseethemarkonthetree.CataphoricreferenceCataphoricreference:whenthereferentialmeaningofthedefinitearticleisdeterminedbywhatfollowsthearticleandthehead,andthearticlehastopointforwardforitsowninterpretation,thatiscalledthecataphoricreference,e.g.ThisistheplaceIfirstmether.ExophoricreferenceSituationalreference(Exophoricreference):Akindofdefinitespecificreferencethatdependsnotonanyreferentthathasoccurredinthecontextbutsolelyonthecommonknowledgesharedbyspeakerandheareroronaspecificsituationinwhichthereferenceismadeclear,e.g.thesun,themoon,etc.

Mostcommonlydenotedbythedefinitearticle;incertainsituationsthesamefunctioncanalsobeperformedbyzero,e.g.How’sthecoughtoday?WhyisFatheroutofwork?/Whyisthefatheroutofwork?Hewaselectedchairmanofthestudents’union.LogicaldefinitespecificreferenceHeisthebestpersonforthejob.TomseemstobeastallasDick;actually,Tomisthetallerofthetwo.WhenisthefirsttrainforShanghaitomorrow.4.3.3TheindefinitespecificreferenceIndefinitespecificreference:thepersonorthingreferredtoisalsoaspecificobject,butisnotdefinitelyidentified./mostcommonlyexpressedbytheindefinitearticle./Incertaincontextsandsituations,thezeroarticlecanperformthesamefunction.e.g.Ihavelostabutton.There’saletterforyou.Thestreetsarecleanandareshadedwithtrees.Discussion:thedifferencebetweendefinitearticleandindefinitearticleCompare:a.Ahouseonthecornerisforsale.b.Thehouseonthecornerisforsale.a.Boblostagoldwatchyesterday,andBillwaswearingagoldwatchthismorning.b.Boblostagoldwatchyesterday,andBillwaswearingthegoldwatchthismorning.(Quirk,etal,1985:272)Discussion:Identifythetypeofreference

Thelifeoftheoldmanwasforfeited.Alifeisnotproperpaymentforthat.Theliveslostinthewarwerewasted.Somelivesweresaved.Livesarealwayslostinwar.Thelifeintheoldmanwasfadingfast.Somelifecouldbedetectedintheoldman.Lifecanbedifficultattimes.DSRISRDSRISRGRDSRISRGRTheManipulationofthearticlesindiscourseThefollowingistheauthor’sexplanationofthereasonsforhisusingzeroarticleinsteadofthedefinitearticleandindefinitearticleinthetitleofhisbookDiscourseofSilence:“Discourseofsilence”isasufficientlygeneraltitletocoverallthatisfoundinthiswork.Butwhyisthetitle“discourseofsilence,”andnot“thediscourse”or“adiscourse”?HasEnglishsuddenlydevelopedafeaturefoundinSlavoniclanguagesinwhichnounphrasesdonothaveanyarticles?Thisinherentambiguityinarticle-lessnounphrases,usuallysolvedbycontextualization,maybeseenasanaidinenablingustocoverthetwointerpretationsofthetitle--thisisadiscourseaboutsilence(“thediscourseofsilence”)andadiscourseabouthowpeoplerelatetosilenceinspecifictexts(eachtextbeing“adiscourseofsilence”).Onewayofshowingthesetwomeaningsisthehybridforma/the,butsinceinatitle,articlesmaybeleftout,Ihaveadoptedafarbettersolution.Itissurelyinthatsensethat‘theactualsequenceofconstituents,andtheirstructuralorder[forwhichBloomfieldreferstothesectionsdistinguishingtypesandpartsofwordstructure]areapartofthelanguage’

(notethedefinitearticle)andnotafiction.(P.H.Matthews,1993,GrammaticalTheoryintheUnitedStatesfromBloomfieldtoChomsky:97)AnotherinterestingcaseoftheusageofarticlesAccordingtoChomsky,therevisionisthistorianGalbraith,whostudiedthecauseforthecoldwar,changed“the”into“a”whenherevisedhisbookTheNewIndustrialState(1967;1971).“Inarevisededitionin1971,hereplacedtheword‘the’bytheword‘an’inthepassagequoted:‘therevolutionaryan