§41. Uncountable concrete nouns (names of materials) are generally used without any article. The absence of the article has nominating force.

e.g. These sleeping pills should be dissolved in water.

She had nothing in the medicine chest but toothpaste and mouth-wash and shampoo.

Unlike uncountable abstract nouns, names of materials are used without any article even if they are modified by a descrip- tive attribute.

e.g. She said: "I knitted the socks myself of thick grey wool." I ticked off the names written in violet ink. He took out of his pocket an object wrapped in tissue paper.

§ 42. The definite article in its restricting function is used with names of materials if they are restricted in their quantity or by reason of locality.

e.g. The boss took up a pen and picked a fly out of the ink. Together they walked through the slush and mud. He observed everybody who came in, as they shook the thin watery snow from their hats and coats.

Note 1. However, there is no restriction implied in such phrases and sentences as: a bottle of milk, a cup of tea or The ground was covered with snow. The pond was covered with ice.

Note 2. As is seen from the examples above, most uncountable concrete nouns are names of materials. However, there are a few other uncountable concrete nouns which are not names of materials (e.g. machinery, equipment, furniture and some others). The same rules are applied to them.

e.g. She hoped she would save enough money to buy new furniture. The furniture they had was enough for a much bigger house.

§ 43. Sometimes, owing to a change in meaning, names of ma- terials become countable ^J and as such they are used with articles in accordance with the rules for countable nouns. That means that they may then be used with the indefinite article.

Names of materials become countable nouns in the following cases:

a) when various sorts of food products and materials are meant, e.g. They are now giving you bad teas in the club.

There is a beautiful display of cottons in the shop window.

b) when a portion of food or drink is meant,

e.g. If you want to please the boy, buy him an ice.

We went into the pub and I ordered two whiskies. "A salad and two coffees will do," she said smiling.

¹ In the waters of the Pacific, the snows of Kilimanjaro or the sands of the Sahara the plural does not signify any change in meaning but is purely a stylistic device.

с) sometimes the change of meaning is quite considerable — the noun comes to indicate an object made of a certain material,

e.g. A full glass of orange juice stood beside him. There was a tin of sardines on the table.

The Use of Articles with Some Semantic Groups of Nouns

§ 44. There are certain semantic groups of nouns which are very common in English. These nouns are sometimes used as countables and sometimes as uncountables. Besides, they are of- ten found as part of set phrases. They include the following se- mantic groups:

Names of Parts of the Day

§ 45. To this group of nouns belong: day, night, morning, evening, noon, afternoon, midnight, dawn, twilight, dusk, sun rise, sunset, daytime, nightfall and the like.

1) When the speaker uses these nouns he often means a par- ticular day, night, etc. and then naturally the definite article is used. The limitation is very often clear from the situation or the context but it may also be expressed with the help of a limiting attribute.

e.g. The night was warm and beautifully still.

He decided to spend the afternoon with his friends. The weather was very cold on the day of his arrival.

Sometimes we find a descriptive attribute with nouns denoting parts of the day, but the definite article will still be used if the above mentioned limitation holds good.

e.g. I could see a few faint stars in the clear night.

I was not in a hurry, and walked along, basking in the warm evening.

The definite article is also found with nouns denoting parts of the day used generically.

e.g. He used to spend the morning lying about the beach.

I often sat up the night with him and read to him to ease his pain.

2) When nouns indicating parts of the day have a descriptive attribute and are the centre of communication in the sentence . they are used with the indefinite article (in its aspective func- tion). This use of the indefinite article is mainly found in the fol- lowing sentence patterns:

e.g. It had been a wet day; the pavements were glistening, though now the rain had stopped.

It was a fine, warm night and Charles and I decided to walk home.

On a hot September evening he strolled idly to the embankment. We were having tea in my room on a cold January after- noon.

3) Nouns denoting parts of the day have no article when they are used as predicatives.

e.g. It was evening when he decided to lay his books aside and take a walk.

It was nearly midnight and neither of us had eaten for a long

time.

It was dusk but I could see Henry walking across the field. However, if these nouns are used predicatively with a de- scriptive attribute, the indefinite article is used (see point 2 above).

But the article is not used with nouns denoting parts of the day if they are modified by one of the following adjectives: e.g. It was early morning.

It was broad day.

It was high noon.

It was late evening.

The adjectives early, late, broad and high do not describe any part of the day here, but just indicate the time of the day with more precision. (Morning refers to a longer period of the day than early morning or late morning.)

4) In many cases the use of articles with nouns denoting parts of the day has become traditional.

a) In some prepositional phrases either the definite article or no article is found. They are to be treated as set phrases. The def- inite article is used in: in the afternoon, in the daytime, in the evening, in the morning, in the night. No article is used after the prepositions at, by, about, past, before, after, towards, till, until, e.g. at night, at dawn, by day ('днем'), by night ('ночью'), by noon ('к полудню'), by midnight ('к полуночи'), past noon, about midnight, before dawn, after sunset, etc.

e.g. I would take pills at night to make me sleep quickly, but I never found any pills that would keep me asleep till day- light.

Rain was now falling in sheets as it so often did before dawn.

After midnight I walked to the beach with him, sad to see him leave so soon.

b) There is no article with the nouns morning, day and dawn when they are used as subject to the verbs to break, to be at hand; the same is true of the nouns evening, night, dusk when they are followed by the verbs to fall, to gather, to set in, to be at hand, to come.

e.g. Day was breaking when we set out.

The sky was overcast and dusk fell early.

Dawn was breaking among the olives, silvering their still leaves.

c) There is no article with nouns denoting parts of the day when they are modified by the names of the days of the week and the words tomorrow and yesterday.

e.g. I went to Aunt Milly's house on Friday evening.

He spoke to Lin on the telephone on Thursday afternoon. I shall see him tomorrow morning. She was here yesterday afternoon.

Note. Compare: We met on Saturday night ('Мы встретились в прошлую суб- боту вечером') and We met on a Saturday night ('Мы встретились однажды суб- ботним вечером').

d) There is no article in the following phrases: all day {long) and all night (through) (but we say: all through the night and all through the day), day after day, night after night, day in day

out, from morning till night, (to work) day and night, in the dead of night, late at night (but early in the morning).

e) There is a tendency to use the nouns denoting parts of the day without any article in attributive of-phrases. Yet, the definite article is used when a particular day, night, etc. is meant.

e.g. He always woke up with the first sounds of morning.

After the bombardment he couldn't recognize the street that had been so familiar to him at the beginning of the day.

Names of Seasons