I've come to you for help. Love isn't measured by words.

2. Uncountable nouns may become countable if they denote kinds or special aspects of the notion which they denote.

• A dull anger rose in his chest.

A strange fear overcame me.

Your fears are ungrounded.

3. No article is used if abstract nouns are modified by such attributes as modern, English, French, real, authentic, symbolic, Soviet, proletarian, medieval, ancient, contemporary.

• French poetry, modern art, contemporary science, authentic literature

The definite article is used if there is a limiting attribute.

• The French poetry of the 19th century.

the Russian art of that period

4. Some uncountable nouns are never used with the indefinite article. They are mostly nouns of verbal character denoting actions, activity, processes, such as: information, news, advice, progress, work, weather, money, assistance, permission. They never take the indefinite article and agree with the verb only in the singular.

• It's good advice, I'll follow it. Your news is good.

It's excellent weather today.

There is big money in this business.

5. In the set-phrase in all weathers the noun weather is in the plural.

• She works in her garden in all weathers.

Mind that in Modern English the plural form monies is widely used in the meaning of средства финансирования, различные виды валют.

• What monies circulate in this country?

The project received community monies.

Many people wonder where public monies go.

The Use of Articles with Nouns Denoting Parts of

the Day and Seasons

This group includes the nouns: day, night, morning, evening, noon, afternoon, midnight, dawn, dusk, twilight, sunrise, sunset, daytime, nightfall, winter, spring, summer and autumn.

1. These nouns are very often treated as abstract nouns. No article is used with reference to parts of the day or of the year, light or darkness, as in:

• Day broke. Evening came. Night fell. Winter set in.

If Winter comes, can Spring be far behind?

Winter eats what summer provides.

2. When these nouns have a descriptive attribute the indefinite article is used:

• We were having tea in my room on a cold January afternoon.

But no article is used if these nouns are modified by such adjectives as early, late, real, broad, high.

• It was high noon. It was broad day.

It was early spring (late autumn, etc.)

3. The definite article may occur with such words if they are clear from the situation, or context, or if there is some limitation.

• We watched the sunrise from the balcony.

The evening was calm. The winter is severe this year. It happened on the morning of April 12th.

4. In some prepositional phrases either the definite article or no article may be found.

a) the definite article is used in the following phrases:

• in the morning, in the evening, in the daytime, in the afternoon, in the night, in the winter

b) no article is used with these nouns after the prepositions at, by, about, past, before, after, towards, till (until):

• at night, at dawn, by day, by night, by noon, by midnight, past noon, after sun set, till morning

c) there is no article in the following phrases:

• all day (long), ail night (through); day after day; day in, day out; from morning till night; (to work) day and night; in the dead of night; in the dead of winter.

But we say: all through the night and all through the day.

The Use of Articles with Geographic (al) Names

1. Names of continents, countries, regions, cities, towns, and villages are as a rule used without any article.

• Europe, France, California, Rome, Yalta, Sosnovka

No article is used either when these nouns have such attributes as north(ern), south(ern), ancient, old, central.

• Central America, South-East Asia, old England, ancient Rome

Some of these nouns are traditionally used with the definite article, for example:

• a) countries — the USA, the Netherlands, (the) Sudan;

b) provinces — the Crimea, the Caucasus, the Ruhr, the Transvaal, the Antarctic, the Midlands, the Lake District;

c) cities — the Hague;

d) streets — the Wall Street, the Strand, the Mall.

2. Names of streets, parks and squares are generally used without any article.

• Oxford Street, Hyde Park, Trafalgar Square, Manez Square.

3. Names of oceans, seas, channels, canals, falls, rivers and lakes usually take the definite article.

• the Pacific (ocean), the Adriatic (sea), the English Channel, the Panama Canal, (the) Niagara Falls, the Volga, the Baikal, the Ontario, the Moskva-River, the River Thames

When names of lakes are preceded by the noun lake (which is often the case), no article is used.

• Lake Baikal, Lake Ontario, Lake Оmо

4. Names of mountain chains and groups of islands are used with the definite article.

• the Alps, the Urals, the Philippines, the Bermuda Triangle

5. Names of separate mountain peaks and separate islands are used without any article.

• Elbrus, Everest, Cuba, Madagascar, Barbados, Bermuda

6. Names of deserts generally take the definite article.

• the Sahara, the Gobi, the Kara-Kum, the Kalahari

7. Geographic names that generally don't take any article may be used:

a) with the definite article when there is a limiting attribute:

• In 'Ivanhoe' Walter Scott described the England of the Middle Ages.

b) with the indefinite article when there is a descriptive attribute:

• It was a new Russia that he found on his return.

8. The definite article is used in the combinations of the type:

• the city of New York, the Cape of Good Hope, the Lake of Geneva, the village of Dubrovo

The Use of Articles with Proper Names

1. There is no article with names of universities and colleges:

• Moscow University, Oxford University, Trinity College.

2. Names of theatres, museums, picture galleries, concert halls, cinemas, clubs and hotels are used with the definite article:

• the Bolshoi Theatre, the Opera House, the British Museum, the National Gallery, the Forum, the Continental Hotel.

3. Names of ships and boats are used with the definite article:

• the Titanic, the Sedov.

4. Names of newspapers are generally used with the definite article:

• the Times, the Observer, the Financial Times, the Sun.

Names of magazines as a rule take no article (though it is possible):

• Times, House Beautiful, Punch, the Spectator.

5. Names of months and days of the week are usually used without any article:

• January, February, Monday, Tuesday.

Compare: We met on Friday. (Мы встретились в пятницу (прошлую)).

We met on a Friday. (Мы встретились в одну из пятниц).

6. Names of organizations and political parties are used with the definite article:

• the Navy, the Army, the Liberal Party, the London City Council.

But: Parliament, Congress.

7. Names of languages are used without any article unless the noun language is mentioned:

• English, French, Japanese.

But: the English (French, Japanese) language.

The Use of Articles with Names of Persons

1. Generally no article is used with names of persons as they point out individuals:

• Tom, Mary, Mrs. Wilson, Mr. Robinson, Ms. Loveday.

No article is used either if names of persons are modified by such descriptive attributes as little, old, dear, poor, honest, with which they form close units:

• Lucky Jim, Old Jolyon, Poor Smith, Dear Old Emily.

2. We find no article with the names of members of a family (Mother, Father, Aunt, Uncle, Baby, Cook, Nurse, Grandmother) when they are treated as proper names by the members of the family. In this case such nouns are usually written with a capital letter:

• Mother is still resting. Is Nurse back?

3. There is no article with nouns in direct address:

• — How is my wife, doctor? — Don't worry, sir, she's fine.

Well, young man, how are things?

4. The definite article is used with a name in the plural to indicate the whole family:

• the Forsytes, the Dobsons, the Peacocks.

5. The indefinite article is used to indicate one member of a family or a certain person having the name in question:

• She was a true Dobson. A Mr. Parker to see you.

6. Sometimes names of persons change their meaning and become common countable nouns if:

a) the name of a scientist, a painter, inventor or manufacturer is used to denote his work:

• a Webster, a Goya, a Ford, a Faberge.

b) the characteristic qualities of the bearer of the name (but not the person himself) are meant:

• This fellow's really a Jack-of all trades.

Mozart was called the Raphael of music.

Articles with Nouns in Apposition

1. As a rule, a countable noun in the singular in the function of an apposition takes the indefinite article (its classifying meaning is strongly felt in this case).

• 'I'm sure you know Mr. Hard, a professor at McGill,' she reminded.

My friend, a student, joined the club.

2. The definite article is used with a noun in apposition when:

a) it refers to a well-known person:

• Pushkin, the great Russian poet, was very fond of autumn.

b) it has a limiting attribute or is clear from the situation:

• He had left his hat on the table, the tall hat, in which he always went to church.