inglese - uso articolo determinativo

inglese - uso articolo determinativo

L'articolo determinativo  è the. E' uguale per il plurale il singolare e tutti i generi :

the boy
the boys
the girl
the girls

uso

A) l'articolo determinativo è usato

- prima un nome che nella realtà è unico

the earth = la terra
the sea = il mare
the sky

- Prima di un nome che viene nominato una seconda volta

his car struck a tree you can still see the mark on the tree  la sua macchina ha sbattuto contro un albero si vede ancora il segno sull'albero

- prima di un nome  che viene ben definito

the girl in blue
the man on the donkey

- prima di un nome che rappresenta un cosa particolare

Ann is in the garden ( il giardino di casa sua )
He sent for the doctor ( il suo dottore )

- Prima di superlativi  e first, second ecc.  only usati come aggettivi  o pronomi

This is the hightest montain in the world
He is the first man on the moon

B) the + un nome singolare che rappresenta una categoria di persone o cose

the whale is in danger of becoming extinct  (tutte le balene)

the studient is usually Young ( tutti gli studenti )

C) the + aggettivo definisce una classe di persone

the old = le persone anziane
the strong = le persone forti

the è usato davanti  a nomi propri  di montagne isole mari ecc.

The arctic
the Sahara
the Cape of good Hope
the Ivory Coast

davanti ai punti cardinali non si usa
ma con the + punto cardinale + of + nome  si usa

Yucatan is in North America

ma

the west of Spain

the è usato sempre davanti agli strumenti musicali

he play the piano

omissione

non si usa
A) davanti a nome di persona  tranne quando si tratta di plurale per intendere la famiglia

the Smiths = la famiglia Smith

se si specifica la persona

there is Mr Smith ?
I want to speak with the Mr Smith who works to Doctor Black

- non si usa davanti a nomi astratti tranne in casi particolari

men fear Death

ma

the Death of Prime Minister

- dopo nomi  nel caso possessivo  o aggettivi possessivi

the boy's uncle
it is my book

prima dei nomi dei pasti ma solo in casi particolare

I have porridge for breakfast

ma

the wedding breakfast

prima delle parti del corpo  oppure abiti perché sono sostituiti da aggettivi possessivi

his hand
his coat

non si usa davanti a nomi indefiniti plurali

big hotels are expensive


davanti a nature

nature is magic

non si usa davanti a

home  Church market  school hospital ecc.

I go home

omesso anche davanti a chapel college school hospital prison work sea bed court

m se ci rechiamo in chiesa o a scuola per visitare la costruzione non a pregare o a studiare  si mette articolo

theatre e office vogliono invece l'articolo

inglese - articoli indeterminativi

inglese - articoli indeterminativi

1) FORMA
 l'articolo indeterminativo è a oppure an

La forma a è usata prima di una parola che inizia con consonante o una vocale che suona come una consonante :

a man    -      a table   - a university       - a useful thing

La forma an è usata prima di una parola che inizia per vocale oppure inizia con h muta :

an hour     - an honorable man    - an apple    - an elephant

E' uguale per tutti i generi

a man   - a woman

2) L'ARTICOLO INDETERMINATIVO  A OPPURE AN è UTILIZZATO :

A) Prima di un nome che è contable ( quando ce n'è più di uno) quando è menzionato per la prima volta e rappresenta una persona o cosa particolari:

I need a Holiday       -  they live in a bungalow   -            there is a policeman at the door

B) Prima di un nome singolare contable che è usato come esempio di una classe di cose :

A car must be insured  = all the car must be insured

C) con un nome complemento. Questo include i nomi di professioni.

He is a doctor       -            She is a teacher

D) in certe espressioni numeriche :

a couple     - an eighth    - a hundred    -    a lot of   -  a dozen   -   a quarter   -   a thousand   - a great many    -  an half  dozen       -    a score   - a million   -  a great deal of

E) In espressioni di prezzo  velocità ecc.

5 p a kilo      £ 1 a metre           sixry kilometres an hour    -   10 p a dozen   - four time a day

Notate che a oppure one  non sono intercambiabili

F) con few e a little  :

a few =  un piccolo numero
a little =  una piccola quantità

few e a little possono essere usati anche senza articolo ma hanno un significato negativo possono essere rimpiazzati da hardly any :

we had little time for amusement  implica che siamo molto impegnati

few people know this   implica che è poco famoso

G) In esclamazioni  prima di nomi singolari contable

what a hot day !     - what a pretty girl !

ma what pretty girls

H) a può essere messo davanti a mr/miss/mrs + cognome

a Mr Smith   un uomo chiamato signor Smith implica che chi parla non lo conosce

Mr Smith    senza a significa che chi parlo lo conosce

3) L'ARTICOLO INDETERMINATIVO NON E' USATO :

A) Prima di nomi plurali
L'articolo indeterminativo non ha la forma plurale

a dog      - dogs

B) Prima di nomi uncontable

I seguenti nomi  sono singolari e uncontable in inglese

advice   - information  -   news  -  bagagge   - luggage  -  furniture

essi sono spesso  preceduti da some - any -  a little - a lot of - a piece of ecc..

I'll give you a piece of advice   -         there isn't any news

knoledge è considerato uncontable ma usato in certe particolari occasioni ha l'articolo

A knowledge of languages is always useful

hair  è considerato uncountable ma se consideriamo  ogni capello separatamente  noi diciamo a hair  two hairs ecc.

she has black hair

experience  significa pratica nel fare qualcosa ed è uncontable
Ma un'esperienza  significa qualcosa che è successo  a qualcuno

he had an interesting experience last night Un'avventura

materials  glass - wood - iron  -s tone - paper - cloth  ecc. sono considerati uncontable

ma I have a paper  (newspaper)
I have an iron (ferro da stiro
I have a glass of wine ( bicchiere)

C) prima di nomi astratti  : Beauty - fear - hope - Death ecc.

he was pale of fear

D)  Prima di nomi di pasti  eccetto quando sono usati con aggettivi

We have breakfast at eight

I have a good breakfast

l'articolo è anche usato quando  un pasto speciale è fatto per celebrare l'onore di qualcosa o qualcuno

I was invited to a dinner given to welcome the new ambassador

inglese - aggettivi pronomi interrogativi

inglese - aggettivi e pronomi interrogativi

form

for person  subject         who (pron)
                  object           whom who (pron)
                  possessive    whose  (pron and adj)

for things   subject         what (pron and adj)
                  object           whiat (pron and adj)

for person and things  when choise is restricted
                   subject    which
                   object      which

what (adjective)  can be used for persons also. All this adjectives and pronouns  have the same form for singular and plural.

note the who, hose + noun, what, which  when used as subjects are normally followed by an affirmative not an interrogative verb :

who pays the bills ?  Ann pays them

whose  horse won ? The queen's horse won

which of your brothers is getting married ? Tom is

When  we wish  to find out who  performs/performed/will perform an action, we use  who ?  whose ? which ?  with affirmative verb.

whato ? can be used similarly

what happened ?
what went wrong ?

( but with who /what + be + noun/pronoun questions  the interrogative  verb is used 

what day is it ?

we see that is here is interrrogative when we  put the question into reported speech and it becomes

He wants to know what day it is

example of the use of who  whom whose which and what in questions

who, whom, whose

who as subject
 who keeps the key  ?

who/whom as object

who/whom  did you see ? I saw the secretary

whose

whose books are these ?  They are Ann's
whose are these ? (pron) 

what
as subjecte

what delayed you ? pron

as object

what paper do you read ? (adj)  I read New York Time

what did they eat ?  they ate rice

which

as subject

which of them  arrived first ?

as object

which do you like best ? 

who and whom as objects of verbs or prepositions

as direct objects

whom is the technically correct form and is used in formal written and spoken English. In ordinary conversation  howether  we almost Always use who  so that we can say

whom did you meet ?
who did you meet ?

there is no difference in meaning but the second  is much more usual  than than the first
similarly we can say

whom did you help ?
who did you help?

after prepositions

In formal English  the prepositions  is immediately followed by whom

with whom did you go
to whom  were you speaking '

But in ordinary  spoken English we usually move the preposition to the end of the sentence.
whom the normally changes to who

who did you go with ?
who were you speaking to ?

what adjective and pronoun

what is a general interrogative used for things

what time is it ?
what Street is it ?
what does he want ?

when what is used with prepositions the preposition is normally placed at the end of the sentence as shown above :

what did you open it with ?

what.........for ?  = why

what did you di that for ?

what+ be .......like ? is request for a description and can be used for things or people

what was the exam like ? it was very difficult

used of people it may concern either appearance or character

what is he like ? he is friendly or he was tall

what does he/it look like ? concern appearance only  and can also means What does he/it resemble ?

what does he look like ? he looks like a scarecrow.

what is he ? = what is his profession

what adj used for persons is possible be not common

what men are you talking about ?
who are you talking about ?  is much more usual

what  adj is very common in  questions  about measurements. It is used in thi way chiefly with nouns  age size weight  lenght

what height is your room ?
what age is he  ?

which compared with who and what

who is a general interrogative pronoun for persons

what is general interrogativ pronoun ad adjective used mainly for things

which pronoun and adj  is used instead who  and what when the choice is restricted

example of which  and what used for things

what will you have to drink ?
we have gin whisky and sherry  which will you have ?

example of which  and who  used for people

who do you want to speak to ? I want to speak with mr Smith
we have two mr Smith here  john and joe  which do you want ?

which pronoun  of people is not used alone  as subject of a verb

which of you  knows the formula (of you is essential)
 who knows the formula

which adj can be used  of people when there is only a very slight idea of restriction

which poet do you like best ?

inglese - numerals a/an and one

inglese - numerals a/an and one

Numerals present little difficulty

The same form is used for adjectives and pronouns

six hundred people bought tickets

hundred of tourists come to this museum

one/ones must be added if the numeral is followed by an adjective  alone

Have you got a big plate ?
no Would two small ones do ?

a/an and one  (adjective)

when conunting or measuring time distance weight etc. we can use either a/an or one for the singular:

a pound
one pound

Lesson cost a/one pound an hour

The an before hour in this last expression is not replaceable by one

But  in other types of statement a/an and one are not normally interchangeable because one + noun normally means one only/ not more  than one and a/an does not mean this :

A shotgun is no good (it is the wrong sort of thing)

One shotgun is no good (I need two or three )

Special use of one

1) one  (adjective/pronoun ) used with another /Others

one (boy) wanted to read another /Others wanted to watch tv

One day  ha wanted his lunch early another day he wanted it late.

2) one can be used before day week month year summer winter etc
or before the name  of the day  or month to denote a particular time  when something happened

one night the was a terrible storm

One winter the snow fell early

One day a telegram arrived

3) one day can also be used to mean "at some future date"

One day you'll be sorry you treated him so badly (some day would be possible)

a/an and one  (pronoun)

one is the pronoun equivalent of a/an

Did you get a ticket? yes I managed to get one

The plural of one used in this way is some

Did you buy grapers ? yes I brought some

contrast with

Did you hear the speech ? yes I heard it
Did you hear the speeches ? yes I heard them

inglese - both either neither

inglese - both either neither

both means one and another. It takes a plural verb

both banks of the river were covered in bushes
She has two sons. Both are taller then she is.

neither means not one and not another. it takes  an affimative singular verb

neither of them drinks coffe

either means any one of two 

Did you like his two songs? No  I didn't like either (of them)

neither + affirmative verb = either + negative verb

neither is preferred at the beginning of a sentence

Neither book give the answer

either could not be used here.

neither can also be used alone as a negative answer to a question

which did you buy ? neither

either would not be used.

Pronouns and possessive adjectives with neither either (used of people)

As they take singular verbs  the pronouns should be  he/him and she /her  and the possessive adjectives should be his and her. But in colloquial English there is  growing tendency to use they /them and their

Neither of them could make up his mind (formal English)
Niether of them make us their minds (colloquial)
Neither of them knew the way di they ? (colloquial)

inglese - distributive adjectives and pronouns

inglese - distributive adjectives and pronouns

each - every - everyone- every body every thing

every compared to all

technically every means a number of people or things considered inidvidually while all means a number of people or things considered as a Group. But in practice every and its  compounds are often used when  wr are thinking of  a Group.

each  (adjective and pronoun9 and every (adjective ) .

each means a nuumber of person of things considered individualy. Every can have this meaning but with every there is less emphasis
on the individual. Every man had a weapon  =  all the men had weapons  and implies that the speaker  counted the men  and the weapons and found  that he had the same number of eache. Each man had qa weapon implies that the speaker went to each man in turn and checked tha he had a weapo.

each is a pronoun ad adjective  each man knows what to do 

every is an adjective only  every man knows......

each can be used of two or more persons or things and is normally  used of small numbers every is not  normally used of very small numbers.

Both take a singular verb.  The possessive  adjective  is his/her/its.

For the reciprocal pronoun each other 

everyone / everybody  and everything (pronouns)

everyibe everybody + singular verb is normally preferred to all the people + plural verb  we say everyone is ready instead of  all the people are ready. There is  no difference between  everyone  and everybody.

everything is similarly preferred to all (the) things we say   every has been wasted.

The expressions all( the) people all (the) things  are possible  when followed by a phrase or a clause :

I got  all the things you asked for

Pronouns  and possessive adjectives with everyone/everybody and everything

As every one / everybody takes a singular verb the pronoun should be  he/him she /her  with possessive adjectives his and her. But this is only found in formal English. In ordinary conversation the plural forms they /them and their is used instead :

Has everyone got their books ?
Everyone enjoys it, don't they  ?
Eveyone likes their own way/ways of doing things

everything however has the pronoun it and possessive adjective.

inglese - demonstrative adjectives and pronouns

inglese - demonstrative adjective e pronouns


this thes, that those agree with their noun in number (they are the only adjectives to do this )

this boy, this girl  these boys  these girls
that actress that actor those actresses those Actors

note  the use of this /these  and that/ those  + noun + of yours /Peter's  etc.

that car of yours  is Always  breaking down (yor car is Always  breaking down)

example for use as pronouns

this is my Brother
what is that ?

this and that can represent clauses

Our car broke down on the way to the airport. This made us late for the plane.

this/these that/those  used with one/ones

When there is som idea of comparison or selection the pronoun one/ones is often placed after these demonstrative but it is not essential excepti when the demonstrative is followed by an adjective.

this chair is too low: I'll sit in that (one )
which do you like ? I like this (one) best

one is optional

but

I like this blue one