CONTENTS

INTRODUCTION................................................................................................................................

I. TYPES OF ARTICLES AND THEIR FUNCTIONS IN ENGLISH...............................................

1.1 The indefinite article and its functions...........................................................................................

1.2 Functions of the definite article....................................................................................................

II. THE SEMANTIC FUNCTION OF THE ARTICLE....................................................................

2.1 The indefinite article as a semantic operator................................................................................

2.2 The definite article as a semantic operator...................................................................................

CONCLUSION..................................................................................................................................

REFERENCES...................................................................................................................................
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INTRODUCTION
Language is an integral characteristic of a person, which distinguishes him from the
entire animal world. Language not only plays an important role in psychological processes,
reflects reality in the minds of people, but primarily it is the most important means of human
communication. It is well known that the only form of linguistic existence is speech, so all its
characteristics as an object of study always follow from the dynamics of language activity. The
language is always specific, each phrase implies a specific purpose. Depending on the purpose of
the phrase, it is often necessary to establish meaningful connections between the objects in
question and the context, to refer to what is already known (to indicate the identity of objects, to
distinguish an object from a number of similar ones, to contrast objects of different types, to
characterize the particular through the general, to give the subject a certain qualification, to
highlight its feature).
In addition, the sentence should highlight the semantically important, already known
things should be contrasted with the new one, as yet unknown. One of the main ways of
expressing all these meanings is the article, which is defined in linguistics as "a structural word
that characterizes a noun related to the lexical meaning of this part of the language and the
categories of certainty/uncertainty". In modern English the concept of three articles has been
established: definite, indefinite and zero (a significant absence of the article). It should be noted
that articles do not exist in all languages. Latin and Russian have no article at all, and Greek had
a definite article that evolved from an indicative pronoun, but no indefinite one. The article
forms may also be different in different languages.
The article in English is really important, because it helps not only to express your
thoughts correctly and as accurately as possible, but also to understand the interlocutor correctly,
because people determine the meaning of a noun using the article in English. This is what makes
this course paper relevant.
Object of research: articles of the English language.
Subject of research: the article as a semantic operator in modern English.
The objective of this research is to analyze the features of the use of the article as a
semantic operator in the English language.
Tasks of the work:
1. Analyze the functions of the indefinite article in English;
2. Highlight the functions of a definite article in English;
3. Explore the semantic function of the article;
4. Consider examples of the realization of the semantic function of the article in English.
 3

The theoretical and practical significance of the work is determined by the possibility of
using the materials of this research as a basis for further scientific work in the field of modern
English grammar. The structure of the course paper is determined by the objective and tasks. The
work consists of an introduction, two chapters, a conclusion, and a list of references.
The main contradiction and problem that may arise in the way of this research is that at
the present stage linguists and grammarians have not reached a common opinion about the
number of articles and their functions in the English language.
Using the methods of study and analysis, as well as generalization of information from
various sources, it is necessary to try to give answers to the tasks set.
 4

I. TYPES OF ARTICLES AND THEIR FUNCTIONS IN ENGLISH

1.1 The indefinite article and its functions

An article is a lexical unit that is used with a noun, as a separate word (in some languages
as a prefix/suffix), which defines the grammatical definiteness of the noun, and also extends to
the numerical domain by virtue of its origin.
Indefinite articles in English grammar are both a/an, and in some cases others (some, any,
no). "An" and "a" are modern forms of the Old English word "an", which in English dialects was
the number "one" (as the lexical unit "on" in Saxon dialects) and survived to modern Scots as the
number "owan". Both "on" (revised to "one" by Norman) and "an" survive in modern English,
with "one" used as a number, and "an" ("a" before nouns beginning with a consonant sound) as
an indefinite article.
One of the features of the grammatical system of the language of the Middle English
period should be considered the final formation of the definite and indefinite articles. However,
as it stands, the origin of the article must be attributed to a slightly earlier time.
Already in the language of the Old English period, the demonstrative pronouns of the
masculine gender "Sē", of the feminine gender " Sēo" and the neuter gender "Þæt" usually acted
as functional words indicating the particular, singular nature of the object denoted by the noun
with which they were used, for example,"Þæt land" (definite).
The two main types of articles the definite and indefinite article (from the point of view
of the system, the zero article is also usually attached). It should be noted that the linguistic
literature about articles in a certain sense reflects the statistical distribution of the article as an
unmarked and designated member, that is significantly less research on the indefinite article than
on certain articles. For example, the work of R. Piotrovsky on certain articles in Romance
languages. Sometimes this inattention is also associated with a lack of understanding: for
example, M. M. Henrichs believes that various functions can be set only for a definite article.
The terminology of article types sometimes also reflects certain aspects of their origin
and functional nature. J. Wallis calls the English indefinite article Articulus Numeralis, and the
definite – Articulus Demonstrativus, since the former means exactly the same as "one", but less
clearly (minus the amplification).
As defined above, the article is the most common noun identifier. It is a structural lexical
unit that characterizes a noun. It qualifies as an independent lexical unit, although it functions as
a noun marker [12, p. 15].
 5

Unlike all other determinants that belong to the category of pronouns or nouns (in the
possessive case), the article is not an independent part of the language.
The use of articles, first of all, depends on the noun – a proper or general name, and, if it
is general, whether it belongs to a group of nouns that are calculable or uncountable. Therefore,
it is convenient to consider the use of articles by the categories of nouns that accompany them.
In English grammar, articles are often considered part of a broader category called
determinants. It contains articles, demonstrative pronouns (such as" this" and "that"), possessive
pronouns (such as "my" and "his"), and quantifiers (such as "all" and "few"). Articles and other
defining factors are also sometimes considered an adjective type, as they describe the words that
precede them.
In languages that use articles, each common noun, with some exceptions, is expressed
with its inherent certainty. It can be definite or indefinite, as an attribute (similar to how many
languages express each noun with a specific grammatical number — singular or plural — or
grammatical gender – feminine, masculine or neuter). Articles are among the most common
words in many languages; in English, for example, the most common lexical unit is the.
Articles are usually classified as definite or indefinite. Some languages with a well-
developed article system may distinguish additional subtypes. Within each type, languages can
have different forms of each article due to the correspondence of grammatical attributes, such as
gender, number, etc. Articles can be modified by the influence of neighboring sounds (as
variations of a/an in English) or words, as in Elysium (omitting letters for euphony, as cannot-
can't) [6].
The most complete definition of the article was given by A. I. Smirnitsky. "The article is
a functional lexical unit that characterizes the subject along the lines of clarification,
classification and restriction without expressing the grammatical connection between them" [13,
p. 215]. Historically, functional words, being a structural and semantic type of words devoid of
the reader's function, are derived from meaningful words with a certain meaning. But the
distinctive feature of the article is that it is a lexical unit with the name of the subject without
specifics, like a pronoun, and it is the most common part of speech.
In the literature, it is also given this definition: "The indefinite article characterizes an
object with the name of which it is associated as one of the representatives of any of the
representatives of a certain class of objects" [13, p. 209].
A. I. Smirnitsky contrasts the indefinite article with the definite one, since any moment of
individualization is not connected with it. The indefinite article classifies: I saw a tree in the
distance.
 6

A. I. Smirnitsky argues that since the indefinite article characterizes an object as a

representative of a class, it can be used even if we are talking about the class as a whole, and not
just about its individual representative: A tree takes many years to reach full growth.
This applies to every tree, and therefore to the entire class of plants that are called trees in
general. However, such cases are different from the cases of the designation of a class of nouns
with a definite article. These differences consist in the fact that any class of objects is considered
as a whole and at the same time contrasted with other classes with a definite article. There is no
point in contrasting this class with others with an indefinite article.
D. A. Stelling calls the indefinite article as the denoting sphere of semantics — this is not
the representation of an object in its being, but the opinion of a person about the object. He
explains the examples given as follows: in the first example: I saw a tree in the distance — a
specific situation of objective reality, an object observed by a person, a situation generated by a
physical action of a person. In the second example, A tree takes many years to reach full growth,
the same article allows us to express a general truth, a generalization that people have come to as
a result of many years of observation: each tree takes a long time to reach maximum growth. In
this case, the article refers to the sentence as a whole. Thus, D. A. Stelling comes to the
conclusion that the range of values for expressions for which this article can be used is extremely
wide and diverse. This is not just a classification. In this case, the essential meaning arises as
someone qualified, seen, mentally assumed, interpreted, and involved in the person (characters,
author) being reported to, always implicit, and understanding this is often not an easy task [18, p.
92].
A. I. Smirnitsky argues that, being a categorical article, the indefinite article is not used
with words denoting objects that are unique in their kind and thus stand outside of any class [13,
p. 208]. His statement is refuted by D. A. Stelling, who says that the nouns Sun, Moon, North
World can be used with an indefinite article, if they are not the part of reality that includes a
person. The indefinite article transfers statements to the sphere of the mental, conceptual.
Anglo-Saxon was an Indo-European language. Where grammatical relations are
expressed mainly through inflection – a change in the form of a word, for example, familiar to
us, "noun and adjective" or verb conjugation. Two and a half hundred modern irregular verbs
have survived from those distant times. However, the interaction of different dialects and shifts
in pronunciation led to the fact that this system gradually lost its functionality and basically
disintegrated. At the same time, new elements of the grammatical system were developed: some
phrases and syntactic constructions with particular meanings acquired the integral form of
analytical (that is consisting of several elements) grammatical constructions and reinterpreted the
 7

generalized meaning. Thus, the phrase "pronoun + noun" became a noun with an article, which
carries information about the identity of the object.
Modern English in the field of grammar is characterized by an analytical system, i.e. a
structure in which the main means of expressing grammatical meanings is the order of words and
official phrases, showing the relationship between words or groups of words.
The article is an important linguistic tool that provides accurate expression and correct
understanding of thoughts in English. Incorrect use of the article in the language leads either to a
distortion of the content of the statement, or to a mutual misunderstanding of the interlocutors.
This is one way to compare a given language work with a given language situation. Articles are
usually in the unstressed position.
The indefinite article indicates that its noun is not specific to the listener. This may be
something that the speaker mentions for the first time, or the speaker may make a general
statement about any such thing. A/an are indefinite articles used in English. The form an is used
before words starting with a vowel sound (even if they are written with an initial consonant, like
an hour), and the form a before words starting with a consonant sound (even if they are written
with a vowel, like a European).
Example: She had a house so large that an elephant would get lost without a map.
In ancient epochs, words beginning with the incarnate (not the mute) h in the unstressed
first syllable, such as historic(al), hallucination, hilarious, horrendous, and horrific, some
(especially older) English writers like to apply an more than a (an historical event, etc.). Some
writers in British English still like to apply an before “hotel” (probably reflecting the relatively
recent adoption of a text from French in which h is not pronounced). The introduction of "an"
before words beginning with the silent sound "h" occurs more often in British English than in
American.
American writers usually use "a" in all these cases, but sometimes there is "an history" in
American English. According to the New Oxford Dictionary of the British Language, this
introduction is increasingly found in British English. Unlike the English dialect, South American
English generally uses "an herb", for example, as the "h" sound in a given word is not audible to
most speakers of this dialect.
Throughout the XIII century, there is a separation of the indefinite article from the
numeral. And at the same stage, the alternation of the articles "a/an" is strengthened.
About the situation of the development of articles, it is possible to say only that in the
form of the transmission of the largest number of information in oral form, it is not easy to study,
and conceals almost all the mysteries for scientists. The indefinite article begins its formation
somewhat later than the definite one. Its origin originates within the X-XI century, and
 8

irrevocably ends its formation only in the Middle English stage. In the X-XI century, it is
important to increase the use of the indefinite article "a" with nouns. The main semantic function
of the indefinite article was and remains to this day an expression of the relativity of a class.
During the whole of the thirteenth century, the indefinite article is separated from the numeral.
And at the same stage, the alternation of the articles "a/ap" is strengthened [4].
It seems reasonable to take the position of E. I. Volkova, who believes that the "zero
article" began to be evaluated as such against the background of the first two types due to the
fact that when learning English, the presence of the article takes on a certain meaning.
The historical character of the articles can be clearly traced at the present level of the
formation of the English language – the definite article can be used as a synonym for
demonstrative pronouns "this, that", and the indefinite article in some cases acts as the number
"one".
Thus, we can conclude that the main meaning of the indefinite article is the classifier: the
object is contrasted as one of a certain class. The degree of concretization may vary, but there is
no complete identification, as in a specific article. A variant of the classifying value can be
considered as a generalizable value, which is observed in some cases when using the indefinite
article.

1.2 Functions of the definite article

The definite article is derived from the Old English pronoun meaning "that". The
semantic essence of articles is revealed by D. A. Stelling, who pointed out the analogy of articles
with the system of demonstrative pronouns [18, p. 91]:
Such – such a
That – the same
D. A. Stelling argues that demonstrative pronouns are the most abstract in meaning and
belong to the level of the pronoun system, where all semantic differences in the origin of gender,
personality/non-personality, animateness and inanimateness are eliminated, which makes them
unable to give the noun those characteristics that are organically related to the objects themselves
(gender, personality, animateness), in contrast to personal and other pronouns that can clarify
these qualities.
Thus, the pointer pronouns are named so that they can change the real meaning, as if they
were represented by the parties, and here the" human moment " in these meanings is obviously
opened to compare it with the already familiar (the same), to show the thing (that), for example,
or to change it in another way, to characterize it (such) by the speaker.
 9

From this we conclude that the special feature of the English article is that it is associated
not only with the case, but also with the class (and even with the number). Thus, we can
conclude that the English article is more independent of the noun, which significantly expands
and enriches it as a personal semantic structure and the likelihood of its active application in
speech. But the article is used only where there is a noun or phrase that is an expression of one of
the semantic spheres of the language, articles, therefore, refers to these spheres not only as an
application to nouns, but also to them have every chance to touch entire sections of the word and
language.
"The definite article is characterized by the importance of individualization, it
characterizes an already known object, a specific object that stands out from the entire class of
homogeneous objects" [13, p. 213].
A. I. Smirnitsky argues that, first, depending on the situation, a specific subject can be
mentioned earlier in the language:
The house was there facing south – low and square and modern – looking with rounded
windows letting in all the light.
Secondly, the subject, although not previously mentioned, can appear in speech as
already known due to the entire situation or context:
When she came to herself, or when Miss Betsey had restored her, whichever it was, she
found the latter, standing at the window.
Third, an object always acts as known if it is peculiar and therefore cannot be included in
any class. This includes the names of the planets, countries of the world, etc.: Sun, Month, North.
In this regard, the point of view of D. A. Stelling is interesting, who gives his own interpretation
of the use of articles with unique names, but first let us consider his point of view of the
understanding of articles in the English language [18, p.90].
D. A. Stelling sorts the English articles into two areas that stand out in the statement: "on
the one hand, the denotative referent, as a designation of the fact of reality, on the other hand, the
definition means meaning, as some thought about this fact." D. A. Stelling states that the definite
article is an exponent of the denotative sphere, while the indefinite and null-the sphere of
adjectives. Of course, the article does not represent an object that differs in certain
characteristics, but only exposes the object of objective reality itself, of which a person is a part,
it is an object familiar to a person from life experience, from a reality in which a person is
somehow involved. This is why the names of the planets are used with a definite article. All
these heavenly bodies are directly connected with the life of people, they are real for a person.
A. I. Smirnitsky emphasizes that a definite article can individualize an object and
distinguish a class of objects as a whole, contrasting it with other classes: The dog is stronger
 10

than a cat. D. A. Stelling adds that when a class of objects is distinguished in a certain article, it
is not a quantitative moment, but the value of qualitative originality, uniqueness, as unique in
reality, individual, unique, specific to a given substance, incomparable, which emphasizes its
difference from all other objects of reality.
These values of the marked article N. V. Vargin combines under a common feature of
identification. She says that the value of identification is fundamental to this article. It is used
when re-assigning the subject, when there is a restrictive definition in the context that
distinguishes the object from its similar ones, when designating unique objects, this may be
caused by the communication situation itself. Identification is observed when generalizing the
meaning of the designated article [3, p. 114].
The definite article, is used to refer to a specific member of a group or class. It may be
something that the speaker has already mentioned, or it may be something that is unambiguously
defined. It is the only definite article in English, both for singular and plural nouns. [7]
The children know the fastest way home.
The above sentence applies to specific children and a specific way home; this contrasts
with a much more general observation, such as:
Children know the fastest ways home.
The last sentence applies to children in general and their specific ways of getting home.
Similarly, in the following sentence:
Give me the book.
It refers to a particular book that is known or obvious to the listener; it has a markedly
different meaning from the following:
Give me a book.
Here the author uses the indefinite article, which does not specify which book should be
given.
The definite article can also be used in English to indicate a particular class among other
classes.:
The cabbage white butterfly lays its eggs on members of the Brassica genus.
However, recent research suggests that certain articles are morphological elements
associated with certain types of nouns due to lexicalization. From this point of view, certainty
does not play a role in the choice of a particular article more than the lexical unit attached to the
article.
The history of its origin is also very interesting. The English language originates from the
V century BC. Already in the written literature, which has come down to us around the VII-VIII
centuries AD, there were records with the article-like form of the word. For some time, this form
 11

was improved, and before the New England period, it became an independent service part of
speech, which not only accompanies the noun, but also forms it [4].
For example, The ifs and the buts.
Thus, the" objectification " of the noun is increasingly reinforced by the definite article of
the English language.
Of course, the article in English appeared in the era of the pre-written period. The
pronoun "se" was its source. At first, "se" was the only demonstrative pronoun. Then on its basis
there is another demonstrative pronoun "thes". For a long time, these two demonstrative
pronouns were opposed to each other: "se" — meaning "that, far away", and "thes" — meaning
"this, close". But despite the fact that" thes "was newer, since it came later than" se", the more
commonly used demonstrative pronoun was"se" for a long time. Of the whole system of forms of
the demonstrative pronoun "se" in the Middle English period, as a result of various phonetic and
morphological changes, only the forms "the" and "that"remain. And, as a consequence, "the" is
fixed as the form of a definite article. Thus, we can conclude that the purpose of the indefinite
article is to denote the general in the noun, and the purpose of the definite article is to denote the
meaning of the significant in the noun.
Definite articles usually arise from demonstrative values meaning "this". For example,
certain articles in most Romance languages — for example, el, il, le, la, lo-are derived from the
Latin demonstratives ille (masculine), illa (feminine), and illud (neuter).
The definite English article, written as "þe" in Middle English, is derived from the Old
English demonstrative, which, according to gender, was written se (masculine), seo (feminine)
(þe and þeo in Northumbrian dialect), or þæt (neuter). The middle form þæt also gave rise to the
modern evidential “that".
 12

II. THE SEMANTIC FUNCTION OF THE ARTICLE

2.1 The indefinite article as a semantic operator

From the explanations and discussions concerning the possible semantic function of the
indefinite article, one would assume that its purpose is to indicate to the listener that the said
object (s) does not exist in any of the speaker-listener realities. This article divides semantic sets,
and the listener simply has to accept that the object referred to by the speaker is simply one of
the members of an infinite class of such objects.

The indefinite article is treated as an unmarked agent that is used (with calculable nouns)
when the conditions for using the definite article do not exist. According to Hawkins [21], the
original theory that the objects referred to by the indefinite articles do not exist in the general sets
of the speaker-listener is not always true. For example, if someone says, "member of parliament
has resigned", the listener can locate the referent in a broader situation. Similarly, "pass me a
bucket" can refer to one of the buckets in the immediate utterance situation. Similarly, after
mentioning a book, the speaker may say, "a page fell out (of that book)".

Thus, the referents of indeterminate descriptions can be located in larger sets of

situations, sets of immediate situations, and sets of associations in the same way as the referents
of certain descriptions. Hawkins argues that in fact, undefined values may in some cases refer to
previously presented objects, i.e., to participants in the previous discourse, as in:

Some students were standing outside the factory gate. Bill kept his eye on them. After a
little while a student came up to him and asked him his name.

Note, however, that the student in the example may refer to one of the previously
mentioned students, but equally this may not happen. Thus, the semantic category of uncertainty
is formed in relation to whether the articles in this situation are the true agents of a trigger. In
general, it is the context that determines how the indefinite article should be understood.

Indefinite referents can be placed in these general sets, but whether they exist or not
depends on the pragmatics of the remainder of the sentence. Hawkins believes that the indefinite
articles are completely neutral with respect to the corresponding conditions. In other words, as
far as uniqueness is concerned, sentences with "a" are logically neutral with respect to the
attraction of semantic uniqueness of the corresponding sentences with "the". Hawkins gives
examples of ambiguity and ambiguity of such facts as the following [21]:

1. Bill didn't eat a large cake. [two meanings (definite and indefinite)]
 13

2. Bill didn’t eat the large cake. [one meaning]

3. Bill didn’t eat that large cake. [one meaning]

4. Minna wants to meet a Norwegian. [two meanings]

5. Minna wants to meet the Norwegian. [one meaning]

6. Minna wants to meet that Norwegian. [one meaning]

From the examples above, specific / non-specific ambiguity is limited only to undefined
values. The explanation for this is pragmatic and is related to the focus on the listener. With
definite and demonstrative expressions, it is pragmatically assumed that the listener has this form
of control or knowledge of the objects to which he refers, as opposed to indefinite ones. For
example, in examples (2) or (3), the speaker pragmatically indicates to his listener that the latter
knows that there is a cake and what kind of cake he is talking about. But, in example (1), the
speaker points out to the listener that the existence and identity of the said object do not fall
under their shared experience in such a way that a definite article can be used. The specific / non-
specific specification is one of the important issues in the interpretation of indefinite articles;
therefore, we will consider specificity and non-specificity as properties of indefinite semantic
phrases.

The special meaning of indefinite articles can be found in examples such as:

A dog bit me last night.

John is marrying an heiress.

The essential semantic feature of a particular meaning is that it presupposes the presence
of a referent. Thus, the sentences can be paraphrased into:

There was a dog (which) bit me last night.

There is an heiress (who) John is marrying.

The insertion phrases, as in these examples, are called existential sentences. Abbott noted
the terms "weak" and "strong" for semantic phrases [19]. Weak semantic phrases are those that
have determinants, such as a / an, some, many, and "number determinants" (one, two, three, etc.),
as in the sentences of the first example. Weak semantic phrases easily fit into existential
sentences, as in the second example. On the contrary, strong semantic phrases are those that are
traditionally called definite, i.e. definite articles, demonstratives, possessive pronouns, and
semantic phrases defined by universal quantifiers (all, each). These semantic phrases do not fit
 14

into existential sentences. Thus, the strong semantic phrase "the dog", as shown in the example,
does not replace the existential context in the sentence:

There was the dog (which) bit me last night.

Kearns also gives examples of the specific / non-specific distinction of indefinite articles
in:

Mary wants to buy a BMW. She is negotiating with the owner.

Mary wants to buy a BMW. She will look for one at the Used Car Mart downtown.

A special semantic reading in the first sentence appears where the reported thought is
directed at a specific person mentioned by the speaker. The "BMW" unit is specific because it
refers to a specific car that exists and that Mary wants to buy. Thus, using a verb here, as in: "She
is negotiating with the owner", sounds normal. On the other hand, a non-specific reading appears
where the reported thought is directed at a type or class of objects and no specific person is
mentioned. In the second sentence, unlike the first, Mary does not mean a specific ENTITY, and
in fact such an entity may or may not exist. Thus, the use of an existential sentence in this
situation is unacceptable:

There is a BMW that Mary wants to buy, and she will look for one at the Used Car Mart
downtown.

While a specific interpretation describes something about who or what the speaker is
referring to, a non-specific interpretation describes something about the type of person or object
the speaker is referring to. Thus, saying:

There is a millionaire who Melanie is looking for.

In fact, there may be cases where certain semantic phrases are not specific:

The first man to set foot on Mars will be a scientist.

The winner will receive a holiday for four in Scunthorpe.

The most important difference between concrete and non-specific meanings is the
premise of existence, which the latter cannot claim. This difference is illustrated by examples:

Pass me a sandwich. [specificity]

Make me a sandwich. [non-specificity]

 15

The first sentence requires an action that involves one of the many existing sandwiches,
while the second sentence requires an action that will result in a sandwich. From the discussion
above, the listener's "presumed knowledge" of the referent is a major factor in determining a
certain / indefinite difference, whereas "existence" is important when a specific / non-specific
difference concerns indefinite semantic phrases.

Although there are pragmatically different interpretations regarding the specific / non-
specific distinction of indefinite descriptions, it is noteworthy that in English, nouns / phrases are
not singled out for specificity. Specific and non-specific single semantic phrases are mostly
marked with the article " a "or «an". Moreover, the non-specific interpretation tends to describe
the object in a general sense (i.e., no specific person is mentioned).

Thus, the non-specific meaning of the indefinite articles may indeed encompass both the
non-preferential indefinite a/an and the general a/an. The nature of the contrast between the and a
/ an is based on the logical property of uniqueness in relation to the general knowledge of the
speaker and the listener, and the interpretations are transferred to speech implicatures,
pragmatically manifested in the use of language. These pragmatically oriented aspects can only
be achieved in the process of research by introducing concepts into a real model of the use of
language in the discourse of communication. Based on the presented review, the following
conclusions can be drawn.

Numerous studies on the semantic functioning of articles have provided models for
analyzing English-language contexts of semantic phrases for the correct use of the article. One of
the main areas of research that classifies phrases based on the knowledge of the listener is the
two universals of the reference of semantic phrases:

1. Universal discourse (represented by a binary sign, meaning "the listener is known" or "
the listener is assumed to know»);

2. Semantic universal (represented by a binary sign, which means "specific referent").

The first case is when the speaker assumes whether the listener assumed knowledge of
the referent of the semantic phrase in question, while the second case is whether the entity is
specific or non-specific to the speaker. The universal semantic and discursive model states that
each semantic in the discourse must belong to one of 4 combinations of basic contexts of
semantic phrases, designated by these two binary characteristics of referentiality. Huebner
adopted Bickerton's model and called the four main contexts of semantic phrases "semantic
types".
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2.2 The definite article as a semantic operator

Syntactically, in English, all nouns require an article, definite or indefinite, before the
entire semantic phrase. The prototype of certainty is the definite article "the". The choice of the
article depends on how well the speaker knows his own realities, as well as the knowledge of
other people about his realities. There are various variants of the semantic use of the definite
article "the", some of which are illustrated below.

The definite article "the" implies an anaphoric reference. The term "anaphora" implies
that the reference to the noun preceded by" the " is known from the linguistic context. That is,
the information given by the speaker earlier in the discourse gives the listener an understanding
of the referent to which "the" refers. Anaphoric referents can be either direct or indirect. For
example, in the sentence:

John bought a TV and a video recorder, but he returned the video recorder.

"The" expresses a direct anaphora, because "the" directly refers to the VCR. On the
contrary, in the sentence:

John bought a bicycle, but when he rode it one of the wheels came off.

"The" is used to express an indirect anaphora (bicycle + wheel). The reference to "the" is
indirect, because "the" is not directly related to" bicycle", but rather uses the general knowledge
that a bicycle has wheels. Lyons argues that certain noun phrases that are a backward reference
to an antecedent in discourse (both the description and the antecedent evoke the same entity)
express anaphoric references.

An elegant, dark-haired woman, a well-dressed man with dark glasses, and two children
entered the compartment. I immediately recognized the woman. The children also looked
vaguely familiar.

The referents "woman" and "children" are familiar not by their physical position, but by
their linguistic context; they have already been mentioned earlier. In this example, the previous
reference occurs in an earlier sentence spoken by the same speaker, but it can also occur in a part
of the speech spoken by another person.

The speaker and the listener may have (share) knowledge about the relationship between
certain objects evoked by the discourse (triggers) and their components or attributes (associated
object): the associative anaphoric use of certain noun phrases uses this knowledge.

I had to get a taxi from the station. On the way the driver told me there was a bus strike.
 17

Quirk explains that the referent marked with the definite article "the" is known from the
immediate situation. For example:

The roses are very beautiful.

If this utterance is uttered in a garden where both the speaker and the listener are present,
the roses are easy to recognize. The following two uses of certain noun phrases identified by
Hawkins are used to refer to an object in a pronouncing situation. The referent may be visible, or
its presence may be assumed by the visible use of the situation. This type of usage occurs when
the mentioned object is visible to both the speaker and the listener, as in the following examples:

A. Please, pass me the bucket.

B. Put it on the table.

Certain semantic phrases, the referent of which is an integral part of the immediate
situation in which a certain semantic phrase is used, may not necessarily be visible.

Just give the shelf a quick wipe, will you, before I put this vase on it.

Put these clean towels in the bathroom please.

The examples show the situational use of the word in the sense that the physical situation
in which the speaker and the listener are located contributes to the acquaintance of the referent
and a certain semantic phrase. In the first sentence, the situation is immediate, visible; the shelf is
familiar to the speaker and the listener by what is before their eyes. In the second sentence, the
situation is still relatively certain, although the referent of a particular name group is probably
not visible; in a particular house, the listener will most naturally perceive the "bathroom" as the
bathroom in the house where he is located.

Hawkins lists two classes of specific semantic phrases that are used in situations in which
the speaker refers to the listener's knowledge of entities that do not exist in the immediate or
broader situation of the utterance — knowledge that they share as members of the same
community. There is a case where both the speaker and the listener are aware of the existence of
the referent, as in the example below, in which it is assumed that the speaker and the listener
share the same reality:

The moon was very bright last night.

This sentence can be considered as a situational use, in which the whole world is a
situation, or as a use in which familiarity comes from general knowledge. Thus, the moon refers
to a specific moon associated with that planet, or to a unique entity that forms part of the
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listener's general knowledge. Identifiable referents can be related to a broader situation

(knowledge exchange) between the speaker and the listener.

I hear the prime minister behaved outrageously again today.

In the example, the relevant situation is broader; in a particular country, the reference to
the Prime Minister is usually perceived as the Prime Minister of that country; the person
concerned is not personally known to the listener, but is familiar in the sense that it is known
about his existence and probably known from reports.

Several theories about the semantic function of a particular article characterize it in terms
of uniqueness, recognizability, inclusiveness, and identifiability.

Uniqueness is critically defined as the property of being (as the speaker believes)
uniquely identifiable to the listener. Uniqueness theory states that the successful use of" the
"requires that «the referent of a semantic phrase is uniquely identifiable to the listener". For a
referent to be identifiable, it is generally assumed that the referent must be unique. Uniqueness
theories view definiteness as an indication that the referent is unique in relation to some
pragmatically given domain.

The theory of uniqueness is rooted in the logical tradition and usually goes back to
Bertrand Russell [25], who argued that the definite article requires existence and uniqueness. The
existence and uniqueness of the referent of a certain nominal group are part of the conditions for
the truth of the sentence. For example:

The King of France is bald.

This sentence implies three meanings: France has a king, France has only one king and
he is bald. Thus, the use of the indefinite article, as in the example, simply asserts the existence
of an individual corresponding to the description of the King of France, but the definite article
also asserts its uniqueness.

Strawson addresses Russell's statement that the existence and uniqueness of a referent is
part of the statement of a sentence containing a certain description. He agrees that in order for a
sentence to be true, the conditions of existence and uniqueness must be met. A disagreement
occurs if these conditions are not met. Discussing the sentence "The king of France is wise",
Strawson argues that this sentence is not false, but rather is neither true nor false, meaning it has
no truth value.
 19

The view that existence and uniqueness are part of what a sentence implies, rather than
what it claims, has since become generally accepted. It is worth noting that Frege also described
the existence and uniqueness as prerequisites for the use of a certain name group [23]. Another,
more serious problem for Russell's analysis has recently attracted a lot of attention, namely, the
fact that in a large number of cases, perhaps in the vast majority, the descriptive content of a
particular description is not enough to select a unique referent from the world as a whole. One
example of such an "incomplete description" is given in the example:

Please put this on the table.

But it would be difficult to explain how the addressee could guess what descriptive
content remained implicit. In a more plausible approach, the uniqueness encoded in certain
semantic phrases should be understood relative to the context of the utterance, which will include
only those elements that surround the participants in the discourse, and those elements that are
mentioned during the conversation or understood as they relate to its topic.

It may seem that uniqueness will necessarily be limited to single semantic phrases.
However, according to Hawkins, the concept of uniqueness can be extended to the plural, using
the idea of completeness — the designation of a certain consists of everything that corresponds
to the descriptive content of a semantic phrase. For example:

Bring us the wickets in after the game of cricket.

In this example, the definite article is used with the plural noun (wickets) denoting six
wickets. Thus, the concept of totality in the plural of nouns and mass nouns when used with a
definite article is similar to the universal quantifier (all), and wickets can be understood as a
unique maximum set of wickets due to the context. Inclusivity is particularly suitable for the use
of definiteness in the plural and in the plural of nouns.

Inclusivity expresses the fact that a reference is made to a collection of objects or masses
in a context that satisfies the description. In contrast to the theory of uniqueness, it is the theory
of inclusiveness, which is applied to groups of subjects. According to this theory, a speaker
refers to a collection or mass of objects that satisfy his description. The specified object is not
unique, because it belongs to a group of objects.

For example, if someone mentions dogs, they may be referring to a group of ten golden
retrievers, a group of five poodles and five schnauzers, or any possible dogs. The only thing the
listener can understand is that the speaker is referring to a group of four-legged animals with tails
and fur. In addition, at a party, the host may exclaim:
 20

Hope your glasses are empty because we‘re serving the juice.

The "juice" in this sentence is not unique, is not identified (let's assume it's in the
refrigerator), and is not familiar to the listener (it's still in the refrigerator). In this case, the
definite article is a type of universal quantifier, meaning something like "all juice". Therefore,
the speaker is not referring to one specific or identifiable juice, but simply to the presence of the
juice as a whole (i.e., all the juice in the refrigerator).

One way to look at certainty is to link it to the concept of recognizability. The general
idea is that a particular semantic phrase is used to refer to a referent that has already been
introduced into the discourse during the use of a particular expression. Heim characterizes
definiteness in terms of the traditional concept of recognizability: the definite article is used
when the referent is familiar at the current stage of the discourse, and the indefinite article is
used to introduce a new referent. Recognizability is what allows the listener to identify the
referent. Recognition theories claim that successful use of a word requires only that the referent
has already been introduced into the discourse: "a certain article leads to the fact that a certain
association with previously acquired knowledge is attached to the potential meaning (idea) of the
word. When looking at recognizability, there is no systematic consequence of uniqueness
associated with the referent of a particular semantic phrase. Recognizability and unique
identification are not equivalent concepts, yet they are very closely related:

I bought a car this morning.

I bought the car this morning.

The car in the second sentence is in some sense more "definite", "specific"," special","
individual", etc., than the car in the first sentence, but as noted above, the car definitely denotes a
specific car to the extent that the speaker is speaking.

The point is that the reference to the car in the second sentence is supposed to be clear to
both the listener and the speaker. This is the first important discovery; whereas in the case of an
indefinite semantic phrase, the speaker may be aware of what is being said, and the listener
probably is not, with a certain nominal phrase, this awareness is signaled as shared by both
participants.

It is usually possible to say the first sentence where the machine in question does not yet
have a place in the listener's experience, and he has just been introduced to it. The second
sentence will be used when the listener knows or has seen the speaker's new car. The participants
in the discourse may be driving right now, or they may be standing looking at the car together; or
 21

it may happen that the listener has not yet seen the car belonging to the speaker, but knew that he
had recently inspected a particular car in the exhibition hall. Signals that the entity indicated by
the semantic phrase is familiar to both the speaker and the listener, and is used where the speaker
does not want to signal such a general proximity.

So, from the data of the considered examples, we found out that the essence of a certain
article, as a semantic operator, consists in giving a semantic phrase identification, uniqueness,
recognition or inclusiveness.
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CONCLUSION
Having studied in detail the grammar of the English language and the occurrence of
articles, it can be said that in modern English there are tendencies to expand the range of their
use. In this paper, attention was paid to the main aspects of the appearance of articles in English
and their functioning as semantic operators.
Obviously, knowledge of grammar directly interacts with the development of speech. And
studying grammar, it is necessary to know and understand, at least in general terms, how this or
that category of grammar arose. Thus, the study of historical and modern grammar leads to the
conclusion that the state even in the modern system of language is unstable, and changes can be
made at any time, since with the change of people, their speech also changes.
In the modern era, there are still trends in the development of the grammar of the language,
which in one or another part of the development cause small, almost imperceptible changes. But
all these minor changes together in the future will create significant differences from the current
state, which will undoubtedly lead to the emergence of a new era of language.
Any language undergoes changes in its development. This is an ongoing process. And even
today, there are certain changes that affect the further development of modern articles in English.
So, to summarize, the following might be noted:
1. The material for the formation of the indefinite article was the Old English numeral ăn
— the one that already at the end of the Old English period began to be used not only as a
numeral, but also as a word indicating the generalized nature of the noun.
2. The definite article comes from demonstrative pronouns that existed in Old English, and
the final formation of this article can be attributed to the Middle Ages.
3. The purpose of the semantic function of the indefinite article is to indicate to the listener
that the mentioned object (or objects) does not exist in any of the realities of the speaker-listener.
This article divides semantic sets, and the listener simply has to accept that the object referred to
by the speaker is simply one of the members of an infinite class of such objects. The indefinite
article is treated as an unmarked agent that is used (with calculable nouns) when the conditions
for using the definite article do not exist.
4. The definite article" the " implies an anaphoric reference. The term "anaphora" implies
that the reference to the noun preceded by "the" is known from the linguistic context. The
information given by the speaker earlier in the discourse gives the listener an understanding of
the referent to which "the" refers. Several theories about the semantic function of a particular
article characterize it in terms of uniqueness, recognizability, inclusiveness, and identifiability.
The theoretical and practical significance of the work is that the materials used to write the
work, the research and conclusions contained in the work can be used in English language
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lessons, the history of the English language, and also serve as a tool for further study of this issue
related to such a topic as articles.