Functions and significance of the Article.

Functionally there are two forms of the Article – definite and indefinite. The forms are not changed. Though they have definite phonetic versions/the versions in pronunciation (drawing 4.1):

 

 

the		a / an
Transcription	Position	Example		Transcription	Position	Example
[ ]	Before consonants	On the table	[ ]	Before consonants	On a table
[ ]	Before vowels	In the apple		[en]	In the stressed position	In an apple
[..:]	In the stressed position	I told: ‘On the table, but not on a table!’		[ei]	Before vowels	I told: ‘On the table, but not on a table!’

Drawing 4.1. Allomorphemes of the Definite and Indefinite Forms of the English Article

 

There are three main problems/questions in accordance with the English Article:

 

1. If the Article is a definite word or not; and what is its relation to the Noun (the problem of garamatical status)?

2. If the Article is a definite word, then if it is a definite part of speech (the problem of morphological status)?

3. What is the number of articles in English (the problem of Grammatical Category)?