Which one is the proper form:
The chapter of a book.
or:
The chapter of book.
What are the rules and exceptions for skipping an article after "of" ?
3 Answers
Speaking only as a native English speaker, not a grammarian, you should generally not skip the article at all.
One exception I can think of off-hand is when you're referring to an individual in a group or series: "the chapter of book three", or "a member of group A".
This response also contains another exception that I'm not sure is grammatically correct but is correct in common usage -- leaving it out when in a conjunction: "a group or series". It does sound nicer to write "a group or a series", but omitting the second article will not be noticed by the majority.
As Peter has said, really.
Here's a guide to using of
Of
Used for belonging to, relating to, or connected with:
The secret of this game is that you can’t ever win. The highlight of the show is at the end. The first page of the book describes the author’s profile. Don’t touch it. That’s the bag of my friend’s sister. I always dreamed of being rich and famous.Used to indicate reference:
I got married in the summer of 2000. This is a picture of my family. I got a discount of 10 percent on the purchase.Used to indicate an amount or number:
I drank three cups of milk. A large number of people gathered to protest. I had only four hours of sleep during the last two days. He got a perfect score of 5 on his writing assignment.
As you can see, when "of" comes immediately before a noun, you drop the article when that noun indicates a number or an amount. Otherwise you have to use the article.
The proper form for including or dropping the article depends not so much on the preposition "of" but on the noun itself.
You tagged this question "definite-article," however, "a" is an indefinite article. "The" is a definite article.
"The chapter of book" is invalid because book is a common noun, which requires an article. You could say "the chapter of a book," which refers to one book (non-specifically). You could say "the chapter of the book," which refers to a specific book. This would be unclear unless people know what you mean in referring to "the book." You could also say "the chapter of this book," which uses a demonstrative.
Some nouns do not require articles, and "a chapter of time" would be a valid phrase, because time is a general phenomenon. Also, if you are using a proper noun, like the name of an author, or a place, you would not use an article in referring to "the book of Luke" or "the Tower of Pisa." However, you would have trouble finding "the book of Michael Crichton," as he has written many books.
Name: ___; Address: ___; Member of group: ___)