Questions tagged [indefinite-articles]
An article is a word that combines with a noun to indicate the type of reference being made by the noun.
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“He is master of none” vs. “He is a teacher of history”
John is [a] master of none.
John is a teacher of history.
I am wondering why the indefinite article is often missing in the first case but must be present in the second case. Is there any rule at ...
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"With pen and paper" <-- Why don't we need an article here? [duplicate]
"I recommend trying it if you like writing with pen and paper". This is a sentence in a book. Why isn't there an "a" article before "pen" since pen is a countable noun? Is it just a style preference?
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use of Definite article [closed]
The above is a screenshot of Collins Cobuild dictionary explaining the word 'runway'. What bothers me is the definite articles in phrase "the runway is the long strip". Why can't it be just " the ...
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Should we place articles before those words which don't have plural forms
I've had an argue with my colleague about whether the following sentence contains any article-related issues or not:
If a contour's area is larger than 30 then that contour is alive. It
is dead ...
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What's the difference between "It's good soup" and "It's a good soup"
I was taught to say "It's a good soup", "It's a great car", "It's a really good weekend" whereas I was watching a movie last night where a guy was eating a soup and said: "It's good soup".
How to ...
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When is it correct to use "scissors" as a singular noun?
In the Oxford dictionary website, the following example for scissors is given:
A small suture scissors was used to "fish" for the deeply embedded
hair.
However I find weird that it treats ...
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Article before the word “additional”
It is known that an indefinite article may be used before the word “additional” followed by a plural noun.
Example: An additional 5 sheets were used.
But phrases like “additional resources” (without ...
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Please clarify this guideline "You use a plural count noun with no article if you mean all or any of that thing."?
Frankfurt International School's ESL website says:
You use a plural count noun with no article if you mean all or any of that thing.
I don't like dogs.
Do they have children?
I don't ...
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"It was an awesome weather." Is this sentence correct? [closed]
Could someone help me with this sentence:
"It was an awesome weather."
Is this sentence correct?
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why should I remove 'a' here?
A native English speaker has revised my writing. He changed
This has been added as a future work.
to
This has been added as future work.
I wonder, why I should remove a ?
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Articles after the preposition (by)
Why would we say by car or by bus instead of saying by a car or by a bus, or by the bus or by the car? Because when I want to refer to a specific kind of a car, how would I say it? Such as: a gang ran ...
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Is "a happiness" a valid expression? [closed]
Is "a happiness" a valid/commonly used expression?
Because before realizing it, I found myself smiling too, enjoying (a) happiness that came from someone else's heart.
Or maybe happiness isn't ...
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"have dinner" vs. "have a dinner"
Hi I am a teacher of English in Argentina. I teach in 5 th grade ,primary school. I share the same grade with another teacher and I would like to be sure about certain points we teach differently. For ...
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Is there a means of using indefinite articles with plural nouns?
I encountered the following sentence:
In programming, types are a means of classifying values.
According to Google, "are a means of" and "is a means of" are used a lot.
According to "A Concise ...
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When should I use indefinite article ahead of "certain"
The system determines at what altitude can a plane fly in a certain
airspace
or
The system determines at what altitude can a plane fly in certain
airspace
Word complains when using "a certain"...
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Verb - agreement dilemma - 'first-two days'
I am having some trouble coming up with a natural-sounding expression whilst still ensuring conformity to the rule of Subject-verb agreement. At the centre of my concern is the phrase "first-two days" ...
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Articles before nouns and "or" conjunction
I am trying to understand the correct use of articles before nouns that are separated by "or". For example.
It doesn't matter whether you are a mobile or a frontend developer
....
Or it should ...
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Use of the article in “a better mechanic than [a] clerk”
These are a few examples in wren and martin English Grammar book related to the articles. Kindly explain the difference between these two sentences:
He is a better mechanic than clerk.
He is a ...
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Using "this" as an indefinite article
I am not a native speaker myself and would like to inquire about a particular usage of "this".
Here's an example from the Corpus of Contemporary American English https://www.english-corpora....
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Could it be that 'an another' is acceptable usage?
It is well known that, as CGEL puts it (p. 391),
Determinative another derives historically from the compounding of
the indefinite article and the adjective other; the consequence of
this for ...
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a or the in this sentence? [duplicate]
There is a reading exercise in this book I am using to teach. It goes ...
A: Excuse me, is there a post office near here?
B: Yes. There's post office in Jindrisska Street. Turn right a the ...
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He is "a responsible policeman and father" or "a responsible policeman and a responsible father"
In the following sentence, is it correct to just use one 'a' before the two nouns 'policeman' and 'father'?
He is a responsible policeman and father.
Or do I need to put it as 'He is a responsible ...
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"For detailed review and comparison "
I would be so grateful if you can let me know which of the following sentences is correct:
1: "For a detailed review of the most related works and a comparison between them "
2: "For detailed review ...
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When to use indefinite article "a(n)" when referring to a person with an adjective? [duplicate]
I'm not a native English speaker. From time to time I see the following structure when referring to a person:
... a(n) [adjective] [person's name] ...
example:
"Meanwhile, an increasingly ...
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What does "Using a plural form of a countable noun when you want to make a general statement about all things of a particular type." actually mean?
This site says:
Using a plural form of a countable noun when you want to make a
general statement about all things of a particular type.
Books are so important in my life. (all books in ...
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the vulnerability of (a/the/no article) domestic market [duplicate]
The sentence is:
One of the limitations of liberalization is that it increases the vulnerability of (a/the/no article) domestic market to foreign shocks.
Am I free to use either 'the', 'a', or no ...
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What's the rules for using figure captions? [duplicate]
For example, I have the following situation:
An/The example of a password is shown in Figure 1.
a picture goes here
Figure 1 - An/The example of a password
What article should I use? Should I say "...
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Why does the speaker use the indefinite article in 'This is the last time you are seeing A guy like this'? [closed]
Last night I was watching a movie and towards the end of the movie there was a dialogue which goes like this -- "This is the last time you are seeing a guy like this."
The speaker was telling this ...
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Making sense out of the big mess construction
Most grammarians are trying to analyze the big mess construction as a noun phrase, but it seems to me that the construction is actually headed by an adjective.
Mary was good
Here, "good" is a ...
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Can choosing "a something" over "the something" be natural even when that "something" is previously mentioned?
At 1:19 into this BBC news, the BBC reporter says:
But what pushed her from office was ___ constitutional court finding her guilty of crime in a country which has only been a democracy for 30 years.
...
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Using the definite article describing a general thing [closed]
I have a question about using articles.
Consider the following sentence.
"The/a right side of a rectangle can be found ..."
"The perimeter of a rectangle may be / is found by"
The question is : ...
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Using the right article in a sentence [closed]
What is the right article in this sentence?
I'm talking about a regular pending icon used to indicate that an element is editable:
When I hover a block that's being edited, it wouldn't show (a|the|...
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The necessity of an indefinite article: The drinking segment is estimated to hold about 44.8% volume share by the end of 2026
I'm not sure if an indefinite article is required in the below sentence:
The drinking segment is estimated to hold about a 44% volume share by the end of 2022.
The drinking segment is estimated to ...
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How often do you go to "the" or "a" dentist?
I answered the below question and got it wrong. I wonder why? It was a fill in the blank type question.
How often do you go to ______ dentist?
I wrote "How often do you go to a dentist?" The ...
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Why is "any" not classified as an article?
Answering the question, Use of articles with adjectives, got me thinking. Why is the word "any" not classified as an article? We learn in grade school that the three English articles are "a", "an", ...
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Use of article in referring to carboxylic acids in a generic sense
Premises: Carboxylic acids are a class of organic acids. Both acetic acid and lauric acid are examples of carboxylic acids.
In example 1, 10 g of acetic acid was added to the solution. In example 2, ...
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Which indefinite article to use if the noun starts with a non-letter character?
In the Perl programming language, symbols in front of variable names are called a sigil. When reading code out loud, the sigil is spoken. $foo becomes dollar foo. The sigil for functions is the ...
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Definite article [closed]
I'm a little bit confused about the articles in the following sentence:
We celebrated the New Year by the campfire on a riverbank (...) we stayed at a campsite just up the road from the campfire ...
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Is "the" required in the mentioned context?
Is "the" required in the following context?
What did cause this problem? The suspects are A and B.
We are talking about suspects for the first time, so it doesn't need "the". But, as "suspects" ...
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"a" sharp tongue vs. "the" pointing finger
“Arrogance is a creature. It does not have senses.
It has only a sharp tongue and the pointing finger.”
― Toba Beta
I'd like to ask a question concerning indefinite and definite articles on the quote ...
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"Received widespread adoption": Why the absence of definite article?
So in the sentence:
The technology has received widespread adoption.
Why isn't the grammatically correct form be something like:
The technology has received a widespread adoption.
Or:
The ...
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Proper noun with an indefinte article [duplicate]
Merry Christmas and Happy New Year are proper nouns. But, why are they used with an indefinite article as in "I wish you a Happy New Year/Merry Christmas.
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I work in a hospital or I work in the hospital [duplicate]
I am wondering :
I work in a hospital or I work in the hospital ?
She works on a plane or she works on the plane ?
thanks
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"a 0.22 μm filter" vs. "an 0.22 μm filter" [duplicate]
Reading "0.22" as "o point two two" should make "an" correct. Reading "0.22" as "zero point two two" should make "a" correct.
Can the author decide? Are both correct or is only one of them correct?
...
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Do speakers using [ɪu] instead of /juː/ use “an” as the indefinite article before this?
There are quite some dialects that use vowel-beginning diphthongs like [ɪu] for what is /juː/ in the Received Pronunciation and General American dialects.
Do speakers of these dialects (tend to/want ...
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A word that describes the property of which indefinite article to use for a word
Is there a word that describes the property of which indefinite article ('a' or 'an') to pair with a word?
For example,
Hey guys, is the word 'animal' ______ or not?
Yes/No, it's 'an animal'.
...
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"through an analysis" vs "through analysis" [closed]
Through analysis of my studio work; which has explored and utilised precious materials, alternative materials, CAD and traditional bench skills, the journal pinpoints the positive and negative ways ...
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Why is there an indefinite article in this sentence?
Why is this not the sea-lion pool with a definite article instead of a sea-lion pool with an indefinite article?
And the decision to build the zoo around a sea-lion pool was the crowning touch.
...
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“a rabbit’s foot” vs. “the rabbit’s foot”
I’m confused about the use of the indefinite article a in the following passage:
My lucky charm is a rabbit’s foot that I received as a gift on my birthday. I don't really know if it has ever ...
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Usage of a/the for "untold number of" [closed]
In "Cambridge preparation to TOEFL"'93 book I've found the phrase:
_ untold number of people perished while attempting to cross Death Valley.
The correct answer is "an".
But I have that feeling that ...
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