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This kind of issues is what I'm constantly coming across. Say I'd like to say something like this.

In the middle of the video, a ghost pops up from nowhere.

What I'm confused is whether I should add the in front of video. I thought maybe? it could be redundant because there is already an article before middle, but I'm not sure because that article is for middle, not for video.

To put this question more generally, can I ever omit articles if there is another article in the same noun phrase?

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Whether one noun phrase has a determiner is usually irrelevant when considering whether another noun phrase should also have one. In this sentence, whether "video" should take a determiner (such as a definite article) is not affected by the fact that "middle" has one. There is no rule that would generally allow you to omit articles after "in the middle of".

Whether "video" should actually take a determiner here is governed by the usual rules of English, as explained in various books, websites, etc.

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  • Thanks! It became clear to me. I always wondered if adding a determiner almost right after using one sounds redundant or if it is necessary.
    – Gwangmu Lee
    Feb 20 at 13:39
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    @GwangmuLee I'm glad it was useful. English sentences often contain many determiners (including articles) near to one another; it sounds perfectly natural. Just keep in mind that each noun phrase can have no more than one determiner (usually).
    – MarcInManhattan
    Feb 20 at 18:39

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