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This is a TOEFL question:
The orbit of a celestial body is usually in the shape of ellipse.
The solution says that the word "ellipse" is ungrammatical, but I don't know why. I think that word is not wrong, and doesn't need to be corrected. Can anyone explain this to me?
The word ellipse on itself is not an ungrammatical word, but it is missing an article. Correct would be:
The orbit of a celestial body is usually in the shape of an ellipse.
Ellipse is a noun in the singular form here, and because it is a countable noun it needs an article. The indefinite article a(n) is needed here.
English is a strange beast. Some grammatically correct examples: In the shape of an ellipse. In the shape of a circle. In the shape of an octagon. In the shape of a square.
When the noun starts with a vowel, an is used instead of a, the only exception to this is when a noun has a consonant that isn't pronounced and has a vowel after it, such as 'hour'.
