Is "at outset" grammatically correct to use as in the following
These dormitories were at outset for senior girls
or is "at the outset" better?
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Sign up to join this communityIs "at outset" grammatically correct to use as in the following
These dormitories were at outset for senior girls
or is "at the outset" better?
"At the outset" is more modern, so if you want to sound like you are using contemporary English, then "at the outset" would indeed be "better."
outset noun
- a. The action or fact of setting out upon a journey, course of action, business, etc.; a start, a beginning. Now chiefly in at the outset, from the outset.
(Oxford English Dictionary [emphases OED's])
There seem to be certain contexts in which at outset is a fixed phrase, such as in
A
En garde
French for "on guard"; spoken at outset to warn the participants to take a defensive position. (Wikipedia: Glossary of Fencing)
B in scientific papers, such as this one
The formerly proposed percentage of patients that achieve normal weight (or overweight) is clearly unjust to to patients with more severe obesity at outset
I would recommend using at the outset or from the outset rather than at outset unless you have a special reason not to.
I agree that 'outset' needs the article 'the.' However, I would suggest that you might consider 'initially' to replace 'at (the) outset.'
at the outset is the only grammatically correct way to say it. You can also say from the outset. The only time you would ever see at outset used like that would probably be only as part of a news article headline.
Charges dismissed at outset of hearing