Questions tagged [indefinite-article]
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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We met in a/the supermarket
Can the difference in meaning between "We met in a/the supermarket." be summarized in the following way:
a - specific, non-defined supermarket
the - specific, defined, we both know which ...
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Why is it the indefinite article in 'training of an older generation'? Shouldn't it be 'the' here?
Saussure's approach to language became popular among a new generation
of university teachers in the 1970s who came from lower-middle-class
backgrounds and were attracted to more technical approaches ...
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Why is there no article before job titles in this example?
More Americans identify their primary occupation as artist than as
lawyer, doctor, police officer or farm worker. — NYT
I found this example in one academic book. Why is there no article before the ...
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Why is the zero article correct in "__ witnesses say..."?
While practicing the usage of the English articles, I encountered the following exercises:
There was a collision between a car and a cyclist at the crossroads near - my house early in the
morning. ...
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Can I use "I go to a Walmart" when I'm going to a particular store?
We can say:
I like bmw (when I mean the brand)
But
I like a bmw (it means that I like a particular car)
Does it work the same with names of stores? For example
"I go to a Walmart" when I ...
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'a/an' before acronyms: British vs American
I learned English grammar by reading a few books published by OUP (a British organization/company). According to the books, what determines whether 'a' or 'an' is used before a countable noun is not ...
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I check "the" milk prices whenever I am in "a" supermarket. - definite article comes first and indefinite article comes later?
Example 1
"I check "the" milk prices whenever I am in "a" supermarket."
What does the "the milk prices" refer to?
Does it refer to the milk prices in the &...
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How to put an article before a word in a phrase if the first word is uncountable and the second word is countable?
Clinimetrics corner: the many faces of "selection bias"
Now, selection and bias are both nouns.
Selection is an uncountable noun and a countable noun.
Bias is a countable noun.
So, can I ...
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Why is there no A/AN before the word pepper? I bought pepper [closed]
Why is there no A/AN before the word pepper?
I bought pepper.
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Is there any difference between "A + ADJECTIVE + NUMBER + NOUN" and "NUMBER + ADJECTIVE + NOUN"? (e.g. "a full ten bottles" VS "ten full bottles")
Are "A + ADJECTIVE + NUMBER + NOUN" and "NUMBER + ADJECTIVE + NOUN" interchangeable?
If not, then what is the difference between them?
For example (a-variants are from ...
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Which of the two options is more appropriate? "A bit of delay" or "a bit of A delay"? Could you please give some advice?
What should I do to expand my knowledge so that I don't get stuck with such amateur questions in the future? :)
I am more inclined towards an articled option, 'cause I believe we can count delays, ...
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indefinite article for generic reference
I understand that an indefinite article + noun can refer to the whole class, but also refer to one of them. which of the following sentences are generic reference? Thank you.
A horse is a useful ...
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Alternation of definite and indefinite articles
Could you give an explicit example of the behavior of a wave function near zero, so that the wave function is continuous, but its magnitude squared is not?
Do the highlighted words constitute ...
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Can both "a" and "the" be used in "He is a/the man who..."?
He is a man who went to see me at the airport yesterday.
He is the man who went to see me at the airport yesterday.
While (2) means a man saw me at the airport and he is that man, my friend and I ...
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Why is "an university" used, not "a university"?
I happened to read J.S.Mill's writing, and found "an unversity" used in it, instead of "a university". I think "a university" is the right choice in the present-day ...
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Could anyone explain why is the article used before percentage? Is there any grammatical rule regarding this?
Could anyone explain why is the article used before percentage? Is there any grammatical rule regarding this?
Most countries would be very happy with a 7% growth in this environment. Link
But ...
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It's not that big a deal? Why is 'a' needed?
I have only known the expression, "it's not a big deal".
Just now I got to know there is another expression, "it's not that big a deal". I wonder why it is not used like "it's ...
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Commas and articles in dissertation title
Given these options, what is the correct title for a PhD dissertation:
Efficient Parallelizable Algorithm for Redundant Manipulators
An Efficient Parallelizable Algorithm for Redundant Manipulators
...
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"Do assessment of the problem" vs. "do an assessment of the problem"
Would you tell me if using the article a adds anything to the sentence's meaning below?
Before fixing it right away, I suggest we do assessment of the problem first.
Before fixing it right away, I ...
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When can I use "math class" with an article?
I am searching for the information about countability of class, but cannot find it.
The situation where I would like to use "math class" is like this: You are looking at your school ...
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Articles with professions: "The job of teacher" vs "The job of a teacher"
The job of teacher, for which patience is required, would not suit me.
Why don't we say "the job of a teacher"? As far as I know with professions we always use the indefinite article
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"he has piano class" or "he has a piano class"?
In one English text book I saw "He has piano class at 5 o'clock" and somebody told me that that was a mistake meaning that indefinite article should precede the word "piano" in ...
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Why is the indefinite article correct in "We had the/a customer in the other day..."?
As an ESL learner, I learned that we use an indefinite article a/an for some unspecified objects, while the for specific things.
And I encountered the following sentence that asks me to choose the ...
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As a part of Vs as part of
According to Ngram, as part of is more common than as a part of but my freelancer who is a native speaker used "a". Do you think "a part" is better than "part" here?
...
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Using "change" or "a change"?
I am wondering which of the following sentences is correct:
(1) - Scientists noticed a recent climate change. (2) - Scientists noticed recent climate change.
I am asking this question because ...
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"Give someone an exact time" vs. "give someone the exact time"
Can you please tell me if I need to use a or the in the context below?
Can you give me an exact time you'll arrive.
Can you give me the exact time you'll arrive.
I thought that the was the only ...
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Offer A to V sentence question [closed]
The restaurant offers customers to choose spicy level.
The restaurant offers customer choice of spicy level
I think second sentence is right grammatically..but the first one also make sense?
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indefinite article with uncountable nouns
Two sentences:
(1) She has great experience in her work.
(2) ‘She spoke with a great enthusiasm about the new plans.
Question: Why is there no article ‘a’ with ‘great experience’ in the first ...
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Articles before common nouns when they are used with proper nouns (names)
I read an article about (a/the/-) Winterlude festival (festival here
is not part of the event's name).
In 2015, she published (a/the/-)
book Innocent thoughts of the Innocent mind.
Should I use ...
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Why "stepped off the train" instead of "stepped off a train"?
There is an article in The Guardian, and it has a sentence with a definite article that I would replace with an indefinite one.
'I am out to beat everybody in sight and that's just what I'm going to ...
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Can "a" be used as "all / any / every / each"?
It seems to me we can use "a" not only as "one of many" but also as "all / any / every / each".
Is it so?
To check it, I came up with the following sentence:
If a ...
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I have a good memory
I have a good memory.
It means "I am good at memorizing things".
But can't it mean "I have a good recollection?"
And what would "I have good memory" mean?
To eliminate ...
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“on hiatus” VS “on a hiatus”
In dictionaries (example 1, example 2) it says that “hiatus” is a countable noun which is usually singular, but I see it being used as an uncountable noun as well in phrases like
Two of my colleagues ...
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Definite/zero article with plural
I'm still struggling to outline the difference between "the+plural" and "zero+plural"
There was a football (soccer) game last night and I couldn't fall asleep
because fans at the ...
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Describing a set/class itself rather than talking about individual instances or groups within a class
From what I've learnt, there are two ways to talk about classes of things. You either use an article the + a singular noun or no article and a plural noun. For instance:
...
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"For a second time" or "For the second time"
What would be the correct sentence from the below two:
For a second time, in a few months we decided to meet.
OR
For the second time, in a few months we decided to meet.
Is one of the two ...
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"Letter 'y'," "a letter 'y'" or "the letter 'y'" in context
Can you please tell which one is correct: letter "y," a letter "y," or the letter "y" in the context below?
If you agree with the statements, just put letter "y&...
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Look, he’s reading a/the book about animals
It is known that if we speak about an object for the first time, we use "a" article, but in this case which article is idiomatic? I think "the" article is more appropriate here ...
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Which one is correct: "act as intermediary" or "act as an intermediary"?
Can you please tell me which one is correct: act as intermediary or act as an intermediary? For example:
The company acts as (an) intermediary between the customer and the contractor.
In a book ...
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Which one is correct: "do something via Google Meet video call" or "do something via a Google Meet video call"?
Can you please tell me which one is correct: do something via Google Meet video call or do something via a Google Meet video call? For example:
I can show you how to install the software via (a) ...
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Which article is correct? "I'm looking for a/the pair of shoes"
What article should I use when going into a shop and telling the manager I want to buy something?
I'm looking for a pair of shoes
or
I'm looking for the pair of shoes (I choose what I want to buy)
...
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"Formal and informal writings differ in 1) a style 2) the style 3) style"
I saw this in my representation after reading "The World as Will and Representation" by A. Schopenhauer:
Formal and informal writings differ in 1) a style 2) the style 3) style.
Which one ...
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Can I say 'a guy or girl' instead of 'a guy or a girl'?
When asking someone's sex online, we can ask 'are you a guy or a girl'. But is it correct to ask 'are you a guy or girl'?
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Which one is most correct and natural: "due to fear of...," "due to a fear of..." or "due to the fear of..."?
Can you please tell me which one is most correct and natural: due to fear of..., due to a fear of... or due to the fear of...? For example:
I don't eat too much sugar due to fear of developing ...
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How to understand whether 'use' acts as a countable or uncountable noun [duplicate]
According to Macmillan Dictionary, the noun 'use' can be both countable and uncountable. How to understand whether it is countable or uncountable in a given context?
Here're some examples I saw that ...
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The train or a train
Fill in the blanks with a, the or no article.
___ train station is ____ strange building.
Why is it
"The train station is a strange building."
And not
"A train station is a strange ...
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Which one is correct: "have good climate" or "have a good climate"?
Can you please tell me which one is correct: have good climate or have a good climate? For example:
I'd like to live in a country that has good climate.
I'd like to live in a country that has a good ...
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seeing a therapist
They are both seeing a therapist.
They are seeing a therapist.
Do those necessarily mean that they are seeing the same therapist?
Could they be used if each of them is seeing a different therapist?
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Does the noun 'English' have to be always uncountable?
Does the noun 'English' have to be always uncountable?
Grammarly doesn't like my using an indefinite article before the noun 'English' because, I suppose, it's an uncountable noun. So for instance:
...
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Why did the author write "at the point a of A" instead of "at a point a of A"?
I am reading a mathematics book ("Analysis on Manifolds" by James R. Munkres).
Theorem 8.3 (The inverse function theorem).
Let A be open in R^n; let f : A -> R^n be of class C^r. If Df(x)...
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