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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Indefinite article before plurar noun
I have noticed there are some cases where there is an indefinite article in front of a plural noun. For example, I have stumbled upon these two sentences:
Although we have a ways to go, let’s pause ...
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1answer
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Is “the all” not correct?
Is the sentence B not correct and is only A valid? Or are the both ok?
A. I'd like to know all the problems we've had so far.
B. I'd like to know the all problems we've had so far.
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1answer
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A/The laptop which I bought in the UK is faulty
Are the statements below wrong? Thanks!
The laptop which I bought in the UK is faulty.
analysis: You know I bought only one laptop visiting the UK and it's faulty.
A laptop which I ...
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1answer
48 views
A problem with the rule about articles in English
Some time ago a native English speaker said to me that
That is the tool which I use to edit video
Means the person uses only this tool and
That is a tool which I use to edit video
Means the ...
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1answer
32 views
What article would be correct here? A belief that / The belief that
Can I change the definite article in the following sentence and remain grammatical?
Once you adopt the belief that there's nothing you can do to change
something, you start to take a pernicious ...
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2answers
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What is the difference between “make lunch” and “make a lunch ”?
I always thought that the only correct is make lunch or cook lunch. But in this video at 30 minutes and 32 seconds a native English teacher is saying that it is possible to say
I am going to make ...
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1answer
23 views
Which article do I use with “class” and “the name of a certain subject” when talking about a certain class in general?
Tell me please which article I have to use before class and the name of a certain subject in general, not about one specific class? For example:
I like going to English class.
I like going to ...
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The use of “a”, “the” and “zero article” before the brands of cars
Let's say I prefer the cars made by a certain company. Which article do I use in the following context?
I prefer a Volvo.
I prefer the Volvo.
I prefer Volvo.
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1answer
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Is it necessary to use the indefinite article before the words “mother”, “mom”, “dad”, “father” when saying that someone has one?
Is necessary to use the indefinite article before mom, mother, dad, father when saying that someone has one? For example:
Do you have a mom?
Do you have Mom?
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Article after AT - THE vs A/AN
What are the rules on the use of articles after the proposition of AT?
I'm asking because I can't conclude why in the case of age, THE is used and in the case of speed or altitude, A/AN is used:
...
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The Intention of X / An intention of X
She'd want him to be involved in their relationship with the intention of marrying, not just playing around.
We couldn't say, ''an intention of marrying'', which means we don't limit the number of ...
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1answer
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When to use article (a) and not using article , also using article (the)
Based on information from police report you are a traitor.
Based on information from the police report you are a traitor.
Based on information from a police report you are a traitor.
Which is ...
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Omitting the indefinite article before occupations [duplicate]
From what I understand, one can omit the indefinite article when referring to unique titles or roles/professions, e.g. “He's captain of the local football team”.
With less unique roles, I have ...
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1answer
41 views
Is “the” possible as a right answer? (English test from Japanese year 7)
This box is big. This ( )( )( ) box.
Fill in the blanks so those two sentences can be almost the same meaning.
I know the answer is This (is)(a)(big) box.
However many children use "the" instead ...
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1answer
50 views
How to differentiate pairs like “an occupied territory” and “unoccupied territory” in speech
The noun "territory" can be both countable and uncountable, so "an occupied territory" and "unoccupied territory" are both complete noun phrases. The first vowels of the noun phrases are both schwa ...
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1answer
42 views
English article: a temperature vs temperature
I was looking the definition of temperature in Merriam-Webster. In count noun section, I noticed a sentence with no article before "temperature".
If a noun is countable, we must use an article (a or ...
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1answer
71 views
Is the phrase “You can cancel a subscription anytime” correct?
One native speaker said that it is a mistake to use the indefinite article in the phrase "You can cancel a subscription anytime". I want to ask native speakers if it's true, and if yes — what rule ...
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Should I use “an” in case that the adjective starts with a vowel? [duplicate]
Cambridge: The book presents a one-sided view of history.
I'm confused. I thought that it should be an one-sided view of history. Could you please explain this case to me?
I know that the article ...
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1answer
33 views
Putting the indefinite article before the second noun
Which of the sentences below is correct and why?
I'm not a loser or pessimist.
I'm not a loser or a pessimist.
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1answer
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1answer
94 views
Does 'a window' close the possibility to be one and only one window in the room?
Imagine me staying in a room and I have you on the phone and say to you that it has a window. I know that it has only one window but still choose the indefinite article 'a' because I'm not going to ...
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1answer
74 views
I took the wrong article and changed the meaning. Is it wrong?
If I say ‘’Those are the pencils which I use to write in English’’ you know that I only use these pencils so the definite article excludes the existence of other things in this category.
If I say ‘’...
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1answer
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Which of the following sentence is correct ?(use of definitive article related)
What is the name of game in screenshot?
What is name of the game in screenshot?
What is the name of the game in screenshot?
What is name of game in screenshot?
Which of the above mentioned sentence ...
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2answers
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Using an article after “which we call”
I am hesitant in using an article after the sentence which we call.
Example:
We discovered a new attack model which we call "man-in-the-middle"
attack
Or
We discovered a new attack model ...
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1answer
66 views
How do you see the difference between these two sentences?
Could someone explain the difference between these two? Why does the first one take the definite article and the second one takes the indefinite article?
1) Thousands of years ago, it was only ...
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4answers
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Is it true that if we start a sentence with 'the', this 'the' can be omitted?
The data in Tables 1 were assembled from studies in North
America...
Fluxes shown in Table 1 are different from Tables 2 and 3
because...
Results of the calculations indicate that .... ...
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1answer
127 views
The ultimate rule of taking the right article
A while ago I read a grammar book where I was said to use a definite article every time a noun is followed by a qualifying clause with OF or another preposition.
1.1 The first person to run the mile ...
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2answers
436 views
A car vs the car - English Article
Consider the following sentence from Oxford learners' dictionary, under their entry for the:
There was an accident here yesterday. A car hit a tree and the driver was killed.
In the first sentence,...
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1answer
94 views
Articles for different types of 'analysis'
All examples, except the last one, are from Longman dictionary
A factor analysis identified ten significant factors affecting women’s rights.
A structural analysis showed that the roof was ...
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2answers
35 views
‘tell a story’ or ‘tell the story’ in a single sentence
The single sentence:
The novel tells the story of a salesman.
Can I say:
The novel tells a story of a salesman?
I chose a story, but the answer is the story.
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2answers
285 views
Should it be “a moon” or “the moon”
I was reading Julian Barnes The Sense of an Ending, when I encountered this line:
And I thought of a cresting wave of water, lit by a moon, rushing past
and vanishing upstream, pursued by a band ...
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2answers
25 views
new puppy vs a new puppy
What is the difference between "new puppy" and "a new puppy"?
Take this sentence for example:
My brother’s daughter and new puppy are already best buds
What if we add an indefinite article berere ...
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3answers
123 views
Can we use a definite article when someone we are talking to doesn't know of the topic yet?
As for my question about the difference between
I like a movie, Pulp Fiction.
I like the movie, Pulp Fiction.
A commenter answered: I would say the only difference in usage is that you would use ...
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1answer
103 views
Cases where we can omit articles?
I often get confused with the definite article. For instance in the following sentence should we use the or not?
4 easy steps to update the recipient of your Optiscore Subscription
Putting a ...
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2answers
84 views
difference between “part” and “a part”
What is the difference between part and a part?
What is the difference between these two sentences?
He was a part of the team.
He was part of the team.
I heard that part means a member and a ...
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0answers
26 views
meet a/the target of . . .?
Should the definite or indefinite article be used in the following? The target in question is mentioned for the first time in the passage, yet it seems to be quite specific.
Currently, the Ministry ...
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1answer
76 views
Definite article in definitions
I have noticed a pattern of using the definite article „the” that occurs in definitions, and I don’t know how to explain that. The pattern is as follows: "A/An + term + basic description. The + term + ...
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1answer
31 views
A and THE, which is correct?
The sentence below
A protocol is the language that a computer uses to communicate with other computers on the network.
Is the usage of a/the correct?
Can I change it to
A protocol is a ...
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1answer
127 views
A bat vs bats vs the bats
Which one of these sentences is correct:
A bat is not a bird, but a mammal.
or
Bats are not birds but mammals
or
The bats are not birds but mammals.
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2answers
63 views
In running such a game, a/the computer may freeze
Having the following sentences and lines of reasoning:
Video Games are becoming more and more hardware demanding. In running
such a game, the computer may freeze. (*)
My line of reasoning: the ...
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1answer
76 views
“It was an April” vs “It was in April”
"It was an April afternoon. And the warm breezes of approaching
summer had sent everyone, including Grandfather, indoors".
The above sentences are from the story 'Adventures in a Banyan Tree' by ...
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2answers
128 views
English article “A” vs “The”
In English Grammar, before ordinals (first, second, third...), we always use the definite article "the."
Consider the sentence below.
If the same person calls a second time within a 15-minute ...
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2answers
405 views
Article usage in “a cow” vs “the cow”
I have referred to many grammar books and they say that
"A cow gives us milk" and "The cow gives us milk" mean the same thing. They mean all cows give us milk or cows give us milk.
I know that the ...
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2answers
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Article needed in “show (a) focus”?
Recruiters prefer candidates to show a focus in their job applications.
Do we need “a” here? What would change if “a” were removed?
After all “focus” is both countable and uncountable noun.
Some ...
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1answer
31 views
A single indefinite article for two items?
As I'm working my way in Duolingo I got an exercise to translate a sentence from Russian to English. The accepted translating is "I have a warm jacket and a warm sweater".
In the comments on this ...
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0answers
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Can definite and indefinite articles be used interchangeably?
I was going to say:
Pronouns and/or be/have/do are occasionally omitted in spoken English at the beginning of the sentence.
But then I thought, I don't have any particular sentence in mind here. ...
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2answers
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This is a first … - can I use the indefinite article?
I know with words determining somehow the order of things I should use the definite article. But I would say it depends on the context. Is the following correct?
This is a first discussion out of ...
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1answer
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'high blood pressure' vs 'a high blood pressure'
What is the difference between these two sentences:
I have high blood pressure.
and
I have a high blood pressure.
I can only guess that the first one mean that I have high blood pressure all ...
1
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1answer
29 views
what's the role of indefinite article in this phrase : he went into a rage!
what the role of indefinite article in this phrase :
He went into a rage!
The indefinite article doesn't make sense here what if we eliminate it from the sentence?
edit:
it doesn't make sense to ...
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1answer
20 views
“Toutmai started the second officer's job at..” vs “Toutmai started a second officer's job at”
In 2011, she joined the XYZ Institute as a navigation officer. After
over two years in the institute, in November 2013, Toutmai started the
second officer's job at Siren for Fleet Ship Management.
...
