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 articles in front of number below 100
Which number must I add "a"?
Do I start with "a"? (e.g. a ten people came to the event.)
Or do I start with "an"? (e.g. an eleven people came to the event.)
user154167
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What's the right adjective to use when referring to someone in their infancy?
What's the right adjective to use when referring to someone in their infancy?
Suppose I've just watched a video recording of something Jack did when he was a newborn.
Which adjective should I use in ...
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Why isn't the article "the" used in "...is a one act play"?
"Never Never Nest" is a one act play.
Why do we use a in this sentence? My teacher told me that when there is something specific we use the not a. Isn't one act play is specific and ...
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Go to high school or go to high schools?
You usually say "Tom goes to high school", and you don't say "Tom goes to a high school" when you want to mean Tom is a student there, do you?
How about when you want to mention ...
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"Be an average height" vs. "be the average height"
Would you please tell me if I need to use an or the in before average in the context below?
176cm is an/the average height for men in the US.
I've heard both. Are both acceptable? If so, can you ...
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How to say a fact in general? [duplicate]
When you want to talk about cheetahs in general,
A cheetah can run fast.
The cheetah can run fast.
Cheetahs can run fast.
The cheetahs can run fast.
are they all correct? Which one would you use in ...
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indefinite article in 'he had gone from A to a that of B'
This is from a TIME article.
The ensuing conflicts left Buterin with culture shock. In the space of
a few months, he had gone from a cloistered life of writing code and
technical articles to a that ...
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Is the article "a" or "an" necessary to describe a variable in the scientific paper?
I am doing my paper in the field of information system economics. In the paper, I define a variable in the previous section, such as the intensity of competition γ. Whether "a higher γ" or &...
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the wall or a wall when describing a room (again as answer is not clear)
I've read into "a" or "the" wall? and https://grammargeddon.com/2020/02/21/a-wall-or-the-wall-does-it-matter/. The question arose due to a text in English Students book.
There are ...
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"Solid Like Stone" vs "Solid Like A Stone", which one would you prefer?
I found both forms (with and without "a") on the Internet. I don't know which one is more acceptable.
Is it an idiom?
https://wolfstone.za.com/blog/1-solid-like-stone-to-stone-like-solid
...
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Why doesn't "autism spectrum disorder" require an indefinite article?
Example sentence:
He may have a personality disorder, a depressive disorder, or autism
spectrum disorder.
Why is that personality disorder and depressive disorder requires an a but not autism ...
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omission of the article a/an when multiple nouns are listed
I know that a or an in sentences like the following is your choice--it can be used there or omitted as you prefer.
We need a car or (a) bike to get out of this area. Russian soldiers will be here ...
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with good grip or with a good grip?
I'm talking about a pair of boots. "You need to buy boots with good grip" or "You need to buy boots with a good grip."
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the building has emerged as architectural backdrop to
This is from a Los Angeles Times article.
It therefore could not be more apropos that the building has emerged
as architectural backdrop to one of Ukrainian President Volodymyr
Zelensky’s urgent ...
user151836
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Raindrops on the window pane - with the definite article?
Yesterday I took a photo of raindrops and posted it to Instagram. I used “Raindrops on the window pane” as the description.
Then I started to think: Why did I use the definite article here?
When I ...
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Why should I use "a" before "a bit better", "a littlge highter" "a bit harsh"?
in this phrase(I am not sure this is a phrase)but
Why should I use "a" before
"a bit better", "a little higher" and "a bit harsh"?
I know this is an article( a ...
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Use of article for each noun in a sentence
Can we use article with each noun separately in a sentence or one is enough as in the following sentence;
Draw a car, a truck and a van.
Or
Draw a car, truck and van
Draw a car, truck and a van.
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The list of uncountable nouns that never take 'a/an'
There is a rule not use the article ‘a’ with uncountable nouns. Unless, we talk about a particular kind of the uncountable noun. For example, ‘a dreadful anger’, ‘a fragile calm’, ‘a great enthusiasm’ ...
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indefinite article in a New York Times article
This is an excerpt from a New York Times article.
One prominent family attended the event. Martin Luther King III, the
oldest living son of the civil rights leader, and his wife, Arndrea
Waters King, ...
user149418
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Is 'coordination' a countable noun?
But those productions rely heavily on the Fair use doctrine, an
important but often wobbly legal standard that allows part of a song
to be played for limited purposes or on direct coordination of ...
user99622
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Do I have to use the article "a" with the names of illnesses that contain the word "disorder"?
Could you tell me if I have to use the article a with the names of illnesses that contain the word disorder?
For example, is it people with dissociative personality disorder or people with a ...
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With all the short forms (abbreviations) , should we use only "an" as article? [duplicate]
e.g. An MP(Member of Parliament) should be responsible for his own catchment area.
Is that correct ? or should I user "a" article instead of "an".
Thank you
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half goat and half sheep
a.) This animal is half goat and half sheep.
b.) This animal looks half like a goat and half like a sheep.
In sentence a, half does not need to be followed by an indefinite article, does it? But why?...
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Should the indefinite or zero article be used with the phrase "low cost"
You can build your first app on a small, single database at low cost in the serverless compute tier or a small compute size in the provisioned.
Should we use the indefinite article (a low cost) or ...
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Using the "a" article with "specific"
Let's say there's a service that allows me to create and edit web pages. And I'm filing a bug report:
I can't edit a specific page: https://...
On one hand, using "specific" suggests "...
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Why don't the nouns "human", "anatomy lab", and "happy hour" have articles in this passage?
I don't understand why the articles were missing in the following writing in a book:
"It was hard to recognize this pile of tissue as human. Anatomy lab, at the end, becomes less a violation of ...
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a/the real-life stepbrother of
a. Tom, who played the role of the protagonist in the movie, was the real-life stepbrother of Jim, who played the villain.
b. Tom, who played the role of the protagonist in the movie, was a real-life ...
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Which one is correct: to enter an university or to enter the university [duplicate]
There is a sentence:
"When he was 16 he moved to London in order to enter the/an university"
Which article is more correct for this sentence the or an?
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Using "a" with the word "slang"
Can I use the word "slang" with an indefinite article "a"?
For example:
That phrase is an obvious slang.
or
That choice of words is an obvious slang.
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definite or indefinite article for new term that described in other paper?
When we present a term for the first time with reference to another article, should we use definite or indefinite article? (without reference, we should use indefinite article)
Example (The Hilbert's ...
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Is "a current" ever grammatical?
As I understand it, the indefinite article "a" cannot be used before the word "current". "A current ..." doesn't make sense to me. We say "the next" and "...
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Use of articles in the description of an experiment
I am struggling a bit with the sentence describing the experiment we conducted:
The tensile tests were performed at the XX strain rate for the sample with the XX mm gauge part.
There are particular ...
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What should I use here 'A' or 'The'?
A red car stopped by a Highway Patrol Officer was speeding.
A joke told at the beginning of his speech made everyone laugh.
'stopped by a Highway patrol officer' and 'told at the beginning of his ...
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How important/required is to explicitly state the article "a" in front of a noun?
I wrote the following.
How should I approach the design of such a class?
I got corrected by another user to this.
How should I approach the design of such class?
While colloquially acceptable, I'm ...
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I don't like a dog who barks - "I don't like barking dogs in general" or "There is a dog that barks who I don't like"?
I wonder whether the following examples can have two meanings:
talking about something in general
talking about a specific something.
Do you guys agree?
Example 1:
I don't like a dog.
I think it ...
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When do we use the indifinte article "a" with abstract nouns? [closed]
Why we used the indifinte article "a" in this sentence ??
"Fear is a universal weakness"
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Difference between 'have lunch' and 'have a lunch'? [duplicate]
Let's go have a lunch.
Let's go have lunch.
Is there a difference between these two sentences in terms of what they imply?
Can "have lunch" and "have a lunch" be used ...
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A question about the common noun
I wonder if the following sentence is missing something, isn't it?
"It's a long journey from tea leaf to cup of tea."
Shouldn't it be added an indefinite article or something before "...
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Indefinite article with the word "meal"
Do I need an indefinite article in the following sentence?
I wouldn't call it a healthful meal
And if I do, could I still drop it?
Will it sound terribly awkward if I drop it?
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An article with a title of a company / brand / project before a common noun
Would you put an article before a proper noun / a title that precedes a common noun when speaking about brands, firms, et cetera? For example:
[A/The] Formula One staff responds to fans' questions.
[...
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Doesn’t “a” need to mean “one”?
Can I say “I ate a hamburger” when I ate half of a hamburger?
We say “we drink water” even when we drink some of water.
Is it obligatory that “I ate a hamburger” means “I ate one hamburger”?
user141460
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Per American pronunciation, "a ear" or "an ear"?
I just watched YEAR vs. EAR - American English Pronunciation (EAR vs. HEAR), and I hear absolutely no difference between the pronunciations of "ear" and "year", given we should use ...
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Article usage before 'state'
What indefinite article is used before 'state'?
For instance,
The packaging is in a good state/ The packaging is in good state.
I'm in a fine state/ I'm in fine state.
Both the terms are used ...
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Is an article missing in "courage is resistance to fear"?
I came across a quote by Mark Twain. To me, it looks like an article is missing in it. Is the quote correct, if so why?
"Courage is resistance to fear, mastery of fear-not absence of fear."
...
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what's the difference between 'a/an' and 'the' when talking about a particular type with them?
I am learning the use of 'a/an' and 'the'. From my understanding, one can use 'a/an' or 'the' to talk about a type, like these examples:
A dog is an animal.
I can play the piano.
I are not sure ...
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When do we use the article 'the'? [closed]
We use the article 'the' before the noun, which is made definite by the addition of the phrase or a clause. But:
We have a small house in a village in the Netherlands.
Why is there 'a small house' ...
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"The network with a stronger connection" or "the network with the stronger connection" in context? [duplicate]
Could you tell me which article, a or the I use before stronger connection in the context below?
Usually your phone prioritizes the network with a/the stronger connection.
I can't figure out the ...
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Is it "the" or "a" in “The life of __ peasant”?
The example is taken from a book (a peasant):
The life of a peasant in the Middle Ages was hard.
Why not the peasant?
The life of the peasant in the Middle Ages was hard.
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Why the word “a” can be used here?
Fairtrade coffee sales ranged from 0.8-3 million euros over a 6-year period in these five countries, whereas banana sales also mostly clustered between 0.6 and 2 million euros, with Switzerland the ...
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The main or a main
I think the sentence "we have reached a main result of ..." is perfectly OK. But the grammar check says it should be "the main" instead. I wonder which one is correct.
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