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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questions
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What articles and when do I use with the phrase “past tense”?
Let's take a couple of quotes from the Wikipedia article:
The past tense is a grammatical tense whose function is to place an action or situation in past time.
In some languages, the grammatical ...
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1answer
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Why do we use an indefinite article in the sentence “I can't imagine a world without electricity”?
As far as I understand, it speaks specifically about our entire planet, and not about some abstract world. Isn't it better to use the definite article in this case?
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Should I place an article before “20/20 vision”?
Having (a) 20/20 vision is the desirable condition of the eye.
If you have (a) 20/20 vision you don't need glasses.
(A) 20/20 vision is required for certain job positions.
Is the article "a"...
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Why is “the pharmacy” supposed to be appropriate in the context? What about “a pharmacy”, “pharmacies”, or “pharmacy”?
I've been studying English for many years, but still struggling with learning the usage of English articles. Below is one example.
From a news article I read on this site.
How some drugs can turn ...
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1answer
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“ a university has hectic schedules” or “universities have hectic schedules”?
I think in order to describe a general situation, both the plural of countable noun and adding indefinite articles before the countable noun could work.
So is it ok for me to use both to convey the ...
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1answer
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Why isn't the “a” article added before the phrase “slightly different terminology”?
I would like to know why the "a" article hasn't been added before the phrase "slightly different terminology" in this paragraph:
So, you can create exactly the Employee — Manager ...
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0answers
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I've seen many [ a shooting star / shooting stars ] lately [duplicate]
Is the former like there were a few days where a single shooting star appeared? And is the latter like there were a few days where one or more than one shooting stars appeared?
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3answers
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Why do we use the indefinite article “a” with the nouns “wind” & “breeze”?
Consider these examples:
There’s a wind blowing through here tonight.
A wind is a current of air that is moving across the earth's surface.
Open the doors, I want to get a breeze.
Why do we use the ...
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1answer
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Whether to use a definite or indefinite article when we talk about punctuation marks?
Example 1:
Option A: A question mark is used only at the end of a sentence.
Option B: The question mark is used only at the end of a sentence.
Example 2:
Option A: A ? character is used only at the ...
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1answer
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(That or These)/(This or Those) for Compound Subjects?
I understand that compound subjects when joined with "and" are plural:
The car and house are for sale.
But what about for the "that/this" preceding the compound subjects?
That/...
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Why don't the authors use the articles 'a' and 'an' infront of the the words 'period' and 'entity' respectively?
This is an excerpt from The IBM Style Guide for technical writers:
In books, use a period in titles for chapters and appendixes. Insert the period after the name of the entity and the identifying ...
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2answers
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“You have a good pronunciation.” vs “You have good pronunciation.”
As I understand, it's needed to use article "a" in this sentence, but I saw examples where it's not used. Why? Is it mistake or it is possible to use both variants?
You have a good ...
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0answers
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“Life has meaning” vs. “life has a meaning”
Could you tell me what kind of meaning the use of a adds to the following sentence?
Life has meaning; it's just we can't it figure it out yet.
Life has a meaning; it's just we can't it figure it out ...
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3answers
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“a” or “the” article before a compound noun
Avoid including words that are clear from a/the file type or otherwise obvious.
Not recommended:
presentation_for_google_summer_of_code_2011.ppt
Recommended:
summer_of_code_2011.ppt
(The above ...
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1answer
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It's expected that the rebels will succeed in bringing down a government that is increasingly unpopular
Violence flared up again today in the troubled southern region when several bombs went off in the centre of the capital. Support for the rebels is growing, and it's expected that the rebels will ...
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2answers
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“Believe in an afterlife” or “believe in the afterlife”?
Could you tell which article I use after afterlife: an or the? For example:
Do you believe in an afterlife?
Do you believe in the afterlife?
I have seen both used before afterlife, but I can't ...
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2answers
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What is the difference between using 'as president' and 'as a president'?
Someone asked why we can't use as the president/as a president in this sentence.
When teachers were upset about the stringent accountability measures
Barack Obama imposed on them as president.
And ...
0
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1answer
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Whether to use the definite article when we talk about a noun that belongs to an indefinite noun?
Rule 5: Order [the] elements included in a bibliographic record in the most appropriate way to retrieve the book.
For example, if the books are retrieved according to the author, the author element ...
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2answers
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“a victim of something” vs. “the victim of something”
Could you tell me whether I have to use a or the before victim in the folliwing sentence?
Sara has been a/the victim of identity theft too.
What I'm trying to say is that Sara has been one of many ...
1
vote
1answer
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Indefinite article before group of nouns
I wrote the following sentence in gmail:
Please provide us with s184 certificate and invoice.
The auto grammar check suggested I insert "an" as below:
Please provide us with an s184 ...
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1answer
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Sweat [Countable / Uncountable]
I was wondering if the indefinite article "a" is necessary in the following sentences, whereas the noun "sweat" in an uncountable word.
I broke out in a cold sweat from pain.
I ...
0
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1answer
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Use of article 'the'
Of Rama and Usha the latter is the more responsible.
I think use of the is superfluous before competative degree more.
But my book suggest that the given sentence is absolutely right. Please explain ...
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0answers
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Why Does “Step BY Step” Have No Indefinite Article?
We use by to mean something each or separate (e.g., one by one, step by step, electoral votes by state, wine consumption by country, etc.), and these bys suppress the following nouns' indefinite ...
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1answer
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Is “the sound of a good many voices” correct in this sentence and why? [duplicate]
From Alice in Wonderland:
She waited for some time without hearing anything more: at last came a rumbling of little cartwheels, and the sound of a good many voices all talking together: she made out ...
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0answers
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Is the definite article necessary before “treatment” in these sentences?
Can I use the definite article before the word "treatment" in a generic sense? If not, what's the difference in the meaning of these sentences?
Several therapeutic agents have been ...
0
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1answer
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Are feelings countable or uncountable in this example?
There was (a) strange puzzlement in his eyes.
Is the article incorrect or not in this sentence?
To my ear, both cases are correct. Adding the article before the adjective makes the feeling (...
0
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1answer
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This is a bill of the food vs. This is the bill of the food
This is the bill of the food I ate last night.
This is a bill of the food I ate last night.
According to me, #1 suggests that we are talking about just 1 specific bill. Whereas, I think, but not sure,...
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0answers
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Is “the large number of genes” grammatically wrong or is it a glitch from Grammarly?
Grammarly asks me to change the "this process is infeasible due to the computational cost of the optimization process and the large number of genes. " sentence to "this process is ...
0
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1answer
25 views
A dynamic state is understood as a state in which…/The dynamic state is understood as the state in which…?
Which one is correct:
"An invention should be described in its dynamic state. A dynamic state is understood as a state in which... "
"An invention should be described in its dynamic ...
0
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1answer
44 views
a/the loss of 8 wickets
The Australian cricket team scored 200 runs with the/a loss of 8 wickets in 20 overs.
I am confused if I should use an indefinite article or the definite article in the above sentence . According to ...
0
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1answer
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in such case or in such a case?
In the following sentence, is the indefinite article necessary? The word "case" is a countable noun, and I expected an indefinite article in front when it's used in singular form.
If you ...
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1answer
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This is (a) proof that you… (with or without “a”?)
Is there a difference between these two examples?
This is a proof that you are not telling me the truth.
This is proof that you are not telling me the truth.
Sometimes the word "proof" is ...
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vote
1answer
63 views
Is “how is this a syllabus” correct?
Is "how is this a syllabus" correct? Can I use the article "a" in that question?
The situation is following: I've asked my son's history teacher to provide his teaching plan for ...
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0answers
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the indefinite article and post-modifiers of nouns
China [in Asia] is comprised of 1.4 billion people.
The Grand Canion [in the United States of America] is so big.
[A] horn of a unicorn is very unique.
Which of these brackets are correct and which ...
0
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1answer
21 views
Article usage in this particular sentence
I've got this sentence I struggle a bit with.
After all, the game is always evolving and our developers do pay
attention to (the) balance and (the) feedback the players provide.
Given that the ...
0
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1answer
36 views
Is it correct to omit the indefinite article after the colon sign from the title of a scientific paper?
I am wondering if it is correct to replace,
Learning English Language: A New Policy For Using Ell.stackexchange
by
Learning English Language: New Policy For Using Ell.stackexchange
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1answer
42 views
How to use articles with jobs
I agree that we use the indefinite article when talking about not unique jobs/occupations. But does it somehow change depending on the position of the job word in a sentence? I mean, "Builder ...
0
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1answer
28 views
Usage of the indefinite article in “different choice of a nail would result in”
I am choosing (say) a nail of one or another type.
Should I say
"a different choice of a nail would result in ..."; or
"a different choice of nail would result in ..."?
0
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1answer
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Which is correct: “a html game” or “an html game”?
Which is correct: "a html game" or "an html game"?
I think that "a html game" is correct, cause "a game" is definitely correct. But "a html" sounds ...
0
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2answers
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Whether to use definite or indefinite article in sentences like “Don't put a space between a dash and a/the following punctuation mark”
Don't put a space between an em-dash and the adjacent words.From Quick and Dirty Tips
In English, you don’t put a space between a word and a question mark.From Quora
These sentences look very ...
0
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1answer
22 views
Usage of 'a' and 'the'
I have a question about the usage of 'a' and 'the' in English. I know that the rules depend on countable/non-countable nouns and general/specific nouns. Like described in this tutorial and in other ...
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“A last couple of week” vs. “the last couple of weeks”
What is the difference in meaning between a last couple of weeks and the last couple of weeks? I thought that the former was totally wrong, but in the second episode of the fourth season of Breaking ...
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3answers
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When to use “as” or “as a”
I saw the same question but it's always regarding professions like:
a) As teacher, I meet many children.
b) As a teacher, I meet many children.
In this case I would automatically say b) because it's ...
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0answers
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A or an? Should I consider the phrase after it?
Briefly, which one is correct?
A, again, beautiful home ...
or
An, again, beautiful home ...
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1answer
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Use of articles in software documentation
I have some questions about the use of articles in the documentation of the Laravel framework.
The chunk method breaks the collection into multiple, smaller collections of a given size
Why is used ...
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0answers
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The indefinite articles
”I bought a book yesterday.”
”A man knocked on my door yesterday.”
I have been taught that the rules of ”a” and ”an” are to introduce something to the reader or listener, or to refer to any non-...
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1answer
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The rules of the definite and the indefinite articles
I’m having some trouble understanding ”a/an”.
In sentences like this one:
”A gunman entered my store and held a gun to my head.”
What is ”a” really telling me as a reader about the gunman and the gun?...
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0answers
45 views
Which abstract nouns do we use indefinite articles with?
Which abstract nouns do we use indefinite articles with? I always can't decide whether I have to add an article before non-specific abstract noun or not. Please, give me some instructions.
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1answer
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1answer
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A light/ light/the light
Everyone! Why is this correct:
There was someone in the house because there was a light on inside.
As I know, light is uncountable. So correct to say the light/ light but not a light, isn't it?
...
