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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'In a hurry', why is this used with the infinite article 'a'?
I was so confused with this. So I look up the word 'hurry' in the Oxford dictionary and I found that it is an uncountable noun. Is it possible to use 'a' before 'hurry'?
Why is it possible? Do I ...
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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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Question on generic noun phrase
I was looking at the definition of definite article and it reads like this - "The definite article is used before singular and plural nouns when the noun is specific or particular".
Since this ...
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Indefinite article with a noun in the plural: "(a?) dedicated 4 years"
Which is the correct version (or are both correct?):
accrued through dedicated 4 years in IB
or
accrued through a dedicated 4 years in IB
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"calotype, invented by an (the) Englishman William Henry Fox Talbot" - which article to use?
I'm uncertain which article to use in the following examples:
calotype, invented by an/the Englishman William Henry Fox Talbot
paper, written by a/the Scottish professor John Dudgeon
a studio ...
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"If you own" or "If you own a" when talking about a product in an ad
Let's say there is a game console called Bumby that can be used to play every single game available.
"If you own Bumby, you won't need another console."
"If you own a Bumby, you won't need ...
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A/the fear of something
What is the reason for using a and the in the following sentences (taken from Wikipedia):
The fear of the dark is a common fear or phobia among children...
A fear of falling, along with a fear of ...
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The PUM project vs PUM project
I got stuck with the one very classic problems of English - articles. Don't get me wrong, I'm pretty decent and English and mostly use them automatically in the proper position (I hope so).
However, ...
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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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Grammar behind "a length of 2 meters"
I believe that
The length of [something] is 2 meters.
is basically equivalent to
[Something] has a length of 2 meters.
where the following is invalid:
[Something] has the length of 2 meters.
I'm ...
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What's the difference in meaning between these two sentences?
• We'll taste the dishes of different restaurants there.
• We'll taste dishes of different restaurants there.
Are they both grammatically correct? And if they are, what's the difference in meaning ...
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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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"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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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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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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'... is very good quality' VS '... is OF [a] very good quality' + article
I've got two questions regarding this sentence for a grammar book:
The jacket you bought is very good quality.
Would it be correct to say: 'This jacket is OF very good quality.'?
Would it be ...
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Indefinite article + singluar noun to refer to a group/type of thing in general
My understanding is when referring to a type of thing in general we can either use the plural form or a singular with the definite article. For example:
The tomato is a fruit, not a vegetable.
Or
...
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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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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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(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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Do I use definite/indefinite articles properly in this example?
I have so many problems to find the proper usage of defnite vs indefinite articles. Could you please see the example below and tell me if I made a mistake, and what is the proper general rule/ why the ...
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Usage of Articles in Relative clauses
1. Tom is talking to a woman. Do you know her?
2. Do you know the woman Tom is talking to?
3. The man I was sitting next to on the plane talked all the time.
In the first sentence, we used 'a woman', ...
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a question of indefinite article "an"
There is a passage on the website below
https://ieltsonlinetests.com/ielts-mock-test-2023-january-reading-practice-test-3?mode=practice_test&parts=1&duration=60
Here is a question about the ...
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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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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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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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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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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, ...
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Indefinite article before plurals
I have came across such sentence:
By now, Queen Elizabeth II has been on the throne for an astounding 67 years.
Why do we use "an" here, even though 67 years is plural?
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The most popular means of transport is the car/a car - which article?
Which article is correct in this sentence?
The most popular means of transport is the car/a car
As far as I understand, when we mean the invention itself in general, we use 'the', but 'a' implies ...
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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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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 ...
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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 ...
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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 ...
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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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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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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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Is the phrase "the new staff at Tech company" correct?
An IELTS helper post says
I'm currently the new staff at Tech company with a specialty in IT
Is that correct? Does it need a article in between "at Tech company"?
I'm currently the new staff ...
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"Develop a feel for something" or "develop the feel for something"?
Could you tell if I have to use "a" or "the" before feel in the following sentences?
If you don't use the word correctly, don't be frustrated as you will develop a/the feel for ...
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"Summary" vs "A summary" vs "The summary"
Let's suppose my manager asks me to research some problem. I've done this and now I'm going to write him a message:
A/the summary:
[The problem is caused by this and that ...]
Do I need any ...
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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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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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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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Using 'a,' 'an,' or 'the' with 'price' and 'discount'
I am confused when to use the correct articles. For example, in an email:
Dear Journal of Business News,
I have received the information about subscribing to your journal. I have a few ...
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'greater understanding' without the preceding article 'a'
I'm aware that by default it is ...a greater understanding. However, I would like to know if I could leave the indefinite article out in the following case:
The goal of this programme is simple: ...
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A (intense) pulsed field?
So, I just came across a sentence in a summary I'm writing, where something has me stumped:
Consider the sentence: "A (intense) pulsed field is applied."
If I just wrote "A pulsed field is applied.",...
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After the year or after a year
After a year I'm writing you again. Is this statement correct?
Could I use the definite article before the year or the meaning would be different then?
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"using these functions as an example" vs "using these functions as examples"
using these functions as an example
or
using these functions as examples
Should it be examples, or an example is also okay?
The point is that, we need only to use one of them as an example.
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Articles for the words "camp" & "pub"
1) I've just read this article http://masteringarticles.com/object-activity-nouns/ and it says that "pub" is not a common activity noun, so when we say I want to go to the pub the word should be ...
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The vs zero article
I have to work during church time so I watch ur service on Facebook.
This was a facebook comment from someone to a pastor video.
Why does he say church time not the church time ? ... because the ...
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