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Words with a permanent definite article

The simplest rule is: the is specific, a is not: Sample: Increasing the number of women in top management jobs will be a slow process.= It will be a slow process to increase the number of women in top ...
Lambie's user avatar
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Are other interpretations of the "a" article possible?

In this case, the use of "the" and the indefinite article "a" indicates that the listener knows the general location (the gas cooker) but not the specific container where the soup ...
James Mathai's user avatar
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Are other interpretations of the "a" article possible?

Soup, like most liquids, is an uncountable noun. The indefinite article "a" essentially means "one" (ie "an apple" is one apple) and you can't use a number with ...
Astralbee's user avatar
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Does 'First Mention' Override Uniqueness in Some Cases When Choosing Articles?

That the reader has not heard of the man Jake killed is not necessarily relevant, since narration in a fiction, even when it is third person, can indirectly reveal the thought of characters being ...
TimR's user avatar
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Words with a permanent definite article

The words you list do not always take the definite article. As far as I know there are no words like that, with the trivial exception of proper nouns where the article is part of the name. Let's take &...
DJClayworth's user avatar
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Words with a permanent definite article

We use the definite article when we're singling out the process itself. So when it's the subject that's modified by a prepositional phrase, we use "the process of ...". We also use "the&...
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Does 'First Mention' Override Uniqueness in Some Cases When Choosing Articles?

You use the definite article when referring to a known item. So if the story has previously established that Jake had killed someone, you should write "the man whose life he'd taken". If ...
Barmar's user avatar
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'On the table' versus 'on a little table'

You use the indefinite article to refer to a general thing, and the definite to refer to a specific thing. This is true no matter what adjectives are attached. I'm not going to say your textbook is ...
DJClayworth's user avatar
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'On the table' versus 'on a little table'

I can offer a practical scenario to help you decide which version to use. You phone your sister, who will be coming to the party where you are now, to ask her to bring your phone, which you left at ...
TimR's user avatar
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'On the table' versus 'on a little table'

Sample sentences: The book is on the table. [a specific table] The book is on a little table. [general, it could be any little table] The book is on a table. [general] The book is on the little table. ...
Lambie's user avatar
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Confused by using articles in the UDHR

There is nothing "formal" about the use of definite articles here. It is just the normal case of using a definite article to refer to a specified thing, but where that specification is done ...
Canadian Yankee's user avatar
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Confused by using articles in the UDHR

... the rights and freedoms set forth in this Declaration "set forth in this Declaration" specifies which rights and freedoms. Why the definite article? A person belongs to a country or ...
TimR's user avatar
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indefinite article [a Lifeguard Certificate] and [a First-Aid Diploma]

If you do not use a second article, the possibility arises that the training course might issue a "Lifeguard and First Aid Training Certificate." If the audience understands that such a ...
WhatRoughBeast's user avatar
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indefinite article [a Lifeguard Certificate] and [a First-Aid Diploma]

The second article a is optional. We use small letters if the certificate and the diploma are not proper nouns: I will receive a lifeguard certificate and (a) first-aid diploma. Edit There should be ...
Seowjooheng Singapore's user avatar
2 votes
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Darren thought that working at the/a bank

Either option is acceptable. They mean slightly different things, but not in a way that changes much about the story: "Darren thought that working at a bank would make John more responsible" ...
Wyatt Carpenter's user avatar

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