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Questions tagged [articles]

Use this tag for questions about the usage of articles (e.g. a, an, and the).

1 vote
0 answers
67 views

Is "The Shining" a title with a gerund, or a regular -ing noun? [duplicate]

Does using "the" or "a" in front of a gerund alter it somehow? "A painting," for example, is not a gerund, and if a book were titled "The Painting" it would not ...
Sarah's user avatar
  • 11
0 votes
1 answer
57 views

Using "the" before a profession and name

A column heading in a recent New Yorker magazine : "The staff writer Sarah Larson on natural history marvels." Why would "the" be used here? Wouldn't the heading be correct without ...
Jumpringer's user avatar
0 votes
0 answers
6 views

When can we omit the article in front of a countable word in singular? [migrated]

In the sentence below, there is no "the" in front of former President. I am wondering what is the grammar rule for that? Under Smith and his successor, Douglas, Canada sought closer trade ...
Julia's user avatar
  • 1
0 votes
1 answer
93 views

"I am at a/the library" - which article should I use? [duplicate]

If I am speaking to a tech recruiter overseas, why is the correct way to describe is "Hi, Jane. This is Katie. I'm at the Library" ? If the recruiter is someone that doesn't know the library,...
Katie's user avatar
  • 9
0 votes
0 answers
33 views

When a band is performing live at a venue, would you say "live at [venue]" or "live at the [venue]"?

Basically what the title says. I've seen both used before. Ex.: "Live at Civic Arena" vs. "Live at the Civic Arena".
Nathan's user avatar
  • 1
22 votes
6 answers
3k views

Why is an article often used with (the) Rubik's cube, although other "name+'s" constructions usually don't use one?

As far as I know (being non-native and not having studied linguistics), you usually do not use an article before a name + genitive. For example, you would say "this is Harry's ball" or "...
Mo P's user avatar
  • 323
2 votes
0 answers
65 views

"a shirt in (a) (size) small"

To me, these versions sound natural and idiomatic: I'd like this/a shirt in a small. I'd like this/a shirt in a size small. I'd like this/a shirt in a size 7. Do you have this dress in a 9? She wears ...
desmo's user avatar
  • 649
2 votes
2 answers
398 views

A half or half - adjective or noun word

I was reading the meaning of the term "crescent" on internet, and I spotted a part in it that led me to confusion, the definition is the following one; A curved shape that has two narrow ...
PROCESIONES CELESTES's user avatar
0 votes
0 answers
40 views

Should I use "A/an + adj. + Name" or "The + adj. + Name"?

As a native English speaker, I find myself perplexed by this situation. Here are some examples of what I mean. 1.1 The worried Link went to see Impa. 1.2 A worried Link went to see Impa. 2.1 The angry ...
Micheal Gignac's user avatar
2 votes
1 answer
50 views

What rule dictates the use of articles with nouns in names?

I've recently started working for an organization -- for the sake of argument, let's say it's an institute that studies lacrosse in the state of Utah. I've been told by various people in the senior ...
JeanSibelius's user avatar
1 vote
1 answer
77 views

Is ‘the’ used before a number as determiner, when ‘all’ is used before them? [duplicate]

I want to write this sentence in a paper: All the three characters also have their counterparts in ASCII, where all the three characters refers to the aforementioned three characters out of a bigger ...
Guanyuming He's user avatar
1 vote
1 answer
53 views

Is omitting the definite article in this case grammatically correct (and preferable)?

I had written the following sentence in a manuscript: After each transaction, the balance of the sender account equals their balance immediately before the transaction minus the amount of funds ...
bp99's user avatar
  • 139
0 votes
0 answers
13 views

Which article should come here? [duplicate]

Had this in a test: He went to _ prison to give a lecture to the prisoners. Will there be an article here? If so which one? My first intuition was "a", but I'm unsure.
Sohaib Mubashir's user avatar
4 votes
4 answers
2k views

Are names of chemicals not proper nouns?

I notice that people often use "gold" and "diamond" in lower case. Yet as far as I see it these are all "proper names" of an abstract idea and really ought to be ...
Sidharth Ghoshal's user avatar
1 vote
0 answers
26 views

Article 'The' when use with the name of an island [duplicate]

According standard English, we do not use 'the' with the name of a single island, for example, 'Tasmania' or 'Bermuda'. We just use 'the' when the name refers to a group of islands or is made up of ...
Lotus's user avatar
  • 11

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