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Anonymous Posted 17 years ago
Grammar
All article questions
Hi. I have two questions on the article.
1. I think we could say, "a happy Joe Doe" to denote John Doe showing that he is happy, but I don't think we can write "a gloomy XXXX" with "XXXX" being (pretending to be) a name of a city. I think it would have to be "gloomy XXXX" without the indefinite article "a" if it had to be one. I think the same can be said to attaching what looks to me a similar word like "jubilant" before a name of a country. For example, "a jubilant XXX" with "XXX" representing a country (or name of a country) would be incorrect with the article "a." Why is that?
2. Can we skip some articles in product advertisements? How do we decide which one to skip and which one not to? Let us pretend the "XXXX" represents a particular year. Why no article in front of the word "veteran" below?
eg,
GORGEOUS PILLOW will help you get good night's sleep and it features a mortarboard with "Class of XXXX" diploma with ribbon tie. Colored pocket can hold tiny things you want to put in.
Brass-finish plague is engraved with veteran's name and birth dates.
1. I think we could say, "a happy Joe Doe" to denote John Doe showing that he is happy, but I don't think we can write "a gloomy XXXX" with "XXXX" being (pretending to be) a name of a city. I think it would have to be "gloomy XXXX" without the indefinite article "a" if it had to be one. I think the same can be said to attaching what looks to me a similar word like "jubilant" before a name of a country. For example, "a jubilant XXX" with "XXX" representing a country (or name of a country) would be incorrect with the article "a." Why is that?
2. Can we skip some articles in product advertisements? How do we decide which one to skip and which one not to? Let us pretend the "XXXX" represents a particular year. Why no article in front of the word "veteran" below?
eg,
GORGEOUS PILLOW will help you get good night's sleep and it features a mortarboard with "Class of XXXX" diploma with ribbon tie. Colored pocket can hold tiny things you want to put in.
Brass-finish plague is engraved with veteran's name and birth dates.
Top answer
1. What you say isn't really true. It's possible, for example, to say "I returned to a gloomy London" or "A jubilant France welcomed back its war heroes".
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- What you say isn't really true.
- It's possible, for example, to say "I returned to a gloomy London" or "A jubilant France welcomed back its war heroes".
- 2.
- This is an abbreviated "telegraphic" style of English that is used in headlines, notes, captions and so on.
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2 Answers
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1. What you say isn't really true. It's possible, for example, to say "I returned to a gloomy London" or "A jubilant France welcomed back its war heroes".
2. This is an abbreviated "telegraphic" style of English that is used in headlines, notes, captions and so on. Most text will probably make reasonable sense if all articles are omitted, but it wouldn't surprise me if someone could come
2. This is an abbreviated "telegraphic" style of English that is used in headlines, notes, captions and so on. Most text will probably make reasonable sense if all articles are omitted, but it wouldn't surprise me if someone could come
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I agree with Mr. Wordy. It's quite natural to speak of a city as though she were a person - with respect to the article, and otherwise.
And your advertising descriptions are not really sentences, but have their own "rules." If using the article makes the item seem more desirable, then by all means do it. (I would have said, "a good night's sleep.")
And your advertising descriptions are not really sentences, but have their own "rules." If using the article makes the item seem more desirable, then by all means do it. (I would have said, "a good night's sleep.")
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