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Anonymous Posted 16 years ago
Vocabulary
Article / no article
Hi everyone,
Is it okay to leave out the definite article in the following sentece?
I need to figure out the lyrics to a song. (the other person doesn't know yet what song I'm talking about)
So that it reads:
I need to figure out lyrics to a song.
But if we replace "to" with "of", should we always keep the article?
I need to figure out the lyrics of a song.
I prefer both examples with the article, though I'm sure I've seen the "no article" version used many times, I just want to make sure if it's considered wrong (ungrammatical) to leave it out, especially in the first example.
Help appreciated. Thanks.
Is it okay to leave out the definite article in the following sentece?
I need to figure out the lyrics to a song. (the other person doesn't know yet what song I'm talking about)
So that it reads:
I need to figure out lyrics to a song.
But if we replace "to" with "of", should we always keep the article?
I need to figure out the lyrics of a song.
I prefer both examples with the article, though I'm sure I've seen the "no article" version used many times, I just want to make sure if it's considered wrong (ungrammatical) to leave it out, especially in the first example.
Help appreciated. Thanks.
Top answer
I would take it to mean just a part of the song or a couple of words rather than the entire lyrics. With that thought in mind, I don't think it is ungrammatical although I may be corrected on this. If you mean the whole song or a large part of it then I would use the article, I agree with you it does sound more natural with the article.
- I would take it to mean just a part of the song or a couple of words rather than the entire lyrics.
- With that thought in mind, I don't think it is ungrammatical although I may be corrected on this.
- If you mean the whole song or a large part of it then I would use the article, I agree with you it does sound more natural with the article.
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3 Answers
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I would take it to mean just a part of the song or a couple of words rather than the entire lyrics.
With that thought in mind, I don't think it is ungrammatical although I may be corrected on this.
If you mean the whole song or a large part of it then I would use the article, I agree with you it does sound more natural with the article.
With that thought in mind, I don't think it is ungrammatical although I may be corrected on this.
If you mean the whole song or a large part of it then I would use the article, I agree with you it does sound more natural with the article.
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The lyrics to a song = The listener doesn't know what song you're talking about; hence the "a" before song. The lyrics belonging to that song are specific and definite (even though the song itself is only specific but not definite) so "the" is normally needed.
However, there are cases in which "lyrics to a song" works. One example would be a situation when you're writing a new song. You c
However, there are cases in which "lyrics to a song" works. One example would be a situation when you're writing a new song. You c
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It doesn't matter that the listener doesn't know which song - you used "a" for the song. That song has only one set of lyrics, so "the" is appropriate for that.
The lyrics [that are specifically linked] to a song [that I haven't yet defined for you].
The zero article sounds odd to me in that situation.
The lyrics [that are specifically linked] to a song [that I haven't yet defined for you].
The zero article sounds odd to me in that situation.
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