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Hi all,Could you please help me with articles? I can´t decide if I use them right in those sentences. Thank you :-)William the Conqueror invaded  in 1072, six years after the Norman success at the Battle of Hastings. Mary left Scotland for  at the age of five as the intended bride of the heir to the French throne.Sir Walter Scott became famous as a founder of the historical novel.In this novel Stevenson describes a life of a split personality.A.C. Doyle: The author of the novels about the detective Sherlock Holmes was born in  in 1859.He studied medicine, but a failure in his medical practice led him to start writing.His house is open to a public as a museum of the Reformation.Robert MacGregor led originally a life of a cattle dealer.Rob Roy participated in the 1715 Jacobite uprising.The story of his life is also told in the film Braveheart.That is why Alexander was interested in technologies and sound from his childhood.During 1951-1954, he was the Rector of Edinburgh University.Although the symbol of the country, the bagpipes are not originally Scottish.You can encounter pipers in different public places all over Scotland - at castles, near the car parks and so forth.All this is boiled in a skin of sheep’s stomach.The piping usually includes a competition of solo pipers and bands.The thistle is said to have become a Scottish national emblem.You can find a wide range of restaurants in the popular tourist destinations all over .It is common that the shops in bigger cities are available till 8 p.m.It is advantageous to ensure accommodation in host families.

Avangi · Accepted Answer

Eff William the Conqueror invaded Scotland in 1072, six years after the Norman success at the Battle of Hastings.
Mary left Scotland for France at the age of five as the intended bride of the heir to the French throne.

Sir Walter Scott became famous as a founder of the historical novel. (This suggests that he shared the job. Sometimes a thing has several founders (eg. the founding fathers of the US) and not all become famous. If Scott deserves all the credit, I'd say the founder, but I don't know the facts here.)

In this novel Stevenson describes a life of a split personality. This one's tricky too. If someone has a split personality, does he have multiple lives, and therefore Stevenson may have chosen to describe only one? And does a personality in this sense have a life? Personally, I'd say, "the life of a person with a split personality" OR "one of the lives of a person with a split personality." (I guess that's not much help.)

A.C. Doyle: The author of the novels about the detective Sherlock Holmes was born in Edinburgh in 1859.

He studied medicine, but a failure in his medical practice led him to start writing. To me, this is acceptable, but I don't know what your teacher might be thinking. "The failure in his medical practice" is also okay. The most natural thing would be "the failure of his medical practice."

His house is open to a public as a museum of the Reformation. This one clearly should be "open to the public." It's a fixed expression. If "public" were used as an adjective instead of a noun, you could say, "open to a public viewing."

Robert MacGregor led originally a life of a cattle dealer. (I think "originally" should precede "led.") Anyway, "led the life of a cattle dealer." You could also say, "led a life as a cattle dealer."

Rob Roy participated in the 1715 Jacobite uprising.

The story of his life is also told in the film Braveheart.

That is why Alexander was interested in technologies and sound from his childhood. (Where is the article??) If there's prior context about specific technologies, perhaps a "the" would be in order - "the technologies."

During 1951-1954, he was the Rector of Edinburgh University. I think this is okay, but it may be correct to omit the article here. It's probably optional. I think "a" would also be correct. "Elizabeth II was Queen of England." "Elizabeth II was a/the Queen of England."

Although the symbol of the country, the bagpipes are not originally Scottish.

You can encounter pipers in different public places all over Scotland - at castles, near the car parks and so forth. I would omit "the" in this case, because you should maintain parallel structure. (at the castles, near the car parks OR at castles, near car parks)

All this is boiled in a skin of sheep’s stomach. I would say, "in the skin of a sheep's stomach."

The piping usually includes a competition of solo pipers and bands. I think you have the best version here, but I don't think it would be wrong to omit the existing "the" and/or to replace the "a" with "the." It's not clear if they mean "solo pipers with band accompaniment." Must be. If so, you could say "solo pipers with bands." But on the other hand, if the bands are part of the piping [competition], perhaps one, or a number of pipers are playing ensemble with the band, and the "solo pipers" are unaccompanied. Maybe best to replace the "a" with "the."

The thistle is said to have become a Scottish national emblem. This is okay if there are more than one. If there is only one national emblem, the it would be "the national emblem." What are the facts?

You can find a wide range of restaurants in the popular tourist destinations all over Scotland. Depends on meaning, but it's more common to omit the "the."

It is common that the shops in bigger cities are available till 8 p.m. I like the "the," but it may be omitted.

It is advantageous to ensure accommodation in host families. I'm not sure what this one is about. I'm not too crazy about the preposition. I'd prefer "with" or "by." I think "the" would be optional in front of "accommodation" and in front of "host."

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