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MustAsk Posted 12 years ago
Grammar

Charged with [an] assassination attempt on

Hi,

Google seems to bring "...charged with an assassination attempt on..." more often than "...charged with assassination attempt on...". I think the article is misplaced. It shouldn't be there at all. Am I right?

Thanks!
  

Top answer

"attempt" is a singular countable noun, so the article is required. The article-less instances that you have found are either mistakes or headline-style text in which articles are dropped.

— GPY

  • "attempt" is a singular countable noun, so the article is required.
  • The article-less instances that you have found are either mistakes or headline-style text in which articles are dropped.
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4 Answers
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"attempt" is a singular countable noun, so the article is required. The article-less instances that you have found are either mistakes or headline-style text in which articles are dropped.
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My confusion arises from "charged with murder/assault" because an article here would be wrong.
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MustAskMy confusion arises from "charged with murder/assault" because an article here would be wrong.
That is not really true. In "charged with a murder / an assault", the words "murder" and "assault" (countable) refer to a specific incident. In "charged with murder / assault", the words "murder" and "assault" (uncountable) refer to a more abstract notion of t
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Under the laws of Canada, I don't think 'assassination' is a separate offense. Instead, I think it would be classified as 'murder'.

Clive
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