Grammar

Question

Hello and hope you are doing well.I have a question regarding grammar:When there are nouns and there is "and" in the sentence, should there be one article or one is enough:I bought a new car and a new lap topOrI bought a new car and lap top.What if the is a definite article in the sentence! Will it change anything??

CalifJim · Accepted Answer

Abbas RajabpourHello and hope you are doing well.

This part is not necessary or usual in a forum.

Abbas Rajabpour
I have a question regarding grammar:
When there are nouns and there is "and" in the sentence, ~~should there be one article or one is enough:~~ should there be two articles or is one enough?
I bought a new car and a new laptop.
Or
I bought a new car and laptop. ['laptop' is one word.]

In this sentence you have a car and a laptop. Those are two very different things, and they are not bought as a logical group. You buy these things at different places. So in this sentence you need 'a new car and a new laptop'.

If you have things that are closely related to one another, you can use just one article, like this: I bought a new sofa and chair for the living room. But this pattern should be used sparingly. Even when there is a close relationship between two things, writers often use "a" twice anyway:

At the seaside restaurant, customers were enjoying a bite and a drink.

You almost never go wrong if you always use "a" with both nouns.

Abbas RajabpourWhat if there is a definite article in the sentence? Will it change anything? [Just one question mark is enough.]

No. The guideline I gave you above applies to the definite article as well.

CJ

Anonymous · Answer

People say it both ways. In writing, I would repeat "a new". The other way, it sounds a bit like the car and laptop (note the spelling) are a set.

Abbas RajabpourWhat if the is a definite article in the sentence! Will it change anything??

The definite article makes a strange sentence that would require so outlandish a context that if I told you, it would only confuse you.

Anonymous · Answer

My take on this is that if the nouns are closely related, you can omit repeating the article and adjective, for example:

I bought a new car and speedboat.

I bought a new laptop and cell phone.

But:

I bought a new speedboat and a new laptop.

I bought a new car and a new cell phone.

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