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KateLee Posted 18 years ago
Such extreme cases must probably be taken with a grain of sault, but they do underline the general principle that the relationship between elephant and mahout is the key to successful training.
Why no articles before “elephant” and “mahout”? (What if I change it into “between the elephant and its mahout”?)
Thanks in advance!
Grammar
No articles before countalbe words?
Such extreme cases must probably be taken with a grain of sault, but they do underline the general principle that the relationship between elephant and mahout is the key to successful training.
Why no articles before “elephant” and “mahout”? (What if I change it into “between the elephant and its mahout”?)
Thanks in advance!
Top answer
It is probably more common to put the article before those two, but it can be omitted when talking about things in general under some circumstances. I'm pretty sure there is an explanation of this situation in 'Advanced Grammar in Use' - a pretty popular book all over the world. I don't have a copy of it on hand to check.
- It is probably more common to put the article before those two, but it can be omitted when talking about things in general under some circumstances.
- I'm pretty sure there is an explanation of this situation in 'Advanced Grammar in Use' - a pretty popular book all over the world.
- I don't have a copy of it on hand to check.
- Maybe somebody else does, or knows the rules off the top of their head...
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3 Answers
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It is probably more common to put the article before those two, but it can be omitted when talking about things in general under some circumstances. I'm pretty sure there is an explanation of this situation in 'Advanced Grammar in Use' - a pretty popular book all over the world. I don't have a copy of it on hand to check. Maybe somebody else does, or knows the rules off the top of their head..
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KateLeethe relationship between elephant and mahout is the key to successful training.In your sentence "elephant" and "mahout" are being used generically so the article is optional. If the sentence were refering to a particular elephant or mahout the article would be necessary.
KateLeeWhat if I change it into “between th
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