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Whatchadoin Posted 14 years ago
Grammar

Ommiting

Is it OK to omit articles at the beginning of a sentence?

Nice game but(the rest of the sentence)
______

Also, as far as I know native speakers sometimes omit a subject of a sentence. As in:

(I) was just trying to do it.
(I) don't know.
(It) doesn't matter.

Is this OK?

Thanks.
  

Top answer

Hi, whatchadoin Is it OK to omit articles at the beginning of a sentence? Nice game but... It's called ellipsis, and it quite often occurs in speech.

— Regards

  • Hi, whatchadoin Is it OK to omit articles at the beginning of a sentence?
  • Nice game but...
  • It's called ellipsis, and it quite often occurs in speech.
  • For example, when someone asks a tough question and we don't have a definitive answer, we say, "Good question".
  • Note that "Good question" is not a substitute for "A good question", but rather "It's / That's a good question".
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15 Answers
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Hi,
whatchadoinIs it OK to omit articles at the beginning of a sentence? Nice game but...
It's called ellipsis, and it quite often occurs in speech. For example, when someone asks

a tough question and we don't have a definitive answer, we say, "Good question".

Note that "Good question" is not a substitute for "A good question", but rather "I
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RegardsNote that "Good question" is not a substitute for "A good question"
What would native speakers think if I said "A good question"?
Regards in casual speech.
And in casual writing I'm assuming?

Thanks.
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Note the correct spelling of omitting.
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Hi,
whatchadoin"What would native speakers think if I said "A good question"?
They would probably think you meant "Good question" and correct you.
whatchadoinin casual speech. And in casual writing I'm assuming?
That's true, but try to avoid it.

Regards
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whatchadoin… "A good question"?
It's fine, but not extremely common. I've heard educated, articulate native speakers utter similar expressions.

an interesting story
a likely excuse

etc.
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whatchadoinAlso, as far as I know native speakers sometimes omit a subject of a sentence. As in:(I) was just trying to do it.(I) don't know.(It) doesn't matter.
Your first example seems extremely unlikely to me. I can't imagine anyone starting a sentence with "was" and omitting the "I", except perhaps in a diary entry.
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khoffYour first example seems extremely unlikely to me. I can't imagine anyone starting a sentence with "was" and omitting the "I", except perhaps in a diary entry.
It seems that the shorter the sentence or expression, the higher the likelihood of omitting the subject or the first article. I thought that length was the main criterion. But now that you mentio
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Can I omit articles at the beginning of sentence before a noun?

A straw is....
An orange is...
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No, that's not something a native speaker would do.
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But they do omit the article 'the' sometimes? As in:

Same.
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