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Stenka25 Posted 10 years ago
Grammar
The article problem
the article problem
The quote below comes from Saving the World and Other Extreme Sports: A Maximum Ride Novel By James Patterson
https://books.google.co.kr/books?id=YRUh6EtxyOYC&pg=PT195&dq=%22Sometimes+a+happy+delusion+is+better+than%22&hl=en&sa=X&redir_esc=y#v=onepage&q=%22Sometimes%20a%20happy%20delusion%20is%20better%20than%22&f=false
Sometimes a happy delusion is better than grim reality.
The sentence makes a good antithesis between 'a happy delusion' and 'grim reality'.
However, I cannot understand why the author put an indefinite article 'a' before 'happy delusion' but why no article before 'grim reality'.
If I wrote this sentence on my own, I would put an 'a' in front of 'grim reality' and think it would make a perfect contrast.
Can you help me?
Regards.
The quote below comes from Saving the World and Other Extreme Sports: A Maximum Ride Novel By James Patterson
https://books.google.co.kr/books?id=YRUh6EtxyOYC&pg=PT195&dq=%22Sometimes+a+happy+delusion+is+better+than%22&hl=en&sa=X&redir_esc=y#v=onepage&q=%22Sometimes%20a%20happy%20delusion%20is%20better%20than%22&f=false
Sometimes a happy delusion is better than grim reality.
The sentence makes a good antithesis between 'a happy delusion' and 'grim reality'.
However, I cannot understand why the author put an indefinite article 'a' before 'happy delusion' but why no article before 'grim reality'.
If I wrote this sentence on my own, I would put an 'a' in front of 'grim reality' and think it would make a perfect contrast.
Can you help me?
Regards.
Top answer
It is author's choice, so hard to say for sure what was in his or her mind, but perhaps he or she used the more familar uncountable sense of "reality" more or less automatically.
- It is author's choice, so hard to say for sure what was in his or her mind, but perhaps he or she used the more familar uncountable sense of "reality" more or less automatically.
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2 Answers
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It is author's choice, so hard to say for sure what was in his or her mind, but perhaps he or she used the more familar uncountable sense of "reality" more or less automatically.
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