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Godiva Posted 10 years ago
Grammar
The purchase
Hello,
Here's a sentence from an article. "It is important to handle financial matters in a responsible manner. Consider, for example, the purchase of a home."
Why "the purchase"? It's an instance of a purchase and has not been introduced before, so won't "a purchase of a home" be better? Maybe it's for flow to avoid "a purchase of a" (two "a"s).
Do you think "a purchase" is correct too?
Here's a sentence from an article. "It is important to handle financial matters in a responsible manner. Consider, for example, the purchase of a home."
Why "the purchase"? It's an instance of a purchase and has not been introduced before, so won't "a purchase of a home" be better? Maybe it's for flow to avoid "a purchase of a" (two "a"s).
Do you think "a purchase" is correct too?
Top answer
Godiva Do you think "a purchase" is correct too? No. It is giving a specific example of a financial decision, probably the largest one a family will make.
- Godiva Do you think "a purchase" is correct too?
- No.
- It is giving a specific example of a financial decision, probably the largest one a family will make.
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7 Answers
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GodivaDo you think "a purchase" is correct too?No. It is giving a specific example of a financial decision, probably the largest one a family will make.
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AlpheccaStarsNo. It is giving a specific example of a financial decision, probably the largest one a family will make.That makes sense. What about "consider the purchase of a stapler?"
Would either be okay
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Anonymous What about "consider the purchase of a stapler?"Do you mean a solid platinum stapler with rows of perfect diamonds inset into the handle?
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AlpheccaStarsDo you mean a solid platinum stapler with rows of perfect diamonds inset into the handle?What do you mean? No, a regular stapler.
Consider the purchase of a book.
Consider the purchase of a bike.
Etc
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GodivaWhat do you mean?It does not seem that you need a high level of fiscal responsibility when considering the purchase of a book or a stapler unless they were extremely rare or costly items. For example, a book that is an original Shakespeare folio.
Using "the" for a specific transaction still applies, in any case.
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