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Anonymous Posted 14 years ago
Grammar
Use of indefinite article in a list of adjectives
Hello,
I am having an argument with my girlfriend and we vehemently disagree about the appropriateness of using the indefinite article in the following fashion:
The germ is a large, gram-positive, endospore-forming, and a facultative anaerobic bacterium.
Is it appropriate to use the second indefinite article after the "and?"
Is there a rule? Is it a stylistic choice? Is it better in any way?
I am having an argument with my girlfriend and we vehemently disagree about the appropriateness of using the indefinite article in the following fashion:
The germ is a large, gram-positive, endospore-forming, and a facultative anaerobic bacterium.
Is it appropriate to use the second indefinite article after the "and?"
Is there a rule? Is it a stylistic choice? Is it better in any way?
Top answer
The second "a" should be dropped. You only have one subject ("bacterium"). All the other phrases are adjectives, modifying (telling you details about) that subject.
- The second "a" should be dropped.
- You only have one subject ("bacterium").
- All the other phrases are adjectives, modifying (telling you details about) that subject.
- So you put "a" in front of the list of adjectives and that's all you need.
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1 Answers
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The second "a" should be dropped. You only have one subject ("bacterium"). All the other phrases are adjectives, modifying (telling you details about) that subject. So you put "a" in front of the list of adjectives and that's all you need.
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