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Anonymous Posted 16 years ago
Grammar

What article to use

Dear friends,

What article should be used before "powerful" from your point of view in the following example:
"A new release of a powerful programming language Lang", because Lang is only one ofpowerful programming languages.

"A new release of the powerful programming language Lang", because it is a new release of the programming language Lang" which is "powerful.

  

Top answer

"a" suggests that the reader is not expected to have previously heard of "Lang". "the" makes the language sound more "established" -- more like it is something that is generally known. If you use "a" then I think this is better: "A new release of a powerful programming language called Lang ".

— Mr Wordy

  • "a" suggests that the reader is not expected to have previously heard of "Lang".
  • "the" makes the language sound more "established" -- more like it is something that is generally known.
  • If you use "a" then I think this is better: "A new release of a powerful programming language called Lang ".
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4 Answers
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"a" suggests that the reader is not expected to have previously heard of "Lang". "the" makes the language sound more "established" -- more like it is something that is generally known.

If you use "a" then I think this is better: "A new release of a powerful programming language called Lang".
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Dear Mr. Wordy,

Thank you for your answer.
Should we use "the" if the language is well-known to readers?
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AnonymousShould we use "the" if the language is well-known to readers?
Yes.
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Dear MR Wordy,
Thank you.
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