Hello everyone,
I've noticed that when a noun precedes another (proper) noun, as a designation of that following proper noun, like a profession of a person or similar, giving a closer desription or classification of the following proper noun, the definite article is not used, as in the following examples:
"This copy is signed by author John Updike directly on the front end page"
"Recently we have seen actor George Clooney make fun of Charlton Heston's bout with Alzheimers' Disease."
"Michael's time on that last leg of the race is under 42:23 right up there with winner John Nichols time under 43:12."
I find the definite article used in such situations too, though much less, according to google searches:
"How many roles did the actor John Wayne have ?"
"He placed third (24:31:08) behind the winner John Livingston (22:56:59) in Waco NX7572."
It seems that both usages are well represented in the english language, and I'd say that the option with the definite article left out is more common. Am I correct about this?
As I understand this point, the definite article is more often used when the order is inverse, and the proper noun precedes the designation given by the other noun, i.e:
"George Clooney, the actor, and father Nick Clooney, the journalist, will roll out a new film documentary about the crisis in Darfur."
and I understand that similar is with the use of the indefinite article:
"Democrats have blocked a vote on the nomination of Bolton, a deputy secretary of state"who has been accused of bullying staff.."
Thank you for the answers