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Believer  #314728  Sat, 13 Jan 07 07:12 AM

I have a sentence I think I saw written somewhere. How would you rewrite it so it is correct? I think it is incorrect.

Our company has a children's center for our employees in need of child care.

I think when you have a name in the genitive, normally the article refers to the noun that immediately follows it.

I have a student who has graduated from a CET's course.

Here, let us assume CET stands for (the??) Certified Electrical Technician and for the above sentence, a modifies the abbreviation 'CET', isn't it?     

Do you have any suggestions that will help me to decide correctly whether there a need to put the underlined article there?   

  
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Feebs11  #314772  Sat, 13 Jan 07 11:43 AM
 Believer wrote:

I have a sentence I think I saw written somewhere. How would you rewrite it so it is correct? I think it is incorrect.

Our company has a children's center for our employees [who are] in need of child care.    I can't see a problem with this sentence otherwise. The indefinite article is fine in this context

I think when you have a name in the genitive, normally the article refers to the noun that immediately follows it.

I have a student who has graduated from a CET's course.

Here, let us assume CET stands for (the??) Certified Electrical Technician and for the above sentence, a modifies the abbreviation 'CET', doesn't it?     No - it relates to "course"; CET is merely used adjectively to identify the course. The course is unspecified apart from being a CET course, therefore "a" is correct. If the course was specifiied as a particular course in a particular institution, then "the" would be required.  "....the CET course at *** College."

Do you have any suggestions that will help me to decide correctly whether there a need to put the underlined article there?   

  
  
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Believer  #314997  Sun, 14 Jan 07 01:51 AM

Thank you, Feebs 11

My question for the first one deals with the underlined phrase in the genitive. Is the article 'a'  correct to be there?

Our company has a children's center for our employees in need of child care.

As to the second question, let me change it and ask you where does a modify here.

He who has graduated from a CE's course is more likely to be brought up knowing how to behave well in front of others.   

Here let us assume 'CE' stands for 'Christian Teacher'

  
nona the brit  #315211  Sun, 14 Jan 07 05:31 PM

YEs, both of those need the indefinite article (although there is another problem with your second sentence; the use of 'brought up' is incorrect)/

  
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Believer  #315407  Mon, 15 Jan 07 07:49 AM

Thank you, Nona.

Why would the following need to have an indefinite article, "a", when the word "children" is plural?

a children's center  

As to the second sentence, how would you rewrite it?  I agree with you that 'brought up' is a bad, if not incorrect, choice. Would the following be OK grammatically? I think all three present different meanings.

He who has graduated from a CE's course is more likely to know how to behave well in front of others.

He who has graduated from a CE's course is more likely to know how he has to behave in front of others.

He who has graduated from a CE's course is more likely to have learned how to behave well in front of others.     

  
nona the brit  #315441  Mon, 15 Jan 07 10:36 AM

In 'children's centre' children's is acting almost as an adjective on centre, as per a private hospital, a dogs' home (centre for rehoming stray dogs not a place where several dogs live permanently). It is a centre for children, not a centre belonging to children.

Those alternative sentences all sound ok, although I would shorten 2) to 'how to behave in front'

I don't see any major difference in meaning between them, possibly that 3) implies he learnt good behaviour on his course, whereas with 1) and 2) he could be naturally well behaved (and that sort of person is the type attracted to a CE's course).

  
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