A sentence discrepancy and the other

Share on Facebook

Believer

#234140 Fri, 09 Jun 06 11:10 AM

1. I was looking at the word "design" for its usage in the Collins Cobuild Advanced Learner's English Dictionary and the dictionary had this definition and an example of its usage. What baffles me is why the example has the article "a" when that article is usually reserved for a countable noun, as far as I know. Help.

Design: an uncountable noun

The design of something is the way in which it has been planned and made usually with suppliement.

a new design of clock.

2. I think you have covered this area of grammar several times before, can you tell me why the person would use the artlcle "a" in front of the word "director" when the article "the" or no article seems to be appropriate?

He is a director of ZZ Certificate Program.

Believer

Joined on Mon, Jan 2 2006

Contributing Member (1,969)

Articles, Grammar, Nouns, Uncountable Nouns, Countable Nouns

Mister Micawber

#234180 Fri, 09 Jun 06 01:16 PM

1-- A new design of clock -- here, design is countable: one clock design, another clock design, three clock designs.

2-- There can be more than one director of a program or organization. Corporations have entire boards of directors. However, I would think there should be the before ZZ, since it is a specific program. He is a director of the ZZ Program.

Mister Micawber

Joined on Wed, Aug 4 2004

Yokohama

Veteran Member (22,688)

'The question is,' said Humpty Dumpty, 'which is to be master-- that's all.'

Believer

#234465 Sat, 10 Jun 06 05:24 AM

Thank you.

Can the same reasoning be applied here for the italicized proper noun? A specific one. Or the article is accorded since the event is considered a very important event by some psople? The whole proper name couldn't be with the determiner "the" or could it?

... that blamed Chinese textbooks for white-washing the savagery of the Boxer Rebellion, the violent movement against foreigners in China at the beginning of the 20th century.

Believer

Articles, Nouns, Determiners

RedPenCJ

#234473 Sat, 10 Jun 06 05:44 AM

That's an interesting one.

"the Boxer Rebellion" is best.

On the other hand, you would write, "...the savagery of World War II" yet "...the savagery of the Crimean War."

It's not the importance of the event that counts.

RedPenCJ

Joined on Fri, Jun 9 2006

Huntington Beach, California, USA

New Member (41)

"I have never let my schooling interfere with my education." (Mark Twain)

Mister Micawber

#234527 Sat, 10 Jun 06 09:01 AM

The definite article appears before a host of singular proper nouns:

The Meiji Era, the University of Chicago, the Roman Catholic church, the Peloponnesian Wars, the Ford Motor Company, the Monroe Doctrine, the Panama Canal, the Hawaiian Islands, the Matterhorn, the Philippines, the Empire State Building, The New York Times

No article is used before a host of others:

Tokyo University, World War I, Sony Corporation, Queen Elizabeth, Hudson Bay, Lake Michigan, Mount Fuji, Sicily, Italy, National Geographic magazine.

Most grammar books have a section listing the major trends (e.g. lakes have no article, rivers do).

Mister Micawber

Articles, Grammar, Nouns, Universities, Definite Articles