By Expressions, Indefinite articles

Yes, you need the definite article before a superlative, whether the noun it modifies is singular or plural. the most beautiful girl/girlsTop gun; top dog are fixed expressions when used without an article. Ultimate climber/climbers may be a fixed expression, but I haven't heard it. If so,...

Good advice for beginners using "existential there".You've got four combinations to disentangle here."existential there" means there exists -- such-and-such "has existence"."locative there" means in that location -- at that place.The two meanings are...

I think there are a couple way to look at this. One is the use of the word 'thereof' and what it means. It is defined as such: thereof -adverb: of or concerning this, that or itWhen the word 'thereof' is used it gets its meaning entirely from the word to which it refers. So...

Badge are available at a cost of 400 won. -- more polite to the customer than the; it suggests (untruthfully) that the price is not set in stone. I would like to have a large coke. -- one of any large cokes; this is normal use of the indefinite article, Believer. Come here and say a good-bye....

Magda wrote:Hi,could you tell whether my sentence requires the indefinite article?"This ring has great sentimental value for me."Thank you I prefer it without because it refers to value. Is of value is the normal expressions.

*You have to use indefinite article after "half" when that word precedes a countable noum. Richard ate half a watermelon. My old home is about half a mile from here. Half a dozen eggs and half a pound of butter, please. Cecily drank half a bottle of Scotch last night. *Before personal...

You are right, Paco. The word 'problem' is definitely a countable noun. That's why when I first encountered the expression 'have x problem -ing,' perhaps decades ago, I thought it's a rather unusual construction. This peculiarity compelled me to memorize the expression by rote then. Along the...

"a" or "an" (i.e., the indefinite article) can serve as the article for more than one noun without any problem. an earthquake or explosion = an earthquake or an explosion an apple or pear = an apple or a pear On the other hand, expressions like "hundreds of", "thousands of", etc. all take a...

Hi MrP and Casi Here's another article supposedly relating to our discussion, which I just skimmed it. Sounds the construction " in a part of the entry of the indefinite article a like this: A follows the adjectives as in many a, such a, what a! and the obsolete or dialectal each a, which a; it...

Essay on The Collective Noun by Sophie Johnson Traditionally, the noun that names a collective is considered to be singular. Being singular, the verbial that denotes its act is also singular: (1) The family prays every evening. (2) Australia is playing against Portugal in the final...