Ok, I am completely confused about the use of articles in this particular construct. The range of choices is nil/a/the A of nil/a/the B. Are there any rules? Also, could anyone recommend any book/article/source which describes this in detail? I

depends on your definition of 'commonplace'. scandinavia is not exceptional in this case. google for any country's stats - you will be suprised how common the suicide is.

Why is it: salesmen with _ good technical knowledge of what they are selling BUT a secretary with a first-class knowledge of German? Im completely confused... In both cases we have more 'particular' meaning.

But can you say 'he has three superiorities'? Sounds wrong... I cant recall I saw the word used in the plural form.

Nah... does not look that easy First of all, the people are clearly defined in both examples, not only in the first one. In the former we are talking about Jason Soury and in the latter - Herbert Spencer . So no difference. About your second

Nice explanation I will have nightmares about (the) English grammar tonight.

Thanks

The ranking by wealth of which Spencer so approved is but one example of a wider tendency for people to try to out-do each other. And that competition, whether athletic, artistic or financial, does seem to be about genetic display. Unfakeable

What's the correct usage of the articles with "ivory tower"? A quick search of NYTimes.com gives hundreds of examples for both 'an' and 'the', however 'the' is more dominant. The problem is that I cant find any pattern in the found passages.

A student and a teacher at Middle School died in car accidents within weeks of each other. Jason Soury, the student, died on Oct. 3, and Maberliz Castillo, the teacher, on Oct. 28. (from NYTimes.com) BUT And that was a puzzle to 19th-century