When should 'a' and 'an' be written in a list containing both?

Question

Which of the following is correct?

Want to be a Graphic Designer, Photographer or an Artist? Let's Learn and Grow Together.
Want to be Graphic Designer, Photographer or Artist? Let's Learn and Grow Together.
Want to be a Graphic Designer, a Photographer or an Artist? Let's Learn and Grow Together.
Want to be a Graphic Designer, Photographer or Artist? Let's Learn and Grow Together.

I believe that #2 is correct because when we use commas, and & or in a sentence, on changing the sequence structure of the sentence it shouldn't be affected. E.g., a Graphic Designer, an Artist or Photographer, etc.

There are some good answers so I'll just add this comment. Think of the articles "a" and "an" as being the same word. You simply add the "n" to make it sound right when followed by a vowel. Therefore, in "Want to be a graphic designer or artist?" the "a" correctly modifies "artist," while sounding good with "graphic." — BoomChuck, Dec 09 '20 at 17:03
@PeterMortensen I want to use this statement as subject line for email — user126212, Dec 10 '20 at 07:25
Example #1 is extremely non-idiomatic. But that's not because it includes both *a* and *an* (as @BoomChuck says, to a native speaker these are essentially just "the same word"). It's because *if you discard a repeated element* (the indefinite article, in this case, discarded before "Photographer"), you can't naturally *resume* including it again later in the "list". — FumbleFingers, Dec 10 '20 at 14:57
@Fumble I wouldn't say "extremely". IMO it actually sounds better than 4, even though semantically it makes less sense. I pronounce "or artist" with a glottal stop between the words, which makes it sound halting. IDK if that's just me or my dialect (Maritimes). — wjandrea, Dec 10 '20 at 22:20
@wjandrea: You think? Consider the same "awkward resumption of previously-deleted element" with a different determiner: I know his family. I've met his father, mother, and his sister. That just sounds really clumsy to me, but it sounds fine if we avoid deleting *his* before *mother* (or alternatively, if we do delete the determiner before *sister* - both those approaches are equally good to me). — FumbleFingers, Dec 11 '20 at 12:27
The order is wrong, too! Should put "artist" in the middle. Less of a mouthful to pronounce that way. — Will Crawford, Dec 11 '20 at 15:42

score 46 · Answer 1 · answered Dec 09 '20 at 16:52

46

#3 and #4 are both correct; which you choose is a matter of style.

#2 is incorrect because it has no articles at all.

#1 has faulty parallelism so is technically incorrect, but you’ll probably find examples like that, especially when spoken.

answered Dec 09 '20 at 16:52

StephenS

8,109
2
13
29

13

I don't agree that #3 and #4 are simply stylistically different. The repetition of the article carries a change in emphasis. In this case, #3 carries a slight implication that these are three distinct choices, whereas #4 implies that the course (I presume that is what this for?) on offer is general for all three. In other circumstances, it can imply that the choices offered are exhaustive or that a choice must be made. – Jack Aidley Dec 10 '20 at 11:16
4

@JackAidley I could use either to mean either. #3 feels slightly more formal to me, but that’s it. – StephenS Dec 10 '20 at 13:24
5

@JackAidley If there is such an implication, it's very very slight. – user253751 Dec 10 '20 at 15:22
3

@JackAidley You aren't wrong, but within the context of an advertisement for a service or company (which this appears to be), the meanings are effectively identical. The company is offering three distinct training options, or is offering training in a group of topics. That's a distinction without a difference. – Darth Pseudonym Dec 10 '20 at 19:13
1

I completely agree with Jack. My natural instinct is to [subconsciously] reject any other meaning other than the "exclusive choices that you have to pick from right now" one for #3 and #4. If I read it in this context, I'd roll my eyes a bit and feel that the company involved did not have a great grasp of the language. Further, this might (perhaps prejudicially, I'll admit) make me think twice before engaging with them for business. Surely not desirable! For the additive case that's actually the intention of the phrase, #1 is the way to go. – Asteroids With Wings Dec 10 '20 at 20:32
1

More concrete example: "Would you like a beer, cider, or martini?" vs. "Would you like a beer, a cider, or a martini?" In the former case the answer could be simply be "yes" or "no", but in the latter, it's definitely a "choose one" scenario. – Darrel Hoffman Dec 11 '20 at 15:20
@DarrelHoffman “yes” is technically valid for either, but in both cases it forces the person to ask which you want, so how is that a useful distinction? – StephenS Dec 11 '20 at 20:57
@StephenS Technically, yes, from a purely literal reading, both statements are roughly equivalent, but in general usage, the first one implies generally "Would you like a drink? Here's some examples." You might also respond with "What about whiskey, do you have any of that?" While the second one clearly says "Would you like a drink? Here are your options." And you should know not to even bother asking for something else. – Darrel Hoffman Dec 11 '20 at 21:07
I would naturally say, "A graphic designer, photographer, or an artist", but I wouldn't ever write it that way. – sig_seg_v Dec 11 '20 at 23:05
1

@sig_seg_v I think this is mostly because of the sounds in "or artist" being a bit awkward to pronounce. I bet if you put artist in the middle, you'd be fine without the article. – Kat Dec 12 '20 at 04:39

score 9 · Answer 2 · edited Dec 09 '20 at 19:20

9

I prefer this: "Want to be a Graphic Designer, Photographer, or Artist?:

Please use the commas to denote separate items when referencing 3 or more. I know some people don't care about it, but by not practicing whenever appropriate, it can catch you up some time in the future when it's more vital to prevent misunderstanding.

edited Dec 09 '20 at 19:20

user8356

2,910
10
14

answered Dec 09 '20 at 16:21

user14795459

241
1
2

10

Comma before or depends on construction, style and preference: https://www.grammarly.com/blog/comma-before-or/ – Ronald Sole Dec 09 '20 at 18:43
7

Let's eat Grandma! Let's eat, Grandma! Commas save lives! – JVC Dec 10 '20 at 02:46
1

Now this sounds familiar... https://www.elitelanguage.eu/wp-content/uploads/2018/08/Oxford-Comma-Image.png – MEMark Dec 10 '20 at 12:35
3

@MEMark NSFW! (not safe for work) – wjandrea Dec 10 '20 at 22:22

NotThatGuy · Answer 3 · 2020-12-10T10:11:17.377

#3 and #4 are both correct. Either every item in a list should have an a/an or there should just be one in the beginning (matching the form required by the first item).

Want to be a Graphic Designer, a Photographer or an Artist?

Want to be a Graphic Designer, Photographer or Artist?

Or starting with "an" when appropriate:

Want to be an Artist, Graphic Designer or Photographer?

Although I would generally favour #4 to not be unnecessarily verbose.

Using multiple articles^[1] (#3) would make more sense when using different types^[2] of articles (which may include some items not using articles), for example:

Want to be a Graphic Designer, a Photographer or Picasso? or
Want to be a Graphic Designer, a Photographer or the best painter in the world?

In this case you can't omit articles as done above (you can't say just "Photographer" instead of "a Photographer").

[1]: Or other word types like possessive pronouns (his/her/their)

[2]: "A" and "an" are considered to be of the same "type" in this context.

score 1 · Answer 4 · answered Dec 09 '20 at 16:00

1

I believe it would be grammatically correct to say either:

"Want to be a Graphic Designer, a Photographer or an Artist?"

or

"Want to be a Graphic Designer, Photographer or Artist?".

I would personally say the first of the two.

answered Dec 09 '20 at 16:00

Llama Boy

190
5

1

The third and the fourth – Llama Boy Dec 09 '20 at 18:11

score 1 · Answer 5 · edited Dec 10 '20 at 22:37

Number 2 is incorrect, because at least one article is required in this construction. Repeated articles can be omitted (and are implied if omitted). My preference would be for number 3, followed by number 4, but number 1 is perfectly acceptable, omitting the exactly repeated "a" but specifying "an". I would prefer a comma after "Photographer", to mark off each list item, but that is a version of the serial, or "Oxford", comma, and so is optional.

score 0 · Answer 6 · edited Dec 09 '20 at 17:35

0

It should be

“Do you want to be a Graphic Designer, Photographer or Artist?”

OR

3.”Do you want to be a Graphic Designer, a Photographer or an Artist?”.

edited Dec 09 '20 at 17:35

Dhanishtha Ghosh

2,767
11
31

answered Dec 09 '20 at 16:42

Genie

717
5
17

6

True, but all lower case. These are skill/professional descriptions, not titles. – Ronald Sole Dec 09 '20 at 18:39
You don't need "Do you" here, it's implied. – wjandrea Dec 10 '20 at 22:24

score 0 · Answer 7 · answered Dec 12 '20 at 10:33

When should 'a' and 'an' be written in a list containing both?

There is no interdependency between the two. The decision whether to use "a" or "an" depends purely on the word immediately following the article. It is determined only by the sound of the following word. If the spoken word starts with a vowel sound (not necessarily a written vowel) then we use "an". If the word begins with a consonant sound, then we use "a".

In the following list, both left and right hand sides are correct.

A bow and arrow. <------------> A bow and an arrow.

A morning and afternoon in Paris <------------> A morning and an afternoon in Paris.

An eagle, sparrow and dove sat on a tree <------------> An eagle, a sparrow and a dove sat on a tree.

When should 'a' and 'an' be written in a list containing both?

7 Answers7