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According to preliminary estimates, the project should be completed by 2020 at a cost of about RUB 40 bn.

or

According to preliminary estimates, the project should be completed by 2020 at the cost of about RUB 40 bn.

Are both options okay, or is the first better?

We are introducing the sum to the reader, so logically it should be the first option. But there's a lot of google-hits for "at the cost of" too.

CowperKettle
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    "At a cost of" is definitely better. Be careful of those Google hits, they may contain some unexpected/unwanted occurrences along the lines of "I managed to scratch the message into the wood at the cost of a few fingernails." – Jim Oct 12 '14 at 06:58

3 Answers3

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I'd say either is okay. In a lot of cases, a and the are more or less interchangeable, and I'd say this is one of these.

I believe "a" is technically correct, because (technical side-note, this is called antecedent basis in the patent world) before you introduce the idea of the cost, saying "the" is more or less meaningless.

It would be kind of like talking to a friend and introducing the idea that I want to buy a specific car by saying out of nowhere, "I want to buy that car." Well, great, but it sure helps if we can introduce the meaning of "that" before I declare such a fact.

The same is true here, but to a lesser extent.

But again, either is perfectly acceptable in most cases. There might be some rule of grammar that more specifically pinpoints a reason to choose one over the other, but as a native speaker and not an English major, I'd say that it really doesn't matter which you choose. Honestly, "the" sounds a little more comfortable to me, so I'd probably go with that.

Matthew Haugen
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    I concur. This notion that we shouldn't use "the" unless we've previously referenced the object is an overused rule of thumb that trips up many non-natives. Anyone using that "rule" should realize exceptions abound; this is one of them. – J.R. Oct 12 '14 at 09:07
  • @J.R. Definitely. I feel sometimes like some of the greatest lessons one can learn about English come in its exceptions, and a lot of teachers seem to underestimate the value of them. Comfortable sentences often don't conform to every single rule of grammar, and yet we're generally left on our own to figure that out. It's like we're taught every rule, then gradually they just start being silently unenforced the further up in education you get. Of course, I've never taken an ESL class, but I imagine the same applies there. – Matthew Haugen Oct 12 '14 at 09:16
  • If you click on the articles tag, you'll find no small number of why is this a* something instead of the something* questions (or vice versa), so I think your intuition is probably correct. I even gave this a "syndrome" a humorous name one time. – J.R. Oct 12 '14 at 09:23
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    @J.R. I like it. DAMS. All you need is a synonym for "syndrome" that starts with an 'n' and it will even carry the emotion of trying to overcome the syndrome, too. – Matthew Haugen Oct 12 '14 at 09:28
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According to preliminary estimates, the project should be completed by 2020 at a cost of about RUB 40 bn.

This (first) option is better because it is more natural and reflects a certain usage of the indefinite pronoun: talking about, um, indefinite, or tentative values.

When our car is damaged, we call our insurance company or a car repair shop for an estimate (an estimated cost to repair the car). I don't think anyone would initially call and ask for the estimate. Once Joe's Body Shop gives you an estimate of $600, you can call back and squabble about the estimate. Or you can compare the estimate of Joe's to the estimate from Dan's Garage.

Similarly, when we talk about other tentative values:

Freezo is trading at a price of $25/share.

Flight 7 has an arrival time of 10:30.

We have a high bid of a dollar twenty. Do I hear a dollar thirty?

It is not until the auction is over, the stock market closes, and the plane lands that we talk about the value. I stated that tongue in cheek. Of course, you can also refer to the current estimate, the current bid, the current arrival time, etc., but current values do not change. It is currently 10:00. In one minute the current time will be 10:01.

What's the arrival time for Flight 7? Well, 10:30 is the current arrival time, but who knows when it will actually arrive?

What's the prelimnary estimate of the project? Well, about RUB 40 bn is the current estimate, but who knows how much the estimate will increase over time?

Community
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I would use the here. Why? Consider the following:

  • We will start a project. The cost will be RUB 40 bn.

While we did not mention the cost prevuously, it is obvious what cost is meant. We cannot use indefinite article here.

Also note that when speaking about units we usually make comparison with something whose volume in the units is known. Thus it is always "the cost of five sheeps" rather than "a cost of five sheep" because five sheep have a definite cost. The same is with currency, "the cost of RUB 40 bn" (essentially it means "the same cost as the cost of RUB 40 bn"), not "a cost of RUB 40 bn", "the length of 100 meters" rather than "a length of 100 meters".

Anixx
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