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Questions tagged [indefinite-articles]

An article is a word that combines with a noun to indicate the type of reference being made by the noun.

The two indefinite articles in English are an and a. Use this tag for questions about the usage or meaning of these words.

See the Wikipedia page on articles for more information.

517 questions
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Does one use 'a' or 'an' before the word X-Ray?

I was asking this question on Area 51: "How do I tell if an airport scanner is a X-ray scanner?", but I keep wanting to put an 'an' in front of X-ray because it starts with the 'eh' sound. So is it 'a' or 'an'?
Mark Rogers
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What article do we use before a symbol? Is it "an @" or "a @"?

I got a question when reading this text: The name of the decorator should be prepended with an @ symbol. Should we write "a @ symbol" or "an @ symbol"? As "@" is in fact "at", I would think "an" should be used to avoid the coexistence of two…
fedorqui
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16
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5 answers

Why is it "an yearly"?

In the book The Wealth of Nations, (Adam Smith, 1776), the words an yearly are used. Why was this an exception to the indefinite article rules? Chapter VI, Book I: At the rate of ten per cent therefore, the undertaker of the one will expect an…
user11550
9
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4 answers

Is it incorrect to write "I rate this book a 3 out of 4 stars?"

I was informed by a new editor that the sentence "I rate this book a 3 out of 4 stars" is incorrect. In the words of the editor - ""A" is wrongly inserted; you have already used "this" as a determiner, and there is no need for another one." Could…
AWandP
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8
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2 answers

Lack of vs A lack of

Are there any differences between the uses/meanings of "lack of" and "a lack of" for example in the following? There is a lack of interest in the topic There is lack of research on the subject Thanks
Bran
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8
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3 answers

Article in “having (a) hard time”

What's the difference? I'm having hard time figuring that out I'm having a hard time figuring that out According to Google both are used equally often. Does the article change meaning here?
hamstergene
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5
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3 answers

Why is it “A president,” not “The president” in the sentence, “Voters re-elected a president who promised to fight for ...”?

The New York Times article (November 9) titled, “The Fiscal Cliff Opener” begins with the following sentence. “On Tuesday, voters re-elected a president who promised to fight for higher taxes on the wealthy, for more public investment and for …
Yoichi Oishi
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5
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4 answers

Indefinite article before noun starting with "the"

How should I write if I want to buy a DVD of the movie "The Exorcist". I want to buy a The Exorcist DVD. I want to buy a "The Exorcist" DVD. So what to do when there should be an "a" before a noun/name starting with "The"? Should we use quotes?…
macc
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4
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2 answers

Is It More Appropriate To Use "One" or "You" When Speaking Of An Indefinite Person?

In high school English, it was imparted to us that in formal American English when speaking about an indefinite party, we should use the word one. For example, "One should cover his or her mouth when he or she has to cough". This seems a bit…
Onorio Catenacci
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3
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Placing an article before or after an adjective

Why does the article change positions in the following? such a good person so good a person Haven't been able to answer my student's question on this one, and if you change the adjectives to "very good", it becomes a very good person or so very good…
Lauren Richards
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3
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2 answers

Twelve Days of Christmas - one or twelve pear trees?

I was discussing the Twelve Days of Christmas song with my son as a maths exercise. We worked out how many items are received, but I then wondered if pear trees are a singular or plural item. On day one the line is My true love gave to me, a…
Brian
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A hero becomes (a) legend

The title of this video clip is "A Hero Becomes Legend", which phrase is also shown within the clip itself at 0:17 and 0:24. I think if "legend" here meant "person" that it should be countable and have "a" like "A Hero Becomes A Legend". But since…
JK2
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3
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1 answer

Could it be that 'an another' is acceptable usage?

It is well known that, as CGEL puts it (p. 391), Determinative another derives historically from the compounding of the indefinite article and the adjective other; the consequence of this for the modern language is that the existence of…
linguisticturn
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3
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1 answer

Why do we write 'He has an MA' and not ' a MA' even though MA does not begin with a vowel? Can anybody give me anymore examples like it?

Possible Duplicate: Do you use “a” or “an” before acronyms? Why do we write 'He has an MA' and not ' a MA' even though MA does not begin with a vowel? Can anybody give me anymore examples like it?
nicholas ainsworth
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2
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Do you use a or an before acronyms / initialisms

Whether to use ‘a’ or ‘an’ before acronyms/initialisms Do you use "a" or "an" before acronyms / initialisms? I think I understand the issues and principles as expressed by various contributors on this question. But here’s an interesting one: is it…
Alan Hughes
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