Normally we use definite article when we want to talk about something known or specific, but I noticed that always people used to put a definite article before superlatives even when they are talking about something generally.   For example:      "The best quality of gold can be found in the most of the   countries".   and I'm wondering what's wrong for example with:      Best quality of gold can be found in most of countries   ?  Is it always necessary to use definite article before superlatives? No exceptions? If there are examples for not using definite articles when using superlatives I'd like to know about them.   For example, can I say I am happiest. He is fastest. She is friendliest. without using definite article?
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For example:     I could not face being alone again and losing the person dearest to me.   I wonder why there is no "the" in front of "dearest".
10973
The rule says that we can use a possessive adjective or an object pronoun before a gerund. Is there a rule  that says when to use each or are they interchangeable? Some say that it's wrong to use an object pronoun before a gerund.
30728
I was reading a paragraph about lions and I came up with a question about the definite article (the).  Let me tell you first what I know about it.     1->We use the before a singular noun (when we are sure about the noun.    And the listener and the speaker both know about it).      2->We use the before a plural noun (again when we are sure about the noun,   and we are not talking generally).   So, my question is why does the writer use the here as we are not talking about any specific lion or lions. We are talking generally.  The Paragraph:     Living in the grasslands, scrub, and open woodlands of sub-Saharan   Africa, the lion is the second largest cat in the world. It is dwarfed   slightly by the tiger, which is closely related and has a very similar   body type.    Can we re-write the paragraph something like this:     Living in grasslands, scrub, and open woodlands of sub-Saharan Africa,   lions are the second largest cat in the world. They are dwarfed   slightly by tigers, they are closely related and has a very similar   body type.
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Sometimes, on the internet, particularly in online games, I see people using the  indefinite article before someone's name: "I see a Joey" or "I hug a Polly". I know some of these people and I'm positive that they are from English-speaking countries, which means it is not a mistake, they do it intentionally.  I was always taught that articles are not used in front of people's names. Maybe it is some sort of slang? What does it mean, when the indefinite article is put in front of someone's name?  Edit: There is a group of people standing somewhere. And somebody, named Joey, appears. They all know Joey. And someone in this group says "I see a Joey". So it is used when someone sees his or her friend. But I don't understand why they use the indefinite article here.
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I couldn't afford that big a car. It was so warm a day that I could hardly work.   The sentences stated above have been taken from Practical English Usage by Michael Swan. If I write-   I couldn't afford that big car. It was so warm day that I could hardly work.   These make sense. But placement of article a makes these sentences awkward to me. Please say why and when articles are placed after adjectives. And what are the differences among 1, 2 and 3, 4.
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In  related question (), the OP asks if it is grammatical to use the definite article before phrases like Advanced programming in Java whitepaper and Microsoft Office 2010 product. The accepted answer by @Kosmonaut was:     Yes, it is. This is because the "Advanced programming in Java"   whitepaper phrase forms a syntactic unit, with whitepaper as the head   of the unit. The definite article for a phrase always corresponds to   the head of the phrase, so using the definite (or indefinite) article   for these phrases makes perfect sense and is correct English.   My question is whether the same answer applies to phrases like Heathrow Airport, Hyde Park,  Waterloo Station, Edgware Road and Parliament Square. I ask becase it seems to me that airport, park and station, etc. sound like they are part of the proper noun itself, and not simply a common noun. Moreover, I think the head of the unit in these cases would be the place name (first noun) and not the place type (second noun). If that's true, then I assume that no definite article should precede these phrases. Is that correct?
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I was reading about articles in Wren &amp; Martin and found the following explanation:  1)Use the definite article when a singular noun is meant to express a whole class.       The cow is a useful animal     [Or we can say, "cows" are useful animals]  2)Use the indefinite article in the sense of "any" to single out an individual as the     representative of a class; as,       A cow is a useful animal.   Can you please explain me the difference between 1 and 2.    I also found a given below sentence in wren &amp; martyn's exercise.        __ lion is ___ king of beasts   As per above given explanation of definite and indefinite article, I am not sure which one should be correct: "The lion" or "A lion", or both are correct.  Could you please help me understand the difference better.
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I think the question is rather philisophical. I wonder if articles are used to make what we say more clear and using zero/indefinite article with the noun known or already introduced can be the reference to that noun or any other since we do not specify. Like here:  I was walking with some friends. Friends were very funny. We made a stop. After making a stop, we moved on.  The grammar tells us - use &quot;the&quot; when referring to something known. But what if I do not use &quot;the&quot; - can it refer to those friends/stop, since I do not specify? Will it be a lie to talk like this, and what do native speakers think in such situations? Will it really be a grammatical mistake? Thanks.
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What article should be used in the following sentence?     He was English by [a/the/] blood.   I feel there should be a zero article here, but I was taught that the zero article is impossible in English.
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"For someone used to the tiny creatures we get in England it was something of a shock."  I think, in this sentence, relative pronouns before some words have been omitted. I know rules of omitting relative pronouns, but in this case I have failed to understand before which words relative pronouns can be placed to understand the sentence perfectly, which has been stated above. Please, explain the rules of omitting relative pronouns with the help of the sentence stated above, so that I can be able to understand this type of sentences easily. You can also use other sentences to explain this fact clearly.  Thanks to everyone.
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Given the following headline at Bloomberg.com:     Verizon Explores Lower Price or Even Exit From Yahoo Deal   My questions are:   Why in this case the definite article is omitted before Yahoo Deal? E.g., From Yahoo Deal vs From the Yahoo Deal. Why there is no article before Lower Price in this title? E.g., Explores Lower Price vs Explores a Lower Price.
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Suppose I want to add a qualifier to a noun that isn't necessary for understanding, so I decide to put it in parentheses. If the adjective in parentheses would change whether I use "a" or "an" as an article, which one is correct?  For example, as in the title, I want to mention that a problem is obvious. Without the qualifier it would be "a problem", with it "an obvious problem". Would it be "an (obvious) problem" or "a (obvious) problem"?  I suspect the first one to be correct, but is that true? My understanding of parentheses is that the sentence should make sense with or without the part between them, but in this case one option sounds weird when including it and one sounds strange when leaving it out.  Edit: Please note that this is not a duplicate of  . There, the question is about an adjective directly following the article without any parentheses. I'm asking whether the special case with parentheses changes anything. Also, this is basically a nitpicking question: I know how to rephrase the expression to avoid the issue, but I want to know what is correct.
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Should I use important or importantly in the introductory clause of the second sentence:      Appellant's argument is premature. More important, it lacks merit.   Google NGram shows a significant preference for "more important."  Recently, however, it appears the democracy of usage has swung slightly in favor of "more importantly."   I prefer the former, but I am more concerned about learning which one is grammatically proper, and the particular rules that control the analysis. Can someone walk me through it?
4654
I can’t for the life of me figure out where to use a and where to use the — and where there is no article at all. Is there a simple rule of thumb to memorize?   The standard rule you always hear:     “If a person knows which item you are talking about then use "the"   . . . doesn’t clear things up for me, as I have no idea whether or not they know.
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In what cases do we have to put the definite article the before each of these words:   Sun Moon Earth   and in what cases do we not need to?
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I'm editing a children's book about wonders of the World. In this book, the authors are not native speakers(they are XACT BOOK(India)), and they wrote these specific places without article "the":     -It is Taj Mahal.      -It is Tower of Pisa.   At first, I thought it's okay, but there are some pages has article "the":     -It is the Great Pyramid of Giza.      -It is the Temple of Artemis.   These sentences really make me confused. After researching, this website- - gives me some advice:     Do use the before:           names of rivers, oceans, and seas: the Nile, the Pacific          points on the globe: the Equator, the North Pole          geographical areas: the Middle East, the West     deserts, forests, gulfs, and peninsulas: the Sahara, the Persian Gulf, the Black Forest, the Iberian Peninsula      Unfortunately, I'm still not sure that adding "the" before each wonder's name is a right choice. Should I add article "the" or not? I already posted this problem in , but I'm still in vain.
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What is the function of "the" in these kinds of phrases? It cannot be the definite article.   Can someone analyze this? It's common and definitely standard but seems to elude any grammatical explanation.