Japan, Turkey, and Poland will each be facing a United States even   more confident than it was after the second fall of the Soviet Union.      Source: The Next 100 Years by George Friedman   I used to see a definite article - "the" with "United States". Even more peculiar it makes that fact that "States" is a plural noun and plural nouns don't take an "a" article.
123204
From The Imitation Game (2014), more spefically, from a WW2-era newsreel snippet inserted into the movie to keep the viewer up to date with the events:      "The German Army has fanned out across Europe, From Poland to Serbia, Lithuania to Denmark, Norway to France. The Nazi flag now flies from more than two dozen national capitals. Their campaign mounts in fury as a free Europe crumbles". (The newsreel is in an "old newscaster voice", clearly framed as contemporary with the events; there is some black-and-white historical footage being shown while this voice pronounces the words.)   Why a free Europe and not the free Europe? Everybody knew what the word Europe meant, and everybody knew what the free Europe was: it was the part of Europe not under the Nazi rule. Why introduce it all over again with the indefinite article?  I feel that the indefinite article might be okay here, but I would like to be able to explain this usage to someone else.   Maybe we could read the sentence as a shortening of      Their campaign mounts in fury as the part of Europe that is a free Europe crumbles. ("partitive use" of the indefinite article?)
66465
I am getting confused while using an article an. Because an is used while referring to vowels (a,e,i,o,u).  But today I read an article where for user they used a user.  My question is, why was an not used?  Could someone explain this with an example?
106330
Can I write this sentence:     He said Carter had better not entangle the US in problems like those   in Afghanistan, Somalia and Iraq.   Like this:     He said Carter had better to not entangle the US in problems like those   in Afghanistan, Somalia and Iraq.   ?  If so, what's the difference between the meaning of both sentence?
43215
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.
24216
In Korea, we learned that we should use the past tense when the subject is an historical event, as in "The Korean war broke out in 1950."  However, I think that when the event continues to affect the present (now), we should use the present perfect.  So I think that we can say 'The Korean war has broken out in 1950.'  Am I right?
9035
I'm wondering when to use or not to use the definite article, when using acronyms or initialisms in a sentence. Is there a rule for this, or does it depend on the context?  For example, let's look at some example sentences DDR  = detailed design review.  NASA is planning to launch the final shuttle soon (no article) The FBI shut down this website (article) ESA is a full partner in the ISS (no article, article) The project was cancelled at the DDR. (article)  What confuses me is that if NASA or ESA would be written in full, the article would be necessary.
80743
"You know, every time we take rebels, whether it’s in Iraq or anywhere else, we’re arming people. And you know what happens? They end up being worse than the people.”     What does the definite article imply here exactly? Why is it "the people" and not just "people"?
53999
Are there any rules as to an article before a noun in the singular in headlines please, i.e. lack of an article?       Description of Type of Investment
15555
I'm writing a leaflet for children from primary schools who will visit our school.  Is it correct to write:     the "amerigo vespucci" school is waiting for you!!!!   Is the use of the definite article correct in this case? I am defining which school is waiting for them, I'm saying we and no others but us are willing to meet them?
45661
I would like to start planning for next year.   In the above sentence, there is no definite article before the words next year. Should it be present, as in the following sentence which sounds far less natural to me?     I would like to start planning for the next year.   Or, is it more proper to leave it out as in the first sentence? What is the reasoning behind the correct usage in this context?
94617
When discussing a treaty or international agreement, which is correct?  "There are 100 states party to the treaty." (for example, as used )  Or:  "There are 100 state parties to the treaty." (for example, as used )   Or: "There are 100 states parties to the treaty."  (for example, as used )
1469
How do I know whether to use the definite (the) or indefinite (a, an) article, and when to omit it altogether?
36725
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.
53363
Generally, one doesn't use the indefinite article with a noun because it's plural, but sometimes you get nouns where, for some reason, the indefinite article isn't used even though the noun is singular.  I would never say 'a software', though it seems to be a singular noun, and I've heard it said (though it sounds wrong).  Instead, we say 'some software' or 'a piece of software' (the latter implying that software is singular), so why does 'a software' sound wrong?  EDIT: I really meant to ask why we don't consider software singular.  Maybe I should have asked, 'why is software a mass noun?'
23775
Newspaper/news article headlines usually have different syntax rules, for example   No copula. North Korea trip 'successful' Past events written in present. Qantas cancels flight out of frozen Heathrow Predictions written with infinitive. Britain's 'crossbow cannibal' to die in jail Very often not in complete sentence. No indefinite/definite articles. Ivory Coast Faction Squeezes UN Force Using a comma instead of "and". Romania, Bulgaria face delay in joining Schengen.   Why these rules and are there any other rules?
93301
The warning from the European commission could lead to that country being stripped  of its European rights.    (As far as l know we must use infinitive after nouns )
50906
I was told that abstract nouns don't get articles. (You can  for example). But I found many abstract nouns that get indefinite articles, such as: "", "", "", "", "a love", "a wish", "a difference", "a power" and more. What is the explanation for that?