Cohesion and Clarity
12- 31
Patterns of Article Usage
Pattern 1. Singular Nouns — Indefinite (a/an)
A singular noun that refers to something indefinite is preceded by a or an . a diet an anesthetic
Intervening adjectives usually do not change the pattern. a diet / a low-fat diet / an unappetizing diet
Singular count nouns that can be preceded by a/an or the can instead be preceded by one, this, that, my, his, either, every, each, no, another, etc. a patient / the patient / this patient / each patient / no patient
A singular noun requires a if it begins with a consonant sound ( d, s, ch, etc.); a singular noun requires an if it begins with a vowel sound ( a, e, i, o, u, etc.).
a stem cell an enzyme
Before singular acronyms ( AIDS, NCI, etc.), choose a or an, depending on the pronunciation of the first letter. a DNA molecule, an RNA molecule (“ar”) an NCI gr ant (“en”)
Pattern 2. Plural Nouns — Indefinite (Ø or some)
A plural noun that refers to something indefinite is preceded by nothing (Ø) or some . diseases some diseases
Intervening adjectives usually do not change the pattern. infectious diseases / some infectious diseases
Pattern 3. Noncount Nouns — Indefinite (Ø or some)
Noncount nouns that are indefinite are preceded by nothing (Ø) or some . Pain is an important consideration in palliative care. Some pain is worse than other pain.
Many noncount nouns have special expressions for quantity. (These unit expressions can be singular or plural.) a liter of oil / liters of oil
a piece of paper / pieces of paper a cup of coffee / cups of coffee a breath of fresh air (also some oil, some paper, some coffee, some air)
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