Cohesion and Clarity
12- 32
Pattern 4. Singular, Plural, and Noncount Noun — Definite (the)
All nouns (singular, plural, noncount) that are definite are preceded by the . These nouns refer to… ▪ something specific (including ordinal numbers and superlatives): the pathology report
the last chance the best assays
▪
something already mentioned: …in a phase III clinical trial. The trial…
▪
something unique: the human genome, the ozone Did you see the moon last night?
▪ something identified by a word, phrase, or clause that follows: the goal of early detection HBV is the virus that causes hepatitis B. ▪ something known (understood) by both the speaker and the listener or reader: I’ll meet you in the lab after lunch. Note: Count nouns that refer to something definite can be preceded by words such as this/these, that/those, three, many, such, his/her, its/their, etc., instead of the. singular: one country, his country, this country plural: three countries, these countries, such countries
Pattern 5. Proper Nouns
Proper nouns are preceded by nothing (Ø) or by the, but never by a/an. These nouns are usually capitalized. Abraham Lincoln Mount Everest The Johns Hopkins Hospital American Cancer Society National Institutes of Health Journal of the American Medical Association The New England Journal of Medicine
Note: Capitalize the in the middle of a sentence only when it is part of the formal name. She volunteers at the American Cancer Society. He submitted an article to The New England Journal of Medicine.
Note: Avoid overcapitalizing nouns that are not proper nouns.
▪ Professions and academic positions are not proper nouns and are usually not capitalized in sentences. professor of diagnostic radiology
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