Are "The" and "An" Superfluous?

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   eugbugposted 2 years ago

   I think I asked this before, but often I leave them out and editors put them in. MaybeI'm just used to speaking without them and it sounds normal and that's how I write, but it's grammatically correct to use them.
   
   For instance, here's a sentence without them:
   
   "All voltage supplies have internal resistance that causes a voltage drop as current increases"
   
   The editor added a "the" and an "an". The "an" is actually technically incorrect in this context because the internal resistance isn't a physical thing, it's an attribute like temperature.
   
   "All voltage supplies have an internal resistance that causes a voltage drop as the current increases".

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2. 67

   PaulGoodman67posted 2 years ago

   I don't know the ins and outs of the grammar, but the editor's version certainly reads better to me.

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      eugbugposted 2 years agoin reply to this

      Apart from the "an" error. Does "the" really have to go before all nouns?

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         PaulGoodman67posted 2 years agoin reply to this

         No, certainly not all nouns, I believe that it's as Stephen says below, "the" goes before specific nouns and subgroups.
         
         A noun that's a generalized universal doesn't have an article (like "voltage" in your example).
         
         A subgroup requires an article (like "current" in your example). The current belongs to a subgroup because it's specifically and exclusively the current that's affected by the resistance, not all current.
         
         I think that you're trying to boil it down to a binary choice, but it's more complicated. For starters, you always have three options: indefinite, definite, or no article, and each implies/expresses something different.

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            eugbugposted 2 years agoin reply to this

            I take your point but in my example, the current isn't affected by resistance, so it's not a specific current, it's all current. There's nothing in the sentence that qualifies the current if that's the correct grammatical term.

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            1. 67

               PaulGoodman67posted 2 years agoin reply to this

               Maybe current counts as a "mass noun" so no article is necessary.
               
               I'm not a grammar expert.
               
               However, I would still say that the editor's version reads better to me.
               
               I think it also depends on what you've referenced previously. Once you reference something once, you usually have to give it a "the" subsequently.
               
               So if you'd talked about the current previously, then the editor gives it an article for that reason.
               
               I'm just speculating. I can't see what you wrote previously. I'm just saying that it can be complicated because there are multiple rules.
               
               You should ask the editor to explain their decision. I often have to Google grammar rules, like when to use an article, or when to capitalize, in a certain instance.
               
               I remember you had related queries about expressing maths in words. Your issues generally seem to be around expressing ideas that might otherwise be expressed in the form of symbols and equations but in the form of words.
               
               I did a philosophy of language course many years ago, which looked at expressing logic in words. It was ridiculously complicated. Using symbols in maths/logic/electrical equations etc. is much easier.
               
               Once you express that symbolic stuff in words, all the English grammar rules come into play and you have to worry about articles. It's an effing headache.

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                  eugbugposted 2 years agoin reply to this

                  Or capitalise

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                  1. 67

                     PaulGoodman67posted 2 years agoin reply to this

                     As an Anglo-American, I get to use English and American phrases and spellings and mix them up as I wish! I try to stick purely to American English in my hub articles, though...

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3. 81

   Stephen Tomkinsonposted 2 years ago

   You don't put "the" before all nouns. Compare:
   Reindeer can't fly.
   The reindeer that work for Santa have special abilities.
   The first refers to all reindeer, and the second is a subgroup.
   The Declaration of Independence states "all men are created equal" - no exceptions. If it had read "All the men who sign this are created equal", we would need "the" to make it clear that we aren't including every man.

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4. 81

   Stephen Tomkinsonposted 2 years ago

   As it's all current, no article is necessary.

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5. 66

   eugbugposted 2 years ago

   I think I'll leave it to the editors to worry about. As long as the readers get the gist of what I mean, that's good enough for me.

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6. 66

   eugbugposted 2 years ago

   "I remember you had related queries about expressing maths in words. "
   
   That sounds vaguely familiar, but I had forgotten about it until you mentioned it. Although it sounds like an argument/discussion I had with my sister and her being unconvinced about the usefulness of algebra. So I made gave her the procedure in words on how to work out the area of a circle and showed her how long and convoluted it was compared to an equation, but I think she was still convinced. Sigh... Maybe this could be good inspiration for an article on Medium about the elegance of math/maths (See, I covered both options there )

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   1. 67

      PaulGoodman67posted 2 years agoin reply to this

      I'm fifty-seven and have my doubts that I'll ever fully understand English grammar.
      
      Pure maths, logic and physical equations like electronics can be easier in some ways because you don't have to worry about things like articles and capitalization if you just use symbols.
      
      Expressing the same thing in words adds an extra layer of trouble. I don't think that you can get around the issue by just never using articles, though.
      
      It's also problematic that the subject matter demands that your language be very precise, so there's no room for fudging.

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