I basically know that when I want to use some nouns then I need to consider the proper form of the articles ahead of the nouns and if the noun is countable or uncountable.
Sometimes I see some cases which don't use proper articles like "a/an or the", called "zero article"
I understand when the noun is uncountable then the noun can stand alone without any article (or with zero article), but I see there are some cases "zero article" was used though the noun is countable noun obviously.
Is there some grammatical rule for it?
I hope I could know the grammatical rules precisely because I want to use it properly. Sometimes it is frustrating to use "a/an or the" over and over again. And I know it can be omitted when it is obvious like setting the title or theme of some exhibitions in the leaflet or banner etc.
Answer
There are no grammatical rules for which articles should or shouldn’t be used with certain nouns.
Except a and a plural noun – it is incorrect to say “I dreamed a dreams.”
Don’t think that you have to use a particular article, or no article, depending on the noun. This is a case of selecting the article, or leaving articles out completely, depending on what you want to mean when you use the noun. Adding articles (or not) changes the specificity of the article-noun phrase. And there are grammatical rules for that.
The following titles are all grammatically correct.
- Dream of Atlantis
- Dreams of Atlantis
- Dreaming of Atlantis
- Dreams of the Atlantis
- The Dreams of Atlantis
- The Dreams of the Atlantis
- A Dream of Atlantis
The first title is like the “telegraphese” Janus mentioned. The others are all grammatically correct.
I have to ask:
- Who or what is dreaming?
- Is someone (or something) dreaming of a
thing called Atlantis? - Is Atlantis a person (or thing) that is having
dreams? - One dream?
- Many dreams?
You have to decide that first. Then you can choose the correct grammar to express your intended meaning.
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