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Articles in Engineering

The correct use of articles conveys precise meanings in Engineering. Deciding whether to use a, an, some, the or no article can be confusing.

Examples

Structural and stress analysis is a process used to study the distribution of forces through the members of a structure.

Fibre reinforced plastic is an advanced composite material which has potential for the repair and strengthening of structures.

Click on the highlighted text for an explanation.

This section takes you through a decision making process to help you work out when an article is needed, and which article to use. You can look at the reference table for countable and uncountable nouns before we begin.

Countable nouns Uncountable nouns
Countable nouns
Reference Singular

Plural		 Article Noun
a. General Singular a computer
Plural - computers
b. Non-specific Singular a computer
Plural some computers
c. Specific Singular the computer
Plural the computers
Uncountable nouns
Reference

Article Noun
a. General - information
b. Non-specific some information
c. Specific the information
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