Articule
Articule
(OP)
I worked for a structural and civil engineering consulting firm in the position of (an) Assistant Engineer for 5 years
Question: Do I have need "an" before the Assistant Engineer?
Thanks
Question: Do I have need "an" before the Assistant Engineer?
Thanks





RE: Articule
If you change the context slightly, say to "For five years, I worked as (an) Assistant Engineer for a structural....", then the "an" changes the sense. You would normally put it in, unless you meant to imply that were the firm's only Assistant Engineer.
A.
RE: Articule
"For five years, I held the position of 'Assistant Engineer' with a structural and civil engineering firm".
An 'an' would not be needed (IMO) in that structure, whether it was the lone position, or one of many.
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RE: Articule
Hg
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RE: Articule
Well, I've gotta have one bad habit, eh?
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RE: Articule
Can I have one more question?
To prepare myself for career development in (the) bridge engineering, I have been reading a wide range of bridge design reference books, ranging from (the) segmental bridge to cable stayed bridge.
Could you please advise me whether these two articles "the" are needed?
Thanks......................
RE: Articule
"To prepare for career development in bridge engineering, I have been reading (studying) reference books ranging from segmental, to cable-stayed, bridge design."
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RE: Articule
Could you explain why the article is not necessary????
Steve
RE: Articule
steveyeung - Articles should only be used with countable nouns. Engineering is not a countable noun, (How many engineerings do you have?); therefore, you should not use an article.
If you do have a countable noun, then the choice between the definite article 'the' and the indefinite article 'a' is based on whether you mean a specific instance of the noun or a general use of the noun.
The bridge - a specific bridge
A bridge - any bridge
Good Luck
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As a circle of light increases so does the circumference of darkness around it. - Albert Einstein
RE: Articule
Thank you for your explanation. However, I have another question: I want to stress that my focus is on bridge engineering field only but not geotechnical, building..... Do I have to use articule "the"???
RE: Articule
Your noun, engineering, is neither countable nor plural, so it would be wrong to use an article with it.
Good Luck
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As a circle of light increases so does the circumference of darkness around it. - Albert Einstein
RE: Articule
Is it not correct to separate a list with commas?
e.g. "from segmental, to cable-stayed, to xxx, to xxx"
I'm sure you can tell from my previous posts, that English grammar was not my best subject in school. When people talk about split infinitives, articles, dangling participles, etc, my eyes tend to glaze over & drool begins to form.
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RE: Articule
If you want to have a list of ranges, then I suppose you could have "from A to B, from A to C, and from A to D".
If you want to have a list of destinations from a common source, then it might be "from A to B, to C, and to D". In this case, each list item is a "to destination", and it's not necessary to put a comma before the first item in the list, nor is there any need for a comma after the last item in the list.
Good Luck
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As a circle of light increases so does the circumference of darkness around it. - Albert Einstein
RE: Articule
I was told not to use it at school, but it represents how I talk in some circumstances, so I use it to add emphasis to certain parts of the list
Cheers
Greg Locock
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RE: Articule
I think in the "from A to B to C to D" construction, where one really means "things like A, B, C, and D", rather than a set of vectors, I have not typically seen commas. Then again, in my mind the canonical version of that construction has only two items in it--"From A to B" means "A, B, and everything in between". Adding more items makes it a list of examples rather than an expression of a range, and the "to" seems no longer appropriate. But that's a personal preference and I will not win this one.
Hg
Eng-Tips policies: FAQ731-376
RE: Articule
I don't like the "from A to B, to C, and to D" construct either because I think it leads to confusion. With the commas, an item list is created, and I would interpret it as three separate destinations, meaning from A to B, from A to C, and from A to D.
Without the commas, I would interpret "from A to B to C and to D" as a continuation, meaning from A to B, from B to C, and from C to D. In either case, I think it could easily be misinterpreted, so I would reword it.
Good Luck
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As a circle of light increases so does the circumference of darkness around it. - Albert Einstein