Article required or not?

[joeoct]

Hi,

The internet should always be used as part of your education.

Does it require an article before 'part'?
I suppose it does not, but why?

Thanks,
Joe

 

[Rolex_Cellini]

Correct with or without it. I would not use one. BTW, your sentence is awkwardly phrased, IMO. Why do you not try this:
The Internet should play an important part in our education. :up:

 

[suprunp]

Anyway, the article is not needed because the word 'part' refers to 'a part of' in this case education.

Would you be so kind to elaborate this point?

My Collins Cobuild Advanced Learner’s English Dictionary states that:

part
1) N-COUNT:usu N of n A part of something is one of the pieces, sections, or elements that it consists of.

3) QUANT: QUANT of sing-n/n-uncount Part of something is some of it.
It was a very severe accident and he lost part of his foot...
Syn: some

Taking this into account I do not understand why the article is not needed?

Thanks.

 

[TheParser]

Hi,

The internet should always be used as part of your education.

Does it require an article before 'part'?
I suppose it does not, but why?

Thanks,
Joe

***** NOT A TEACHER *****


Hello, Joe:


(1) I had never thought much about this matter until I read your

post, and I was ashamed that I did not have a clear idea, either.

(2) I have spent an hour googling, and I want to share my findings

with you:

(a) Native speakers do not agree.

(b) Most native speakers feel that either "a part" or "part" is

correct.

(c) All native speakers do agree that the indefinite article is

necessary if the word "part" is preceded by an adjective:

"A large part of the roof was missing." (This example is from

Mr. Michael Swan's Practical English Usage.)

***

(d) I found two very good ideas on the Web, which I personally

plan to follow. I do not want to go crazy deciding whether to use

"a" or not. Here are the two ideas for your consideration:

(i) One poster who calls him-, herself "Cool Breeze" wrote 183 days ago

that "the more concrete and the more clearly outlined the part is,

the more likely a is used":

"I understood only part of the explanation." [MY NOTE: The word

"explanation" is abstract, not concrete. Concrete = something

that is definite and -- often -- can be touched.]

"Hawaii is a part of the U.S.A." [MY NOTE: "The U.S.A." is a pretty concrete


word. It refers to 50 states and non-states, such as Puerto Rico.]

(ii) And I especially dig (like) this explanation from a poster who styles

him-, herself as "Yankee." Two years ago, "Yankee" explained:

If you use only "part," you are referring to "some" of something.

If you use "a part," you are referring to "a piece of something."

I suppose that "a part" seems to refer to an easily definable

piece of something, and "part" seems general.

***

If we accept the opinions above (and I do), then I would suggest that

your sentence is better off without the "a." The word

"education" is not very concrete. It's rather general, don't you think?


Sincerely,


James


P.S. Take these sentences:

No. l. He told only part of the truth.

No. 2. He told only a part of the truth.


I do not know what you think, but for me, I choose No. l because

(a) The word "truth" is certainly abstract and (b) the word "part"

seems to be the same as "some."

 

[birdeen's call]

TheParser, thank you for sharing the results of your search. I must disagree with your interpretation though. Cool Breeze said

The more concrete and the more clearly outlined the part is, the more likely a is used.

Thus, if we have two entities, say X and Y, and X is in some way (a) part of Y, then to decide whether we want to say

X is part of Y.

or

X is a part of Y.

we need to estabilish how concrete X is within Y. The arguments in your post were different.

sentence: Hawaii is a part of the U.S.A.

your comment: "The U.S.A." is a pretty concrete word. It refers to 50 states and non-states, such as Puerto Rico.

According to Cool Breeze, we should find out how concrete Hawaii is to decide whether to use "a" or not. This would make the argument that "U.S.A." is a concrete word invalid.

I'm not saying that it is incorrect to look at the concreteness of what I chose to call Y, because I don't know it. (I would find it illogical, but it has little to do with the actual usage.) I'm only saying that this is not what Cool Breeze said.

 

[joeoct]

Thank you all for the answers. I am going to consider them all, and if there are any other questions, I will post them here.

Joe

 

[suprunp]

"the more concrete and the more clearly outlined the part is, the more likely a is used"

Does it say implicitly that it is the prerogative of a speaker to decide in some cases should he/she use either 'a part' or 'part'?
By choosing either former or letter variant a speaker can show you how he/she views a particular situation.

For example:

If I view my education as consisting of a few, but clearly outlined (in my mind) things I might prefer to say: "The Internet is a part of my education. The other parts are reading books, writing essays etc."

But if I'm not sure what part the Internet plays in my education then I could say: "The Internet is part of my education. Frankly speaking I don't know yet what role it actually plays in my education."

(The similar examples can be shown concerning

He told only part of the truth.

But they would be a little bit outlandish and awkward so I abstain from writing them here.)

Am I correct in my assumption?

Thanks.

 

[TheParser]

TheParser, thank you for sharing the results of your search. I must disagree with your interpretation though. Cool Breeze said

The more concrete and the more clearly outlined the part is, the more likely a is used.

Thus, if we have two entities, say X and Y, and X is in some way (a) part of Y, then to decide whether we want to say

X is part of Y.

or

X is a part of Y.

we need to estabilish how concrete X is within Y. The arguments in your post were different.


***** NOT A TEACHER *****


Hello, Birdeen's Call:

(1) Thank you for your kind note.

(2) I have no doubt that you are 100% correct.

(3) I failed algebra (I hate math!!!), so I have no idea of what

you are talking about.

(4) You know that old saying "Ignorance is bliss." So in my

blissful ignorance, I simply prefer "Hawaii is a part of the United States."

Even if I misunderstood Cool Breeze's explanation.

(5) Thanks again for your explanation. Please forgive me for my

ignorance.


James

P.S. Now you understand why I am required to start every post

with the warning "NOT A TEACHER."

 

[birdeen's call]

Hello, Birdeen's Call:

(1) Thank you for your kind note.

(2) I have no doubt that you are 100% correct.

(3) I failed algebra (I hate math!!!), so I have no idea of what

you are talking about.

(4) You know that old saying "Ignorance is bliss." So in my

blissful ignorance, I simply prefer "Hawaii is a part of the United States."

Even if I misunderstood Cool Breeze's explanation.

(5) Thanks again for your explanation. Please forgive me for my

ignorance.


James

P.S. Now you understand why I am required to start every post

with the warning "NOT A TEACHER."

This just means that I explained myself badly. I will try again.

We have two "things": Hawaii and the United States. Hawaii is in the United States and we want to say it, but we want to use the word "part". We have to decide which is better:

Hawaii is part of the United States.

or

Hawaii is a part of the United States.

It seems to be clear for everybody that the second one is the right one. But why? I understand that two different explanations have appeared in this thread.

Explanation 1. The United States are a concrete thing, therefore we use "a". (I understand that this is your explanation.)

Explanation 2. Hawaii is a concrete thing, therefore we use "a". (I understand that this is Cool Breeze's explanation.)

Are my thoughts clearer now? (Please note that it is not my intention to split hairs. I am genuinely interested in getting to understand this matter better.)

 

[TheParser]

Does it say implicitly that it is the prerogative of a speaker to decide in some cases should he/she use either 'a part' or 'part'?
By choosing either former or letter variant a speaker can show you how he/she views a particular situation.


Am I correct in my assumption?

Thanks.

***** NOT A TEACHER *****


Hello, Suprunp:

(1) Thank you for your kind note.

(2) It is obvious that you and Birdeen's Call are university-level

students of English, for you both have insights about grammar that

put mine to shame.

(3) You are 100% correct. In fact, "Yankee" said:

So, sometimes it just depends on how you are looking at

something.

I am now going to print out your examples. If I read it enough times,

I may get the idea.


Thanks again.


James

 

[TheParser]

This just means that I explained myself badly. I will try again.

We have two "things": Hawaii and the United States. Hawaii is in the United States and we want to say it, but we want to use the word "part". We have to decide which is better:

Hawaii is part of the United States.

or

Hawaii is a part of the United States.

It seems to be clear for everybody that the second one is the right one. But why? I understand that two different explanations have appeared in this thread.

Explanation 1. The United States are a concrete thing, therefore we use "a". (I understand that this is your explanation.)

Explanation 2. Hawaii is a concrete thing, therefore we use "a". (I understand that this is Cool Breeze's explanation.)

Are my thoughts clearer now? (Please note that it is not my intention to split hairs. I am genuinely interested in getting to understand this matter better.)

***** NOT A TEACHER *****


Hello, Birdeen's Call.

(1) I know that you are not by any means "splitting hairs."

(2) In fact, I know that modern linguists use mathematical

symbols to better explain grammar. (Of course, that's why

I never even try to read them.)

(3) Thanks for the examples. I'm going to spend the weekend

studying your examples and Suprunp's. You both have a lot to

teach me.


James

 

[TheParser]

***** NOT A TEACHER *****


(1) My favorite high school teacher (in the 1950's) told us that we

could always find a particular word by simply looking for it.

(2) Last night I started reading a nine-page article with one goal:

To find examples of "a part of" and "part of."

(3) In the penultimate paragraph, I struck gold!

(4) A super rich American woman (whose father started a super famous

chain of department stores) discusses her collection of (only) American

paintings:

"I don't know that I can [define the term "the American spirit"]. It's just

a feeling I have. I have a spiritual side that is important to me -- it's not

religious, I don't mean religious -- and it's part of the history and the

fabric of this country as well. There's a majesty and a mystery to [a

particular painting] that, to me, is really all about the American spirit.

I guess we are a part of that story as well. What my father has done is

a part of that."



James


Source: Ms. Rebecca Mead, "Onward and Upward with the Arts,"
The New Yorker, June 27, 2011.

 

[emsr2d2]

Birdeen's Call said "Hawaii is part of the United States.

or

Hawaii is a part of the United States.

It seems to be clear for everybody that the second one is the right one"

I'm not saying that's wrong but I would add that I would use the construction in sentence 1.

Hawaii is part of the United States.
Wales is part of the UK.
Big Ben is part of the Houses of Parliament.
Your nose is part of your face.

 

[TheParser]

Birdeen's Call said "Hawaii is part of the United States.

or

Hawaii is a part of the United States.

It seems to be clear for everybody that the second one is the right one"

I'm not saying that's wrong but I would add that I would use the construction in sentence 1.

Hawaii is part of the United States.
Wales is part of the UK.
Big Ben is part of the Houses of Parliament.
Your nose is part of your face.

***** NOT A TEACHER *****

Hello, Emsr:

(1) Very interesting!!!



(2) I have just read something on the Web (yes, I know: the Web is

full of nonsense, including my posts) that really impressed me.

(a) Someone called "Yoinkmydanish" opines:

"I am a part of the team" = The sentence is focused on "I."

"I am part of the team" = The sentence is focused on "the team."

(3) That insight seems to fit in with your gut feeling:

Hawaii is a part of the United States. = ? emphasis on "Hawaii."

Hawaii is part of the United States.= ? emphasis on "the U.S."

(4) Scotland is part of the United Kingdom. = ? emphasis on

the United Kingdom. I hear that some people are working to

return to the situation as it was hundreds of years ago, so

maybe a Scottish person who favors independence might say:

Yes, Scotland is, indeed, a part of the U.K. right now [emphasis

on Scotland], but it won't be for long if I have anything to say

about it, laddie!!!


James