A.
Wallwork, English for Research Usage, Style, and Grammar,DOI 10.1007/978-1-4614-1593-0_5, © Springer Science+Business Media New York 2013
5.1 zero article versus definite article ( the ): main usage The term zero article refers to cases where no article is required. Use the zero article if you are talking about something in general and the noun is.
In the plural, e.g.
computers, books. 2. Uncountable (
1.8
), e.g.
hardware, information .
3. Abstract – either singular countable (
1.6
) or uncountable e.g.
life, success, performance. Note that. Some words change meaning if they are used with or without
the. 5. Titles to papers occasionally omit the article of the first noun. Both forms (i.e. with and without
the ) are common.
6. Captions to figures often omit the definite article.
ZERO ARTICLE THE 1 Oracle do not sell
computers . The
computers that we have at our institute are …
2
Oracle sell software . The most commonly used
software is
2
Research is essential if progress is to be made.
The research that we have conducted so far proves that …
3 There was a significant effect of the road conditions on
speed .
The speed of the car was optimal.
4 I love
nature .
The nature of this problem is not clear.
4 The
probe has been launched into space .
The space between A and B must be wide enough to accommodate C.
5
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