Greetings Ardith!   
      
    AH> Hi, Mark!  Recently you wrote in a message to alexander koryagin:   
      
    ak>>  1. in the second paragraph: "But the notion of floating   
    ak>>  disc-shaped aircraft wasn't considered fanciful by   
    ak>>  governments and militaries around the world."   
      
    ak>>  Why the author has not put "a" before "floating disc-   
    ak>>  shaped aircraft"?   
      
    ml>>  "aircraft", in that context, is plural...   
      
    ml>>  "aircraft" is like "deer" where it is both singular and   
    ml>>  plural... the context used tells which one is being used...   
      
    AH>            Agreed....  :-)   
      
   Any agreement should be based on the previous context to the above. If the   
   author was talking about a fleet of that type of craft, then the 'a' isn't   
   requiredd. If not, then the 'a' should be there. Not having read it, I'd   
   tend toward the 'a' being there.   
      
    ak>>  2. in the third paragraph: Why not _a_ German engineer   
    ak>>  Georg Klein?   
      
    ml>>  occupation title? not sure but either would work...   
    ml>>  however, commas would have to be added...   
      
    ml>>  [...] a German engineer, Georg Klein, told the [...]   
      
      
    AH>            Yes.  Or "Georg Klein, a German engineer, told the [...]".   
      
      
    AH>            Those who want more information about the use of the comma   
    AH> in such situations can look up "restrictive" and "non-restrictive"   
    AH> punctuation.   
      
    AH>            In the first example, "German engineer Georg Klein" is   
    AH> restrictive because (theoretically at least) only one person fits   
    AH> both descriptors.   
      
    AH>            The other two examples are non-restrictive because the   
    AH> second part simply adds information... which may or may not be   
    AH> necessary depending on how much the reader wants to know & where s/he   
    AH> lives.   
      
      
    AH>            Another example, in the same vein as your "occupation(al)   
    AH> title?": Chief Dan George.  I'm using his name as we saw & heard it   
    AH> in the local news. This appears to be an occupational title.  But   
    AH> journalists often use much the same format in other circumstances as   
    AH> well... e.g. "convicted killer XXX", or "Hollywood hopeful YYY".  Re   
    AH> sticking others in pigeonholes I prefer to limit myself to things   
    AH> like "our upstairs neighbour   
    AH> ZZZ"... [chuckle].   
      
      
      
      
    AH> --- timEd/386 1.10.y2k+   
    AH>  * Origin: Wits' End, Vancouver CANADA (1:153/716)   
      
       Have a day!   
      
            R\%/itt - K5RXT   
      
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