Hi, Alexander!  Recently you wrote in a message to mark lewis:   
      
    ak>  "My mother uses herbs," said Adam. "So does yours."   
    ak>  "Oh, those are all right," said Brian, determined not   
    ak>  to lose his position as occult expert.   
      
                                 [...]   
      
    ml>  i've read some of the story but not all of it...   
      
      
            I haven't read the story either... but in the absence of more   
   detailed information about the context, I'm guessing Brian's status is   
   unofficial and/or limited to a fairly small group of people (e.g. the   
   threesome I see here).   
      
            Pepper is doing as I've overheard kids in grade eight doing... he   
   acts as if he knows all about some topic or other, but he depends on hearsay &   
   can't resist the urge to pass along or add embellishments to the truth of the   
   matter. Adam is more of a thinker.  He compares what he has just heard to what   
   he knows from personal observation:  toothless fairy tale hags with unkempt   
   hair & warts on their noses aren't the only people who use herbs.  I'd give   
   him a gold star. Meanwhile Brian is eager to prove he knows more than Pepper &   
   Adam do....  :-))   
      
      
      
    ml>  even moreso now that the author is walking with death   
    ml>  along the beaches...   
      
      
            So many books... so little time!  I thoroughly enjoy the excerpts   
   from Pratchett's work which Dallas & Alexander have cited to me, but there are   
   a lot of other books I want to read within the present century as well... [wry   
   grin].   
      
      
      
    ak>  Maybe, that "occult expert" is like "President."  For   
    ak>  instance, "President Obama is due to visit the country   
    ak>  next month."  No article.   
      
      
            I think you've made a good start there.  Adding a person's name to   
   his or her official title seems to call for a different pattern, however, than   
   what we'd otherwise use.  We could substitute "Queen Elizabeth" or "Pope   
   Francis" or "Prime Minister Stephen Harper" in the above example.   
      
            The article is also omitted in these examples:   
      
                  Mary, Queen of Scots   
                  Hamlet, Prince of Denmark   
                  Alfred, Lord Tennyson   
      
   ... i.e. traditional, formal references in which the person's name is included.   
      
      
            When a person's name is not included it seems we do use the article   
   in most cases.  You have probably noticed echomail references to "the POTUS",   
   i.e. the President of the United States.  I have also noticed biscuit tins &   
   whatnot from the UK with the words "BY APPOINTMENT TO HM [i.e. Her Majesty]   
   THE QUEEN". In a walk down memory lane, other examples come to mind:   
      
                  The Imam of Yemen   
                  The Shah of Iran   
                  The Archbishop of Canterbury   
      
   ... i.e. traditional, formal titles which stand alone.  They may be   
   abbreviated sometimes.  WRT to the POTUS & HM the Queen, however, articles   
   etc. aren't left out although they often are in other abbreviations.  Here in   
   Canada the Bank of Montreal was known as BM until fairly recently.  This   
   abbreviation has now been changed, perhaps because some folks took "BM" to   
   mean "bowel movement"....  ;-)   
      
      
      
    ak>  Making it without "an" the authors imply that Brian is the   
    ak>  only occult expert in the gang.   
      
      
            Yes... or at least he has that reputation.   
      
      
      
    ak>  But "President" starts with a capital letter. Otherwise it   
    ak>  should be "the president" and, accordingly, "the occult   
    ak>  expert."   
      
      
            I wouldn't place much reliance on capital letters, or lack thereof,   
   in informal speech.  I think what matters is that there can be only one POTUS   
   at a time & that's his formal title.  While the same may apply to the   
   president of a local club (e.g.) there isn't quite the same weight of   
   tradition behind the way we do things now.  Many years ago we seem to have   
   used the German convention of capitalizing every noun... but I've seen it   
   fading out within my lifetime.  :-)   
      
      
      
      
   --- timEd/386 1.10.y2k+   
    * Origin: Wits' End, Vancouver CANADA (1:153/716)