MSGID: 1:153/7715.0 d825dc60   
   REPLY: 2:221/6.0 5d82118c   
   CHRS: IBMPC 2   
   Hi Alexander -- on Sep 18 2019 at 14:14, you wrote:   
      
   AK> Reading a novel "The standard of living", by Dorothy Parker, I read this:   
      
   AK> -----Beginning of the citation-----   
   AK> Annabel and Midge had been best friends almost from the day that Midge   
   AK> had found a job as stenographer with the firm that employed Annabel.   
   AK> ----- The end of the citation -----   
      
   AK> How can I explain to my conscience the absence of "a" before   
   "stenographer"? ;)   
      
   Your conscience may not like this, but:   
      
   1) In common English usage, we often drop the article where the context is   
   unclear. In this example, is Midge the only stenographer, or one of many?   
      
   2) You're referencing a book written in 1941, and the language by today's   
   standards is cumbersome and wordy. This fact makes it difficult to explain if   
   one isn't intimately familiar with the writing style and grammatical rules   
   which were in vogue at that time.   
      
   Cheers... Dallas   
      
   --- timEd/NT 1.30+   
    * Origin: The BandMaster, Vancouver, CANADA (1:153/7715)   
   SEEN-BY: 1/19 120 123 15/2 16/0 18/0 116/116 120/544 123/0 25 50 130   
   SEEN-BY: 123/131 150 755 135/300 138/146 153/250 757 7715 154/10 203/0   
   SEEN-BY: 221/0 1 6 360 227/114 229/354 426 1014 240/1120 2100 5138   
   SEEN-BY: 240/5832 5853 249/206 317 261/38 280/5003 300/4 317/3 320/119   
   SEEN-BY: 320/219 322/0 757 342/200 460/58 640/1321 1384 712/848 2454/119   
   SEEN-BY: 3634/0 12 15 24 27 50   
   PATH: 153/7715 3634/12 640/1384 221/1 320/219 240/5832 229/426