MSGID: 2:221/1.0 68f633fe   
   REPLY: 2:221/1.0 68f3c65a   
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   Hi, Anton Shepelev!   
   I read your message from 18.10.2025 19:54   
      
    AK>> Johnson and Bell had a good supper awaiting them. But   
    AK>> before they sat down to table, the doctor said in a   
    AK>> voice of triumph, as he pointed to his two   
    AK>> companions,-- ----- The end of the citation -----   
    AK>>   
    AK>> Can you say a formal excuse why "table" in the last sentence   
    AK>> is used without any article?   
      
    AS> This usage needs no excuse, being perfectly correct. Here a   
    AS> combination of a preposition and a noun in the objective case   
    AS> acts as a unified proposition, cf. /on top of/, /in place of/,   
    AS> ??&c. Observe also the title of a Dunany short story,   
    AS> /Thirteen at table/, where /at table/ is singe united   
    AS> proposition.   
      
   Did you read somewhere about "unified prepositions" (URL please) or it is your   
   idea?   
   Maybe it will be interesting for you what native speakers tell about the subj   
   in other places.   
      
   https://forum.wordreference.com/threads/at-table-at-the-table.3982769/   
      
   Bye, Anton!   
   Alexander Koryagin   
   english_tutor 2025   
      
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