The text that you have is <a> descriptive narrative.

[JJXR]

Hello to all,

Thanks for reading my post.


Sample sentence:

The text that you have is <a> descriptive narrative.

Question:

Is the bolded "a" optional? If so, why would one include it in the sentence?


Thanks a lot for any comments, corrections or suggestions!

Regards,
JJXR

 

[Florentia52]

Please give us the context for this sentence. If you didn't write it yourself, please tell us where you found it.

 

[JJXR]

Thanks for the response, Florentia52. I wrote it myself. For example, someone answers another person's question regarding the use of the past perfect tense: "The text that you have is a descriptive narrative and therefore the past perfect tense is required."

 

[Uncle Jack]

What you have is an example of a descriptive narrative text, and in this case the indefinite article is almost always used. I think the only time it can be omitted (and that optionally) is when referring to a work by a named person:

The text that you have is early Shakespeare.
The text that you have is an early Shakespeare.​

Naturally, when the meaning is not "an example of" but the thing itself, then you use "the" (or nothing for a person or animal's name):

Congratulations, what you have here is the Mona Lisa. However did you acquire it?​

This form only works if there is only one of the thing in existence.

​

 

[JJXR]

Thanks Uncle Jack.

 

[ain'ttranslationfun?]

Hi, Uncle Jack,

I'm not sure why, but I wouldn't say "an early xxxx" about writers, athough we do say "an early Matisse/Rodin, etc." - mightn't it be preferable to use a noun ("an early poem/play by xxxx"?