# use of article



## Joe_Learn

First is the following sentence correct? (I have been told that it is) If so, I am wondering why it does not require an article in the areas indicated: _you need to develop (a) smarter diet, exercise, and other lifestyle habits._

And why is the article used here?: _you need to develop *a* smarter diet. 

_
Thanks in advance!


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## Copyright

I don't think the sentence is correct because "develop" doesn't go with the bare "exercise." It would be better with "an exercise regime/program."

You need the article "a," yes. You're referring to a countable noun: diet.


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## Beryl from Northallerton

Joe_Learn said:


> _you need to develop (a) smarter diet, exercise, and other lifestyle habits._


The sentence is substantially flawed. Did you write it? Who told you it was correct?


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## Joe_Learn

Beryl from Northallerton said:


> The sentence is substantially flawed. Did you write it? Who told you it was correct?



Thanks for your reply. No I did not write it. I found it on a website and got confused by ut. I asked a teacher and he said it was correct but without the article (_you need to develop smarter diet, exercise, and other lifestyle habits). _

He said it is correct because it is parallelism: "diet" must be a noun used as an adjective, making the sentence mean "You need to develop smarter diet habits, smarter exercise habits, and other habits.

What do you think?


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## Beryl from Northallerton

Joe_Learn said:


> What do you think?


I'm sorry to say that any explanation of the correctness of this sentence is perforce bogus.
Copyright is right. You need the article 'a' before smarter.


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## Joe_Learn

Beryl from Northallerton said:


> I'm sorry to say that any explanation of the correctness of this sentence is perforce bogus.


I see. Sorry to ask but are you an English teacher. I am new to this forum. I think that moderators are teachers, most likely.

Back to the subject: Would this sentence be correct_ 'you need to develop a smarter diet, an exercise regimen, and other lifestyle habits.   _


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## Beryl from Northallerton

No, moderators are not, as a rule, teachers. 


Joe_Learn said:


> Back to the subject: Would this sentence be correct_ 'you need to develop a smarter diet, an exercise regimen, and other lifestyle habits. _


It's getting better. It is 'correct', if that's all you're looking for. Often, it's the best we can do. 
The forum rules can be rather narrow. (For example, we don't rewrite sentences).


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## Copyright

Your teacher mentioned parallelism. The easiest way to achieve that with the original sentence is in one of two ways:

*You need to develop* ... something, something and something. (And "develop" needs to work with all three somethings.)
*You need to* ... verb+noun, verb+noun and verb+noun. (Here, the verbs can be, and probably will be, different.)


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## Beryl from Northallerton

Joe_Learn said:


> So the original sentence was definitely wrong, right?


Right. It was wrong.
You seem to be in good hands here. Copyright has this under control.


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## Joe_Learn

Copyright said:


> Your teacher mentioned parallelism. The easiest way to achieve that with the original sentence is in one of two ways:
> 
> *You need to develop* ... something, something and something. (And "develop" needs to work with all three somethings.)
> *You need to* ... verb+noun, verb+noun and verb+noun. (Here, the verbs can be, and probably will be, different.)




Thanks. So what would the verbs be? I am really not good when it comes to grammatical terms? Can you illustrate?


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## Copyright

I checked with a moderator and can give you two options that are correct. The bolded word acts for all three activities and does not need to be repeated:

You need to *develop* a smarter diet, a better exercise regime, and healthier lifestyle habits.
You need *to* *develop* a smarter diet, *start* exercising, and *adopt* healthy lifestyle habits.

_Edit: Changed "healthy" in the first sentence to "healthier" to match "smarter" and "better."_


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## Joe_Learn

Copyright said:


> I checked with a moderator and can give you two options that are correct. The bolded word acts for all three activities and does not need to be repeated:
> 
> You need to *develop* a smarter diet, a better exercise regime, and healthy lifestyle habits.
> You need *to* _develop_ a smarter diet, _start_ exercising, and _adopt_ healthy lifestyle habits.




Thank you very much. So are these the two ways you were talking about: 1) something, something, and something that have to work with* develop*; 2) the verb + noun combinations, which can be different, that you mentioned?


The sentences sound much better, honestly!! But they indicate that diet and exercise are not life style habits. I think it would be better to include the word *other* before 'healthy lifestyle habits' to not cause the confusion that they are not lifestyle habits. Do you agree?


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## Copyright

You can include "other" if you like. Frankly, I only used "develop" because it was there; I don't think it's necessary in the simply structures I strive for. 
_
You need a better diet, more exercise, and healthier habits. _(Which could include getting enough sleep, less drinking, no drugs, etc.)


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## Joe_Learn

Copyright said:


> You can include "other" if you like. Frankly, I only used "develop" because it was there; I don't think it's necessary in the simply structures I strive for.
> _
> You need a better diet, more exercise, and healthier habits. _(Which could include getting enough sleep, less drinking, no drugs, etc.)




Yes, the confusion was mainly based on the word 'develop'. And that is what I wanted to know. So is what I explained correct regarding the two ways you were talking about?

Also, in your last sentence the word 'need' has to connect with what follows as you have shown "a better diet", "more exercise", and "healthier habits". So all three need to word with the word *need, *as if they are separate. Right?


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## Copyright

Yes and yes.


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## Joe_Learn

Copyright said:


> Yes and yes.



And that applies to all compound sentences in which the main word such as in you examples, *to* and *develop, *has to connect and flaw with what follows as if they are a separate sentence. Would that be right?

I can't thank you enough for your valuable help, as this is a very important subject to me!!


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## Copyright

I think you understand it ... although the word is "flow" not "flaw" – and we're really talking about parallelism here, not flow, in my opinion.


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## Joe_Learn

Copyright said:


> I think you understand it ... although the word is "flow" not "flaw" – and we're really talking about parallelism here, not flow, in my opinion.



Yes, that is what I meant. So all compound sentences have to be in parallelism, as I just explained above, as if an item is separately connected to a main word?


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## Copyright

Joe_Learn said:


> So all compound sentences have to be in parallelism, as I just explained above, as if an item is separately connected to a main word?


I'm not sure that it's a rule, but they strike me as odd – dissonant, if we're talking about flow – if they don't. But I wouldn't be surprised if there are exceptions to that comment.


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## Joe_Learn

Copyright said:


> I think you understand it ... although the word is "flow" not "flaw" – and we're really talking about parallelism here, not flow, in my opinion.



Sorry to bother you!!

So I would just like to confirm is that a word, specifically a main word (such as the bolded *to* and *develop* in our examples) in a sentence with multiple activities, has to act or be connected directly to all the activities, and that is required for all sentences in order for them to be correct. Have I understood correctly?


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## Joe_Learn

Copyright said:


> I'm not sure that it's a rule, but they strike me as odd – dissonant, if we're talking about flow – if they don't. But I wouldn't be surprised if there are exceptions to that comment.



I see. So generally that would be the rule or what to do in order for the sentence with multiple activities to be correct, right?


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## Copyright

Joe_Learn said:


> So I would just like to confirm is that a word, specifically a main word (such as the bolded *to* and *develop* in our examples) in a sentence with multiple activities, has to act or be connected directly to all the activities, and that is required for all sentences in order for them to be correct. Have I understood correctly?


That sounds about right. Although as I said, there may be examples I'm not considering that may differ.


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## Copyright

Joe_Learn said:


> I see. So generally that would be the rule or what to do in order for the sentence with multiple activities to be correct, right?


In general, yes.


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## Copyright

You can look up parallelism in Google for more information, and I found this Powerpoint show interesting – from GrammarBytes.


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## Joe_Learn

Copyright said:


> In general, yes.



Got it. That makes things much clearer.


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## Joe_Learn

Copyright said:


> You can look up parallelism in Google for more information, and I found this Powerpoint show interesting – from GrammarBytes.



Thanks a lot. That was an interesting powerpoint. Thanks for sharing. I really appreciate all your help.


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## Winstanley808

A long thread that consists mostly of a dialogue between Copyright and Joe Learner, and I have to disagree with Copyright (and with Beryll).  The sentence might be confusing at first reading, but without the question, the version without the indefinite article looks perfectly grammatical to me, and not nonsense at all.  We could make a bulleted list out of it:

_You need to develop smarter _

_diet habits, _
_exercise habits, and _
_other lifestyle habits._
Certainly, we would not introduce that list with _You need to develop a smarter _
The sentence has been modified by the addition of "habits" after "diet" and "exercise," but we often use one adjective for several nouns in a series.  I don't think we must say, "You need to develop smarter diet habits, smarter exercise habits, and other smarter lifestyle habits."

With the addition of the article, we have

_You need to develop_

_a smarter diet, _
_exercise, and _
_other lifestyle habits._
That would be an acceptable list and sentence to me, too, *except* that while I would say to someone "You need to develop a smarter diet" and "You need to develop other lifestyle habits," I don't think I would say "You need to develop exercise"—"an exercise program" or "an exercise regimen," but not just "develop exercise."  Therefore, I think the first list is the correct one, with "habits" being implied or elliptical in the first two elements, and an indefinite article before the common adjective would be incorrect.


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## Copyright

Winstanley808 said:


> I have to disagree with Copyright (and with Beryll).  The sentence might be confusing at first reading, but without the question, the version without the indefinite article looks perfectly grammatical to me, and not nonsense at all.  We could make a bulleted list out of it:
> 
> _You need to develop smarter _
> 
> _diet habits, _
> _exercise habits, and _
> _other lifestyle habits._


Yes, you can read it that way … I didn’t, obviously. The reason I didn’t mentally break the sentence at “smarter” is that I don’t think of habits as being smarter or dumber. I think of them as better or worse.

As you said, it’s confusing at first … and for three of us to have spent this much time on it confirms that.


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## Joe_Learn

Winstanley808 said:


> A long thread that consists mostly of a dialogue between Copyright and Joe Learner, and I have to disagree with Copyright (and with Beryll).  The sentence might be confusing at first reading, but without the question, the version without the indefinite article looks perfectly grammatical to me, and not nonsense at all.  We could make a bulleted list out of it:
> 
> _You need to develop smarter _
> 
> _diet habits, _
> _exercise habits, and _
> _other lifestyle habits._
> Certainly, we would not introduce that list with _You need to develop a smarter _
> The sentence has been modified by the addition of "habits" after "diet" and "exercise," but we often use one adjective for several nouns in a series.  I don't think we must say, "You need to develop smarter diet habits, smarter exercise habits, and other smarter lifestyle habits."
> 
> With the addition of the article, we have
> 
> _You need to develop_
> 
> _a smarter diet, _
> _exercise, and _
> _other lifestyle habits._
> That would be an acceptable list and sentence to me, too, *except* that while I would say to someone "You need to develop a smarter diet" and "You need to develop other lifestyle habits," I don't think I would say "You need to develop exercise"—"an exercise program" or "an exercise regimen," but not just "develop exercise."  Therefore, I think the first list is the correct one, with "habits" being implied or elliptical in the first two elements, and an indefinite article before the common adjective would be incorrect.



Ye, that is what I was told. Thanks for your input and explanation.


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## Joe_Learn

Copyright said:


> Yes, you can read it that way … I didn’t, obviously. The reason I didn’t mentally break the sentence at “smarter” is that I don’t think of habits as being smarter or dumber. I think of them as better or worse.
> 
> As you said, it’s confusing at first … and for three of us to have spent this much time on it confirms that.



I see. that is confusing. So the word 'habits' can be implied in the first two objects. If so, it makes sense that it is correct!!


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## Winstanley808

Copyright wrote:
Yes, you can read it that way … I didn’t, obviously. The reason I didn’t mentally break the sentence at “smarter” is that I don’t think of habits as being smarter or dumber. I think of them as better or worse.

I'm sure thatI've seen references  in the U.S. to "developing smarter habits" about money, health, exercise, and other aspects of life, with headlines like "Smart People Have Smart Habits" or "Smart Habits You Can Follow Too." 
I wouldn't be surprised to hear the following in the U.S.:
"I stopped going to Starbucks, so every day I put the eight bucks I would have spent on a cup of coffee in a sock, and deposit it in my bank account every two weeks."
"Really?  That's smart" *or even* "That's a smart habit."
So I think "smart" + "habit" is a common U.S. collocation, even if it's improper.


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## Copyright

Joe_Learn said:


> I see. that is confusing. So the word 'habits' can be implied in the first two objects. If so, it makes sense that it is correct!!


Well, two native English speakers didn't naturally read it that way, so "correct" it may be, but it's not a great piece of communication. For one thing, the comma after "exercise" – although correct – breaks the link to "habits" for me – as does the inclusion of "other." And "diet habits" would be better as "dietary habits." Again, for me. So with all of these factors, I simply didn't read it the way your teacher or Winstanley would like me to.

Original:
_You need to develop smarter diet, exercise, and other lifestyle habits._

More obvious:
_You need to develop smarter dietary, exercise and other lifestyle habits._

But even that isn't great, because it goes from specific_ – dietary, exercise – _to blandly general_ – other lifestyle._

Bottom line: while it may be correct, especially with contemporary lifestyle language, it does not communicate well to some readers – and communication is the goal, not correctness.


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## Joe_Learn

Copyright said:


> Well, two native English speakers didn't naturally read it that way, so "correct" it may be, but it's not a great piece of communication. For one thing, the comma after "exercise" – although correct – breaks the link to "habits" for me – as does the inclusion of "other." And "diet habits" would be better as "dietary habits." Again, for me. So with all of these factors, I simply didn't read it the way your teacher or Winstanley would like me to.
> 
> Original:
> _You need to develop smarter diet, exercise, and other lifestyle habits._
> 
> More obvious:
> _You need to develop smarter dietary, exercise and other lifestyle habits._
> 
> But even that isn't great, because it goes from specific_ – dietary, exercise – _to blandly general_ – other lifestyle._
> 
> Bottom line: while it may be correct, especially with contemporary lifestyle language, it does not communicate well to some readers – and communication is the goal, not correctness.




I totally agree with everything you have said. I am mean, it is obviously an awkward sentence and not a great piece of communication, which was why we all were confused! 

Just to confirm that I understood our lesson, where a sentence with multiple objects need to work with a work or something in the sentence to be correct, are these sentences correct:
_
You need *to* “develop smarter diet habits”, “exercise”, and “practice other lifestyle habits”.
You need *to* "develop a smarter diet", "exercise", and "practice other lifestyle habits”._

Although they may not be good sentences and I like the ones you provided, I just want to make sure that I get the general concept that all three things need to work with a word or something like that. Would that be correct?


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## Copyright

I'm sure you mean "need to work with a *word* or something in the sentence to be correct ..."

Each of the elements needs to have the same structure. If each of the elements works with "to," that's fine. If each of the elements is a continuous-tense verb, that's fine. Etc.


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## Joe_Learn

Copyright said:


> I'm sure you mean "need to work with a *word* or something in the sentence to be correct ..."
> 
> Each of the elements needs to have the same structure. If each of the elements works with "to," that's fine. If each of the elements is a continuous-tense verb, that's fine. Etc.



That is generally true for all sentences with elements in order for them to be correct, right?

Also, are the sentences I wrote correct? I am assuming they are since you did not comment!!


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## Copyright

Yes, that's right. At first glance, I thought your sentences were correct – and they are grammatically – but they have a different problem:

_You need to_

_develop smarter diet habits, _
_exercise, and _
_*practice other lifestyle habits*._
"Practice other lifestyle habits" is neutral, in that it could be positive (not smoking) or negative (increasing alcohol consumption). The first two are positive, so you'll want to make the last one positive. 

_You need to improve your diet, get more exercise, and adopt healthier lifestyle habits. _

This is just one example; any number of other examples could be used but I think we've exceeded our allowable rewrite count.


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## Joe_Learn

Copyright said:


> Yes, that's right. At first glance, I thought your sentences were correct – and they are grammatically – but they have a different problem:
> 
> _You need to_
> 
> _develop smarter diet habits, _
> _exercise, and _
> _*practice other lifestyle habits*._
> "Practice other lifestyle habits" is neutral, in that it could be positive (not smoking) or negative (increasing alcohol consumption). The first two are positive, so you'll want to make the last one positive.
> 
> _You need to improve your diet, get more exercise, and adopt healthier lifestyle habits. _
> 
> This is just one example; any number of other examples could be used but I think we've exceeded our allowable rewrite count.



Your response "that's right" is to my first question regarding confirming what you said is generally true for all sentences. Right?

I got it. So they both are grammatically correct but they have a different problem in which the last one is neutral. So if I make the last one "*practice other **healthy** lifestyle habits", *it will be positive like the first two and thus, solve the problem. Would that be correct now?

Also, to break down your sentence, it would be like that:
You need to
- improve your diet,
- get more exercise,
- and adopt healthier lifestyle habits.

Correct?


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## Copyright

Joe_Learn said:


> Your response "that's right" is to my first question regarding confirming what you said is generally true for all sentences. Right?


Yes.


> I got it. So they both are grammatically correct but they have a different problem in which the last one is neutral. So if I make the last one "*practice other **healthy** lifestyle habits", *it will be positive like the first two and thus, solve the problem. Would that be correct now?


Yes, for grammar, but I just noticed there is "habits" in both the first and third items. Not good ... see highlights below:

_You need to_

_develop smarter diet *habits*, _
_exercise, and _
_practice other lifestyle* habits*._



> Also, to break down your sentence, it would be like that:
> You need to
> - improve your diet,
> - get more exercise,
> - and adopt healthier lifestyle habits.
> 
> Correct?


Yes.


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## Joe_Learn

Copyright said:


> Yes.
> 
> Yes, for grammar, but I just noticed there is "habits" in both the first and third items. Not good ... see highlights below:
> 
> _You need to_
> 
> _develop smarter diet *habits*, _
> _exercise, and _
> _practice other lifestyle* habits*._
> 
> Yes.



Great!! So you mean only the first example has habits in the first and last items, which is grammatically correct but not a really good sentence. Have I understood correctly?

The second example has habits only in the last, so you are not referring to that, right?


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## Copyright

Yes, and yes I'm not referring to that, in that order to your questions.


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## Joe_Learn

Copyright said:


> Yes, and yes I'm not referring to that, in that order to your questions.



Hehe Well thank you very much for an awesome lesson. I have learned a lot from you. Can I send you a private message if I need help with another question(s) in the future?


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## Copyright

I'm afraid I only answer questions on the forum – that way everyone can learn, even me. (See post 27.) 

And you'll get better answers from the group, because _"None of us is as smart as all of us"_
― Kenneth H. Blanchard


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## Joe_Learn

Copyright said:


> I'm afraid I only answer questions on the forum – that way everyone can learn, even me. (See post 27.)
> 
> And you'll get better answers from the group, because _"None of us is as smart as all of us"_
> ― Kenneth H. Blanchard



I understand.  How can I see post 27. Do you mean the one on my thread?


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## Copyright

Yes.


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## Joe_Learn

Copyright said:


> Yes.



Yeah, got it. So an opinion from another individual helped us. That's why right?

I guess I should not feel so bad after all since professional natives English speakers such as your self say that.


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## Joe_Learn

Copyright said:


> Yes.



BTW, I like that quote!!


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