Subj : Articles again
To   : All
From : Gleb Hlebov
Date : Sun Jan 05 2025 23:05:08

Hi All,

There's an interesting case of using the indefinite article here in
conjunction with an adjective ("whopping") and a number of
objects/units, mostly in big enough quantities.

So, instead of just bare facts:

    The car sped by at 110 miles per hour;
    The park is home to 862 wildflower species;
    The smartphone even has a longer battery life of up to 72 hours;

this way you're supposed to make your speech/writing a bit more
"energetic":

    The car sped by at a whopping 110 miles per hour;
    The park is home to a whopping 862 wildflower species;
    The smartphone even has a longer battery life of up to a whopping
    72 hours.

By the way it seems to be missing from the "Advanced article usage"
guide (which is very helpful nonetheless) --
https://allisonlibrary.regent-college.edu/sites/default/files/Article%20Usage.pdf

More article tutorials -- https://www.englishpage.com/articles/index.htm


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