Subj : A rule needed :)
To   : Anton Shepelev
From : Alexander Koryagin
Date : Wed Oct 30 2019 08:38:58

Hi, Anton Shepelev!
I read your message from 29.10.2019 17:10

 AK>> I read this:
 AK>> Annabel and Midge had been best friends almost from the day that
 AK>> Midge had found a job as stenographer with the firm that employed
 AK>> Annabel.

 AK>> How can I explain to my conscience the absence of "a"
 AK>> before "stenographer"? ;)

 AS> On my way to work I have encountered a difficult case in Oscar
 AS> Wilde's play "An Ideal Husband":

 AS> Mabel Chiltern:  But it is for an excellent charity: in aid
 AS>    of the Undeserving, the only people I am really
 AS>    interested in.  I am the secretary, and Tommy Trafford is
 AS>    treasurer.

 AS> Mrs. Cheveley: And what is Lord Goring?
 AS> Mabel Chiltern: Oh! Lord Goring is president.
 AS> How can you explain "the secretary", "treasurer", and "president"?

AFAIR, you can omit an article in pairs divided by "and". I mean "the" before 
"secretary" implies "the" before "treasurer".

Similar we can omit "to" before verbs:

"I want to read and write."

As for president - my textbook says an article is unnecessary in official job 
titles, if there is only one person holding this position at any given time.

For instance, "George Osborne is (the) Chancellor of the Exchequer."

In this case positions start with a capital letter, usually.

Alexander Koryagin
english_tutor 2019

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