Unnecessary Articles

The articles a, an, and the are adjectives. Sometimes they are used unnecessarily. Avoid these errors:

We do not use the before "both."

• NO: I called the both of them.
• YES: I called both of them.

• NO: Please help the both of them with their math.
• YES: Please help both of them with their math.

We do not use a or an after the phrases "kind of," "sort of," or "type of."

• NO: I like that kind of a person.
• YES: I like that kind of person.

• NO: She is not that type of a teacher.
• YES: She is not that type of teacher.

Examples

Rewrite each sentence correctly, removing unnecessary articles.

1. Palmer wrote the both of those poems.
2. What kind of a snake is that?
3. I really enjoy that type of a story.
4. The both of them were invited to speak.
5. That sort of a thing bewilders me.
6. With that kind of an attitude, he will succeed.
7. Max will drive the both of you to the library.
8. I have never ridden that type of a bicycle before.
9. Have you ever seen that kind of a squirrel?
10. The both of us have finished our homework.
11. Has that sort of a thing ever happened before?

Solutions

1. Palmer wrote both of those poems. (We remove the word the. It is not used before "both.")
2. What kind of snake is that? (We remove the word a. We do not use it after "kind of.")
3. I really enjoy that type of story.
4. Both of them were invited to speak.
5. That sort of thing bewilders me.
6. With that kind of attitude, he will succeed.
7. Max will drive both of you to the library.
8. I have never ridden that type of bicycle before.
9. Have you ever seen that kind of squirrel?
10. Both of us have finished our homework.
11. Has that sort of thing ever happened before?