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Rules / grammar

GRM-011 Hard constraint layer: phrase

Article required for singular count noun

IF a singular count noun is used referentially AND lacks a determiner, THEN add the contextually correct determiner ELSE retain.

Why the rule exists

English singular count noun phrases generally require a determiner.

Condition

The rule fires when this evaluates true. Paths marked below must be present in the fact base; the engine reports the rest rather than guessing them.

  • ALL
    • noun.countability eq "count"
    • noun.number eq "singular"
    • noun.referential eq true
    • noun.determiner missing true

Facts this rule reads

PathSource
noun.countability You supply it
noun.number You supply it
noun.referential You supply it
noun.determiner You supply it

Then

  1. insert — target noun.determiner

Else

  1. retain — target current_text, No triggering condition is present.

LAKA

Smallest sufficient intervention
Yes
Primary axes

Sources

  • English Grammar in Use — Raymond Murphy
    Self-study explanations and practice for core English grammar.
  • Practical English Usage — Michael Swan
    Advanced grammar and usage reference for learners and teachers.
The raw rule record

Verbatim from 07-core-grammar-rules.json. Also available at /v1/rules/GRM-011.

{
  "id": "GRM-011",
  "name": "Article required for singular count noun",
  "domain": "grammar",
  "layer": "phrase",
  "strength": "hard_constraint",
  "human_logic": "IF a singular count noun is used referentially AND lacks a determiner, THEN add the contextually correct determiner ELSE retain.",
  "when": {
    "all": [
      {
        "path": "noun.countability",
        "operator": "eq",
        "value": "count"
      },
      {
        "path": "noun.number",
        "operator": "eq",
        "value": "singular"
      },
      {
        "path": "noun.referential",
        "operator": "eq",
        "value": true
      },
      {
        "path": "noun.determiner",
        "operator": "missing",
        "value": true
      }
    ]
  },
  "then": [
    {
      "action": "insert",
      "target": "noun.determiner",
      "choose_by": [
        "definiteness",
        "possession",
        "quantity",
        "genericity"
      ]
    }
  ],
  "else": [
    {
      "action": "retain",
      "target": "current_text",
      "reason": "No triggering condition is present."
    }
  ],
  "unless": [],
  "because": "English singular count noun phrases generally require a determiner.",
  "diagnostics": [],
  "examples": {},
  "source_ids": [
    "BK-004",
    "BK-010"
  ],
  "laka": {
    "smallest_sufficient_intervention": true,
    "primary_axes": [
      "scope",
      "depth",
      "magnitude",
      "reversibility"
    ]
  }
}

Other grammar rules

  1. GRM-001 Subject–verb number agreement IF a finite clause has an expressed subject AND neither quoted dialect nor an agreement exception applies, THEN align the finite verb with the subject in number ELSE retain. Hard constraint
  2. GRM-002 Compound subject agreement IF two or more singular subject heads are coordinated by AND, THEN use plural agreement ELSE evaluate the coordinator. Hard constraint
  3. GRM-003 Or/nor proximity agreement IF subject alternatives are joined by OR or NOR, THEN agree with the closest subject OR rewrite when the result sounds unstable ELSE retain. Context default
  4. GRM-004 Pronoun–antecedent agreement IF a pronoun refers to an antecedent AND the antecedent is known, THEN align person and number while respecting singular THEY ELSE request the missing referent. Hard constraint
  5. GRM-005 Unambiguous pronoun reference IF a pronoun has two or more plausible antecedents OR none, THEN replace it with the intended noun phrase ELSE retain. Hard constraint
  6. GRM-006 Stable grammatical person IF a passage shifts person without changing speaker, audience, or viewpoint, THEN restore the established person ELSE preserve the motivated shift. Context default
  7. GRM-007 Tense consistency within a time frame IF tense changes but event time and narrative viewpoint do not, THEN restore the established tense ELSE keep the meaningful time shift. Context default
  8. GRM-008 Sequence of tenses IF a dependent clause is temporally related to a governing clause, THEN select tense and aspect that express the intended ordering ELSE do not normalize automatically. Hard constraint