"You have borrowed money from me. 'The borrower is servant to the lender.' Book of Proverbs, part of your Bible as well as of ours."
Hi Paul,
Please note that there is no article plonked in front of the word “part” in the example above, excerpted from the script of Robin of Sherwood. I have a question on why the word “part” isn’t preceded with an article when it is used to convey the meaning of something is of a share of something else?
Is it incorrect to precede the word “part” with an indefinite article, i.e. to write “… a part of your Bible as well as of ours”; or with a definite article (if the context permits)?
It’s widely seen without an article in most cases, regardless whether it refers to a count or non-count interpretation. Some other examples:
•Uncle is written with a capital letter because it is part of his name.
•To show they are part of the same adjective.
•Jack claimed to be part of the "Mary Celeste" crew before admitting to his cousin at a party that he was not.
•The adverb extremely modifies the adjective brave but is not part of it.