When do I place an article before a verb?
There is a product called "FUEL DOOR OPENER", lets say.
If it is responsible for opening and locking of a particular type of fuel door, is the following sentence correct?
ACTUATOR that is responsible for the opening and locking of PUSH&PULL type fuel door.
When do I put, and not put the article before a verb? Is this even correct?
Also, I saw in some sentences, the article is placed before a noun too. In the above sentence, should "the" be placed before PUSH&PULL type fuel door?
Solution 1:
The short answer to your question is never.
Articles are elements of noun phrases, not of verb phrases. Therefore they cannot be used with verbs, only with nouns.
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This gizmo is responsible for opening the door.
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This gizmo is responsible for the opening of the door.
In sentence (1), you have a verb phrase so you do not use an article. You know it is a verb phrase because it has a direct object: the door. We do not use prepositions to connect a verb’s object arguments to that verb. However, because this particular verb phrase is acting as the prepositional complement for the preposition for, some folks also refer to it as a gerund clause. In any event, articles are forbidden at the start of verb phrases like this.
In sentence (2), the all-important addition of the preposition of to connect the -ing word to the door following it means that that door is no longer the direct object of any verb, just the second of two nouns connected by a normal preposition. Because now it is a noun phrase, the article is allowed.