Do I use "the" or "a"? How do I decide which article to use?

Question

Do I need to put "the" in front of correlation and negative?

We performed a correlation analysis to measure a correlation between job satisfaction and the shortage of nursing. We found that a negative correlation between job satisfaction and the shortage of nursing was indicated.

I would say "measure any correlation" and "found that a negative correlation" myself, but "a" is ok in both cases. The is not really right in this example. — outis nihil, Oct 03 '14 at 15:50
Personally I think *the* is more appropriate for the first instance. It slightly implies that there was already known to be such a correlation - but since this was discovered to be true anyway, that's not unreasonable. It's entirely a matter of stylistic preference whether to include the second *a* or not, but if OP is concerned about "style", I suggest using "correlation" less than three times would be a good place to start. — FumbleFingers, Oct 03 '14 at 15:55
In your sentences, the first is *the* because it's a specific correlation; the second is *a* because it's an example of a negative correlation. — Andrew Leach, Oct 03 '14 at 17:48

score 2 · Answer 1 · answered Oct 03 '14 at 16:21

the correlation between........appears appropriate simply because of the coorelation being specific in its study between job satisfaction and the shortage of nursing.

a negative correlation ..........would refer to some/any coorelation that could have been derived.

Too wordy, though.

Do I use "the" or "a"? How do I decide which article to use?

1 Answers1