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Which articles should I use in sample sentence below?

I prepared a/the guide about component installation. Please, check it by a/the link http://... on a/the page 15.

Oleksandr Sapozhnik
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1 Answers1

-1

1)

I prepared a/the guide about...

If you have already mentioned the guide, or your readers are expected already to know about it, then use the.

The (Cambridge)

Used before nouns to refer to particular things or people that have already been talked about or are already known or that are in a situation where it is clear what is happening:

I just bought a new shirt and some new shoes. The shirt was pretty expensive, but the shoes weren't.

Please would you pass the salt.

I'll pick you up at the airport.

If you haven't already introduced the guide and your readers don't already know about it, then I would use a.

2)

Please, check it by a/the link http://...

The sentence doesn't make sense as it stands, but you can add the word following, because you want your readers to follow the link.

This isn't just any link. It's the link you want your readers to follow to check your guide, so you should use the here:

Please, check it by following the link http://...

3)

on a/the page 15.

Page doesn't need an article so you omit both, which gives you this:

on page 15.

For a general rule when your phrase is of the form: 

(on object x) where x is some number

you don't need to include an article.

For a slightly more lengthy discussion on this see here: On page seven vs. on [a/the] page seven

So your final sentence would read:

I prepared the guide about component installation. Please, check it by following the link http://... on page 15.

You are placing too much emphasis on please with the use of the comma in my opinion so I would actually omit it and end up with this:

I prepared the guide about component installation. Please check it by following the link http://... on page 15.

or if your readers haven't already been introduced to the guide:

I prepared a guide about component installation. Please check it by following the link http://... on page 15.

Gary
  • 9,703
  • Why doesn't page need an article? You're referring to a definite page, so why shouldn't it have the? What is different about "write it on page 15" compared to "write it on the wall"? [I agree about the zero article, but there must be some way of rationalising it.] – Andrew Leach Apr 26 '17 at 10:22
  • @AndrewLeach It's related to the fact that we are talking about a particular page, page -15-. For example we wouldn't write, "Please check it by following page", we would write "please check it by following the page" if there was no page number specified. Similar for wall, if there were a series of walls we could say, "clean the graffiti from wall 15" (assuming they were numbered by the caretakers). We couldn't say "clean the graffiti from wall". So it's precisely because we are specifying that additional information - the page number. I'll write this more cogently and edit the answer later! – Gary Apr 26 '17 at 10:27
  • @AndrewLeach Also see this related question: https://english.stackexchange.com/questions/250568/on-page-seven-vs-on-a-the-page-seven maybe if you reopened this, we might get some expert replies :) – Gary Apr 26 '17 at 10:35
  • Actually I had thought it was something to do with names, but I wasn't aware of the other question. The answer it has, with its added commentary, seems useful to me (and to you, I guess: you could vote to reopen). – Andrew Leach Apr 26 '17 at 11:10
  • @AndrewLeach Well I already kind of knew the answer as mentioned above, I saw that question after I posted my reply to your comment. The answers don't seem all that rigorous to me, short of the rule is do this... But yes I'll vote to re-open it, maybe someone can provide a more detailed answer from the grammar perspective. – Gary Apr 26 '17 at 11:15
  • @Tutelarix If you haven't talked about the guide to your audience before, meaning this is the first time they have heard of it and it's new, then I would use a not the, the last option I provided in the answer. – Gary Apr 26 '17 at 13:36
  • @Gary I want to clarify what I can't understand. The question is always in introducing of something new. 1) I prepared a guide about something. Yes, I didn't mention about guide before, but I'm describing it in the sentence right after "guide" word, so it is not any guide it is a guide describing something. 2) Please, check it by following the link http://..., what is the different with the first sentence? People don't know about this link. Yes, I understand that this link relates to the guide, but at a(the ?) moment of introduction, it is some general link. Or I missed something? – Oleksandr Sapozhnik Apr 26 '17 at 13:47
  • @Tutelarix You are instructing them to follow a specific link, the link you are providing, that is why you use 'the link', there are three parts to the connection: 'the', 'link' and the actual URL you are providing. So it's 'the' link. You don't want them to follow any old link, 'a' link.. you want them to follow 'the' link you are providing. That's why you use 'the'. Now, with guide if you have mentioned it previously in a recent sentence, you should use 'the' as it's relating to something you have already introduced. – Gary Apr 26 '17 at 13:51
  • @Gary I got your point about the link. Regarding guide. Let's imagine that it's the start of email. "Dear colleagues. I prepared ... guide about Windows 15 installation". For me, it is similar to your description about the link. I'm introducing them to read a specific guide. I can't catch the difference. – Oleksandr Sapozhnik Apr 26 '17 at 13:58
  • Or another example. "Dear colleagues. Please follow a/the link http://. You will find a/the guide about Windows 15 installation." Which article should I use here? – Oleksandr Sapozhnik Apr 26 '17 at 14:00
  • @Tutelarix My suggestion is you read this: https://english.stackexchange.com/questions/2031/are-there-any-simple-rules-for-choosing-the-definite-vs-indefinite-vs-none-a which is linked at the top of the question. Then try to understand what it means for your question. If you don't understand anything specifically start a new question, mentioning you've read that question, and pinpointing exactly what you don't understand about the explanations given in that thread, and I'm sure the community will be able to help you answer any additional questions. – Gary Apr 26 '17 at 14:06