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From: alexander koryagin <koryagin@newmail.ru>

Hi, mark lewis!
I read your message from  13.06.2014 14:31
about From BBC site.

  ak>> 1. in the second paragraph: "But the notion of floating
  ak>> disc-shaped aircraft wasn't considered fanciful by
  ak>> governments and militaries around  the world."
  ml>
  ak>> Why the author has not put "a" before "floating disc-shaped
  ak>> aircraft"?
  ml>
  ml> "aircraft", in that context, is plural...
  ml>
  ml> "aircraft" is like "deer" where it is both singular and
  ml> plural... the context used tells which one is being used...
  ml>
  ml>   singular: i saw an aircraft.
  ml>   plural  : i saw some aircraft.
  ml>   singular: we saw a unique aircraft at the airshow.
  ml>   plural  : we saw a lot of aircraft at the airshow.
  ml>   singular: that aircraft has a propellor.
  ml>   plural  : most aircraft flying today have jet engines.

I was so sure that on this earth there are "aircrafts" that it didn't 
occur to me to look into the dictionary. ;-)

I also found a discussion on this subject:
http://english.stackexchange.com/questions/46...
aircrafts-seem-to-be-occurring-more-often

  ak>> 2. in the third paragraph: Why not _a_ German engineer
  ak>> Georg Klein?
  ml>
  ml> occupation title? not sure but either would work... however,
  ml> commas would have ??to be added...
  ml>
  ml>    [...] a German engineer, Georg Klein, told the [...]

I thought the noun "engineer" is always used with an article when we 
speak of one person. I don't mind that both variants are correct, but 
I'd prefer to hear an explanation or a rule. 

Bye, mark!
Alexander Koryagin
fido7.english-tutor 2014
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