In 2000, usage in Country A stood at 25%.

In 2000, usage in Country A stood at 25%.

Je správne použiť tu člen alebo nie ? Ďakujem

Před kterým slovem? Vždy podle kontextu.

Before the word „usage“. It's a comment/a discription of a graph in the IELTS writing part 1.

In your example, the article (before „usage“) is optional, so you can use it, or omit it. Why? Because „usage“ can be used as a countable or uncountable noun.

usage [ C or U ] the way a particular word in a language, or a language in general, is used. (cambridge)

“In 2020, internet usage in Country A was 85%, while in Country E, it was just 40%.” (sts.institute)

But the AI has told, using the article it this case is wrong. This was my discussion with him/it.

*My next question : Please, why there isn‘t the definite article before the noun „usage“ ? It‘s a specific meaning of this noun, not a general one. (In 2000, usage in Country A stood at …).

ChatGPT povedal:

Excellent question 👍 – you’re touching one of the trickiest areas in IELTS Task 1 writing: articles with abstract/uncou­ntable nouns like usage, consumption, production, access, employment.

Why no article in

In 2000, usage in Country A stood at …

Because:

Abstract, uncountable nouns (usage, information, water, sugar, energy, consumption) are often used without an article when we are talking about them in general or as a measurable phenomenon.

Here, usage is treated like consumption → it describes a category of measurement (how much is being used), not a specific item.

So:

In 2000, usage in Country A stood at … ✅ (neutral, standard in reports)*

My question : But this usage is the spiecific usage. It's the usage of mobile penetration in Country A in 2000 that stood at a quarter. Is the point that this word describes a category of measurement stronger than the fact that it describes the specific usage ?

ChatGPT povedal:

You’ve hit the heart of it 💡. Yes — the “measurement-category” function is stronger than the “specific” idea here. Let me unpack:

1. Why we don’t use the even though it feels “specific”

In English, when an uncountable abstract noun is used to describe a measurable phenomenon, it usually behaves like a mass noun in science/statistics.

Example:

In 2000, consumption in Country A stood at 50 units. ✅

In 2000, production in Country B was 3 million tons. ✅

In 2000, employment in Country C reached 75%. ✅

In 2000, usage in Country A stood at 25%. ✅

Here, the words are functioning like labels for categories of measurement (comparable to “temperature,” “rainfall,” “inflation”).

Even if the data point is specific (mobile penetration in Country A, 2000), the language treats usage not as a concrete, bounded object but as a variable being tracked. That’s why English naturally drops the article.

2. When we DO add the

We add the if we are narrowing down within the category.

The usage of mobile data in rural areas stood at 30%. (specific subset of usage)

The consumption of sugar among teenagers rose sharply. (specific group)

The production of steel in Germany fell after 1990. (specific material)

So:

Zero article = usage/consumption as a general measurement variable in a dataset.

The = a narrowed, defined slice of that variable.

3. Answer to your key question

Is the point that this word describes a category of measurement stronger than the fact that it describes the specific usage?

✅ Exactly. In statistical/a­cademic style, the category-of-measurement function dominates. That’s why IELTS model answers say “consumption rose” not “the consumption rose”, unless they want to highlight a particular subgroup.

It's not possible to give specific advice about the use of articles on the basis of a single sentence without clear context. Usage of what – coal, gas, electtricity. mobile phones, the internet? If, in the context, „usage“ refers to a specific subset that has already been referred to, the article may be used.

Here's an example:

Between 2022 and 2023, the usage of miscanthus in power stations in the United Kingdom stood at 43 thousand metric tons. (statista)

The usage „subset“ (usage of what?) here is „miscanthus“, so the writer has chosen to use the article to refer to that specific subset. The sentence is also ok without the article. So the use of the article in this example is optional.

Thank you, Dan. You are saying, in this case, there is just the common rule used in this sentence. You think, there is no extra specific rule about the “measurement-category” function when using articles in academic style.