Two questions about articles
1. Why is there no article before the words "family tradition" in the sentence below? Shouldn't it be "in a family tradition"?
On her treks to the family farms, National Geographic photographer Rena got a first-hand look at the Aguadas process — a painstaking, artisanal method rooted in family tradition and a regional passion for coffee.

2. Why is there no article before the word "town"?
The burlap sacks of beans are loaded onto colorful chiva (goat) buses that rumble into town to the cooperative where coffee is graded, sorted, sold, and, sometimes, roasted.

Question

Two questions about articles
1. Why is there no article before the words "family tradition" in the sentence below? Shouldn't it be "in a family tradition"?
On her treks to the family farms, National Geographic photographer Rena got a first-hand look at the Aguadas process — a painstaking, artisanal method rooted in family tradition and a regional passion for coffee.

2. Why is there no article before the word "town"?
The burlap sacks of beans are loaded onto colorful chiva (goat) buses that rumble into town to the cooperative where coffee is graded, sorted, sold, and, sometimes, roasted.

Answer

In the first case, the sentence is talking about family tradition in general, not a specific family tradition.  If you specified a family then you would need the a definite article.  If you put a "the" in front of family tradition in this sentence, the reader would be looking for something specific.

In the second case, this is more of an idiom:  going into town means that you are going into a town that is the only town in a certain region and that town is understood to be the only town in that area.  
There are lots of times when the article is not used:  Nature is beautiful, Wine is good with dinner, Hockey is a fast game

You are getting into the subtleties of the English language which suggests you have a very good level of understanding of English.

You may want to have a look at this link, https://learnenglish.britishcouncil.org/english-grammar/definite-article

Answers · 2

Still haven’t found your answers?

Don’t miss out on the opportunity to learn a language from the comfort of your own home. Browse our selection of experienced language tutors and enroll in your first lesson now!