小冠词，大作用

英语自学网

1. in possession of… & in the possession of…
        拥有、占有之意，两个短语唯一的区别就是一个the。in possession of…应使用人作为句子的主语，而in the possession of…则要使用物作为主语，of后跟someone。
        例句：
He was caught in possession of a gun and some drugs.
那个嫌疑犯被逮住的时候被发现携有一支枪和一些毒品。
这句话也可以转换为A gun and some drugs were in the possession of the suspect when he was caught.

2. in charge of… & in someone's charge
        管理、负责之意。这组短语和第一组类似，主语是人还是物，大家一定要留心。
        例句：
He was selected to be in charge of the new department. 他被选做这个新部门的负责人。
The new department was in the manager's charge since it was founded. 这个新部门成立时就是由经理来负责的。

3. in fashion & in a fashion
        in fashion意为正在流行，相关短语还有come into fashion开始流行、bring…into fashion使某物流行。
        例句：
Jeans are still in fashion this year. 今年牛仔裤仍旧十分流行。
若是在中间加了冠词a，意思可就截然不同了。in a fashion意为勉强、马马虎虎，和after a fashion意思相同。
        例句：Jennifer told me she could play tennis in a fashion/after a fashion.
珍妮弗告诉我她网球打得马马虎虎。