To use the definite article or not?

Question

In the sentence 'La musique représente également un moteur de créativité' why is the definite article not used before 'créativité'? I feel a French sentence about creativity would probably begin 'La créativité...'

Accepted Answer

Hi Tom,
In French, when two nouns are linked together by the preposition 'de' you won't have an article before the second noun -

un moteur de recherche = a search engine 
un hotel de ville = a town hall
un sac de rechange = a spare bag 
un sac de couchage = a sleeping bag
un arrêt d'autobus = a bus stop 
etc

Hope this helps

Answer

I believe the second noun in these cases is acting as an adjective of the first noun and therefore does not need an article. Adding a second article would be like saying "I waited at the bus the stop" in english.