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Persona Grata Posted 19 years ago
Grammar

'a' and 'the'

My father had ___ long life.

The Brooklyn Bridge was designed by ___ engineer.

At first I thought 'the' was the each answer.

But the answers are

'a' and 'a'

Could you explain why 'the' can not be used?????
  

Top answer

Persona Grata My father had ___ long life. The Brooklyn Bridge was designed by ___ engineer. At first I thought 'the' was the each answer.

— Yoong Liat

  • Persona Grata My father had ___ long life.
  • The Brooklyn Bridge was designed by ___ engineer.
  • At first I thought 'the' was the each answer.
  • But the answers are 'a' and 'a n ' My father had a long life.
  • ( 'life' is a countable noun) The Brooklyn Bridge was designed by an engineer.
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3 Answers
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Persona GrataMy father had ___ long life.

The Brooklyn Bridge was designed by ___ engineer.

At first I thought 'the' was the each answer.

But the answers are
'a' and 'an'
My father had a long life. ( 'life' is a countable noun)

The Brooklyn Bridge was designed by an
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yeah..there was ma mistake. Answer is "an"

But I think "the" can be used, too.

by the engineer.

had his long life.

had the long life

These are also possible answers, aren't they??
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The usage of the implies that you know the person.
For example, 'The bridge was designed by Frank, the same engineer that used to work for my father'. The 'the' in this sentence implies that you are talking about an engineer that is familiar to you or your family.
However, writing something similiar to 'The bridge was designed by the engine
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