A or THE

I'd say "a" in both cases.

BelieverHi,

Please tell me which articles would you use for the underlined parts and possibly tell me why.

Carpenters are people who make things with wood. One tool used by the (or 'a' ???) carpenter is a (the ???) saw.

"a" because we are not talking about a particular carpenter or saw, so we can't use "the".

One tool used by the (or 'a' ???) carpenter is a (the ???) saw.

The definite article is also possible in both cases, although personally I would tend not to use it with "carpenter", so
One tool used by a carpenter is a/the saw.

We say "a saw" thinking of one undefined saw, but we can say "the saw" thinking of the c

J LewisWe can ask Who invented saws? or Who invented the saw?

I think here only "the" is possible.

OK, it's better. I just wanted to illustrate the use of the definite article for the concept.

Thank you.

Can you tell me how you think the article 'the' is possible, although you would tend not to use it, in the first case. I want to see the logic?? behind it.

One tool used by the (possible??) carpenter is a saw

J LewisThe definite article is also possible in both cases

Of course it is, and I am sure this has been mentioned to Believer before. He may want to read the full page at this link, so we get less questions on the article:-)

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3. General vs. Specific

A, an, and the can all be used to