A or the

Question

Who is (a / the) man who invented electricity?In this case, which is natural ,'a' or 'the'?Please add the reason of the selection.thank you.

Duncan McLaren · Accepted Answer

THE, because it's proper English.

Hhanz10 · Answer

Why is 'a'  unnatural in this case?

Ivanhr · Answer

hhanz10Why is 'a' unnatural in this case?

'The' is used when you want to identify someone or something. 'A' is used in classifying expressions and in expressions requiring no identification.

The person who invented electricity was a man. (the person/identifying expression; a man/classifying expression).

Suppose you have 1 black pen and three red ones. You can ask

Give me the black pen. (identifying expression because there's only one black pen) or you could say

Give me a red pen. (expression requiring no identification because any red pen will do) or

Give me the red pen in the middle. (identifying expression because there's only one red pen that's in the middle)

A or the

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