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Hi, please help me."Police in Denmark and Sweden arrested 5 people on Wednesday on suspicion of plotting a terrorist attack against the Danish newspaper that printed cartoons of the Prophet Muhammad."I asked this question yesterday.? I've been confused since I read the sentence above. Why isn't the article in front of "Danish" "a" but "the"? It is also the first mention   of the Danish newspaper and there are many other Danish newspapers in Denmark.

CalifJim · Accepted Answer

tashirofirst mention

'First mention' does not always require the indefinite article a/an. If you have a uniquely identifying noun phrase, you use the.

In this case you have a unique identifier:

>>> Danish newspaper that printed cartoons of the Prophet Muhammad <<<

There is only one such newspaper in the whole world, so we know which newspaper it is. Once you know which, you have a reason to use the.

_______________

Don't restrict yourself to the word newspaper, or even to the words Danish newspaper.

>>>> the does not go with Danish newspaper. the goes with the entire noun phrase. <<<<

In other words, it's not

the [Danish newspaper]| that printed cartoons of the Prophet Muhammad

It's

the [Danish newspaper that printed cartoons of the Prophet Muhammad]

_______________

If you can identify a thing uniquely (point to it in the real world) on the basis of all of the words in the noun phrase, then you put the in front of the noun phrase -- even if it is the first mention of the thing.
-----------------------

What article do you put in front of all of these?

___ woman who is my mother
___ man who is the president of France
___ number which, when added to itself, equals 8
___ author of Anna Karenina
___ poet who wrote "Snowbound"
___ house that I live in
___ Queen of England
___ fingers of your left hand
___ English forum we have been using to communicate
___ car you drove most recently

CJ

Tashiro · Answer

Thank you for the reply.
I understand your explantion. But why is "the" wrong in this sentence: "South Korea will launch a direct rail service between Incheon international airport and Seoul station on Wednesday." It is true that there are many direct rail services in the world, but it is the only direct rail service that connects Incheon international airport and Seoul station. Both of the nouns, "Danish newspaper" and "direct rail service, are restricted by the clause or preposition phrase, and they are identified as unique things.

CalifJimWhat article do you put in front of all of these?

___ woman who is my mother -- the
___ man who is the president of France -- the
___ number which, when added to itself, equals 8 -- the
___ author of Anna Karenina -- the
___ poet who wrote "Snowbound" -- the
___ house that I live in -- the
___ Queen of England -- the
___ fingers of your left hand -- the
___ English forum we have been using to communicate -- the
___ car you drove most recently -- the

CalifJim · Answer

tashiroSouth Korea will launch a direct rail service between Incheon international airport and Seoul station on Wednesday.

Note "will launch". The direct rail service in question doesn't even exist yet. You can't "point to it in the real world". Not yet, anyway. Not until Wednesday.

After Wednesday, you can say things like "the direct rail service between the airport and Seoul which was launched last Wednesday" because at that time that service will really exist as a fact in the real world.

Now this may seem strange, but because of prior reference, you can say "the direct rail service" later in the same text, even before Wednesday. Here the reference is not to something in the real world, but to something previously mentioned in the same text.

So there are two different ways that the can come into play:
>>>> real-world reference and textual reference <<<<
____________________________

Things that are new, that is, things that do not yet exist, but are going to be created, generally take a/an. These often occur after a verb that means something like "create".

If these sentences below come first in a newspaper story (or even in a story that you are telling a friend), they all take a/an.

Scientists claim they are going to invent ____ anti-gravity machine some day.
The newspaper in our town will be publishing ____ new comic strip next week.
My friend Jack is writing ___ book about hunting and fishing.

In the real world, you can't talk about the anti-gravity machine (as a reality) until after that machine has been invented; you can't talk about the new comic strip until after it has appeared in our town newspaper; you can't talk about the book about hunting and fishing that Jack wrote until after he has finished writing it.

But later in the story, you can refer back to the anti-gravity machine, the new comic strip, and the book about hunting and fishing. In this situation the only means something like 'aforementioned'.

_________________________________

The principle above (about things that do not yet exist) can be extended to other kinds of situations. For example, things that someone wants or needs. These, too, "don't exist" in a certain sense, because you don't have them yet. Things that someone is looking for fall into the same category.

I'm hungry. I would like ___ snack.

This coat is getting old. I need ___ new coat.
Are you bored? Why don't you rent ___ DVD?
Paul is trying to find ___ good book to read during his flight to Denver.
Sue has cut her finger. Have you got ___ bandage to put on it?
I have to buy ___ coffee-maker. This one doesn't work anymore.
If you spill something on your table in a restaurant, ask the waiter for ___ napkin.

[All a]

CJ

Tashiro · Answer

CalifJimNote "will launch". The direct rail service in question doesn't even exist yet. You can't "point to it in the real world". Not yet, anyway. Not until Wednesday.
After Wednesday, you can say things like "the direct rail service between the airport and Seoul which was launched last Wednesday" because at that time that service will really exist as a fact in the real world.

I understand now. Thank you for the detailed explanation.

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