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ReDSanchous Posted 21 years ago
Grammar

A/the

I'm hesitating about which article I should use in the following sentence:
I remember a/the strange idea coming to me: how come he appeared out of nowhere that night?

And one more question. Can the verb 'hesitate' be used in the progressive tenses?
  

Top answer

Either is OK. You are going to specify 'idea' in the next clause, so 'idea' can be either indefinite as 'first mention', or definite as post-specified. ...

— Mister Micawber

  • Either is OK.
  • You are going to specify 'idea' in the next clause, so 'idea' can be either indefinite as 'first mention', or definite as post-specified.
  • ...
  • I am hesitating to answer your second question only because it seems possible but uncommon to use the verb in continuous aspect.
  • If I had hesitated any longer, I would have been hesitating for almost three minutes.
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3 Answers
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Either is OK. You are going to specify 'idea' in the next clause, so 'idea' can be either indefinite as 'first mention', or definite as post-specified.
...
...
...

I am hesitating to answer your second question only because it seems possible but uncommon to use the verb in continuous aspect. If I had hesitated any longer, I would have been hesitating for almost three min
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That's great both artciles are correct. Thank you.

According to your explanation, I can rephrase my first sentence as follows:
I hesitate about which article..., can't I?
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Yes, you can. But 'I'm hesitating' makes the hesitation more immediate for the listener.
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