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Sb70012 Posted 10 years ago
Grammar
A/the British engineer who developed ......
1. The watt is named after James Watt, the British engineer who developed the steam engine.
2. The watt is named after James Watt, a British engineer who developed the steam engine.
Hello,
One native English speaker in WR forum has said that only #1 is correct because we had only one British engineer who developed the steam engine.
One other native English speaker said that #2 is correct because Thomas Savery, James Watt, Thomas Newcomen, William Murdoch - to name a few of them. We could include Matthew Boulton, Watt's business partner. In the sentence the use of "a British engineer" is not wrong.
http://forum.wordreference.com/threads/a-the-british-engineer-who-developed.3223328/#post-16314963
I got confused. What's your opinion?
Thank you.
2. The watt is named after James Watt, a British engineer who developed the steam engine.
Hello,
One native English speaker in WR forum has said that only #1 is correct because we had only one British engineer who developed the steam engine.
One other native English speaker said that #2 is correct because Thomas Savery, James Watt, Thomas Newcomen, William Murdoch - to name a few of them. We could include Matthew Boulton, Watt's business partner. In the sentence the use of "a British engineer" is not wrong.
http://forum.wordreference.com/threads/a-the-british-engineer-who-developed.3223328/#post-16314963
I got confused. What's your opinion?
Thank you.
Top answer
sb70012 What's your opinion? Use either one. The use of "the" presumes that the reader has a least a vague idea of who Watt is.
- sb70012 What's your opinion?
- Use either one.
- The use of "the" presumes that the reader has a least a vague idea of who Watt is.
- The use of "a" presumes that this may be the first time that the reader has heard of Watt.
- You choose on the basis of who you think your audience is more likely to be.
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5 Answers
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sb70012What's your opinion?Use either one. The use of "the" presumes that the reader has a least a vague idea of who Watt is. The use of "a" presumes that this may be the first time that the reader has heard of Watt. You choose on the basis of who you think your audience is more likely to be.
CJ
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sb70012So, both are correct yes?Well yes, of course. It's more a matter of which one you mean, which one you think is right for the situation.
I saw a cat is correct; I saw a dog is correct. But which one did you see? Say what you mean.
CJ
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…… watt is named after James Watt, ….. British engineer who developed ….. steam engine.
a) The - the - the (Answer Key)
b) The - a - a
c) The - a - the
d) .... - the - the
e) .... - a - the
So, if you say "a British engineer" is also correct, then option C can work in this question yes? Both A and C are correct. Am I right?
a) The - the - the (Answer Key)
b) The - a - a
c) The - a - the
d) .... - the - the
e) .... - a - the
So, if you say "a British engineer" is also correct, then option C can work in this question yes? Both A and C are correct. Am I right?
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