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Deepak chop Posted 10 years ago
Grammar

A/the gun from a/the table

Dear Teachers,

I am retelling a scene from a book/movie to someone. I say:
"Do you remember that scene where the character takes a/the gun from a/the table?"
If there was only one gun/table in the movie or book. Can I say either a/the gun/table? Or is one of them wrong? The person I talk to might have read the book/seen the film, but I can't be sure.
I can use either, right?
  

Top answer

You can use either, in any combination.

— Englishmaven

  • You can use either, in any combination.
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5 Answers
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You can use either, in any combination.
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Cross-posted with Englishmaven.
deepak chopI can use either, right?
Yes. I'd prefer "a" in your examples, especially with "table", since these objects are rather too peripheral to be that specific, but it's not wrong if you use "the" either.
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The person I talk to might have read the book/seen the film, but I can't be sure.

Then it does not seem logical to ask 'Do you remember. . ?'
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XerxesYes. I'd prefer "a" in your examples, especially with "table",
Funnily enough, I'm the opposite. I'd be more likely to use "the" with "table" than with "gun". I believe this is because the table is a more expected object.
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GPYFunnily enough, I'm the opposite. I'd be more likely to use "the" with "table" than with "gun". I believe this is because the table is a more expected object.
Different strokes for different folks!

But lest we confuse the original poster (and Clive's comment is a good catch!): the point on which we can all agree, I think, is that either article can
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