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Park sang joon Posted 11 years ago
Grammar

Definite article vs indefinite article

Movie director George Romero has made a number of horror films. But none of his film has ever matched the fame won by The Night if the Living Dead. Made on a low budget with inexperienced actors, the film tells the story of technology gone wrong. Radiation in the atmosphere has caused the dead to come back to life and attack the living. Not only have the dead come back to life, they have become cannibals well. Even worse, the living corpses are practically indestructible. Only a bullet through the head can stop them, a discovery not made until the film is half over and the audience has been properly horrified.
[Source: Reading for Results Ninth Edition by Laraine Flemming]
I think "a discovery" indicates the immediately preceding clause, "only a bullet through the head can stop them."
And so, I'd like to know why an indefinite article is used for the fact that both author and readers all knows already.
Thank you in advance for your help.
  

Top answer

The author is writing from the point of view of the audience, which of course is not reading this text. If it is the word order that is bothering you, it is just for dramatic effect. More mundane wording would be eg A discovery not made until the film is half over and the audience has been properly horrified is that only a bullet through the head can stop them.

— Clive

  • The author is writing from the point of view of the audience, which of course is not reading this text.
  • If it is the word order that is bothering you, it is just for dramatic effect.
  • More mundane wording would be eg A discovery not made until the film is half over and the audience has been properly horrified is that only a bullet through the head can stop them.
  • Clive
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3 Answers
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The author is writing from the point of view of the audience, which of course is not reading this text.

If it is the word order that is bothering you, it is just for dramatic effect. More mundane wording would be
eg A discovery not made until the film is half over
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Thank you Clive for your very helpful answer. Emotion: smile
Then I'd like to know if I can take it that the author took into account total th
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Then I'd like to know if I can take it that the author took into account total three classes?the author, readers, and the audience to the film, not only the audience.

Yes. you could say that.

Only a bullet through the head can stop them, The writer knows this, and the readers normally know what the writerr knows
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