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Seraphin Posted 18 years ago
Grammar

differences between "A" and "THE"

I think I understand, to some extent, the differences between "a" and "the", but in some context it still seems unclear which one I should use.

Below is one recent situation I found in Time mag.

"The Clintons lure Obama into the fight he had vowed to avoid" (original)

Can I say

"The Clintons lure Obama into A fight he had vowed to avoid"

What are the differences between the two expressions? Thanks
  

Top answer

Hi, Articles are tricky for me, too. I hope you don't mind my answering your question ... " To me the first sentence is the correct one because they're not talking about a generic fight, but about a specific one (exactly the one Obama had vowed to avoid).

— Tanit

  • Hi, Articles are tricky for me, too.
  • I hope you don't mind my answering your question ...
  • " To me the first sentence is the correct one because they're not talking about a generic fight, but about a specific one (exactly the one Obama had vowed to avoid).
  • As a general rule, I'd say we need to use the definite article before a noun qualified by a restrictive relative clause.
  • The sentence with " a" makes me think that Obama vowed to avoid many fights, and that the Clintons are luring him into one of these.
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1 Answers
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Hi,

Articles are tricky for me, too. I hope you don't mind my answering your question ... I'm taking advantage of your post to have some feedback on my understanding of this case of "a" VS "the."

To me the first sentence is the correct one because they're not talking about a generic fight, but about a specific one (exactly the one Obama had vowed to avoid).
As a general
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