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Hela Posted 21 years ago
Grammar

Sentence transformation 2

0 Dear teachers, 02br
02br
00Please tell me why should we change the indifinite article into a definite one, if that is necessary: 02br
02br
00I felt that it had been a mistake to write 01b00a02b00 letter. = 02br
00a) I regretted ever having written 01b00the02b00 / 01b00that02b00 letter. 02br
00b) I regretted ever having written 01b00A02b00 letter. 02br
02br
00Thanks again, 02br
00Hela 0-
  

Top answer

0I am not sure I understand your question, Hela. On the face of it, it is the same rationale as in other contexts: 02br 02br 00a) 'I regretted ever having written the / that letter'-- speaker is referring to a specific letter. 02br 02br 00b) 'I regretted ever having written a letter'-- speaker is bemoaning the action of writing any letter at all.

— Mister Micawber

  • 0I am not sure I understand your question, Hela.
  • On the face of it, it is the same rationale as in other contexts: 02br 02br 00a) 'I regretted ever having written the / that letter'-- speaker is referring to a specific letter.
  • 02br 02br 00b) 'I regretted ever having written a letter'-- speaker is bemoaning the action of writing any letter at all.
  • 02br 0-
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5 Answers
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0I am not sure I understand your question, Hela. On the face of it, it is the same rationale as in other contexts: 02br
02br
00a) 'I regretted ever having written the / that letter'-- speaker is referring to a specific letter. 02br
02br
00b) 'I regretted ever having written a letter'-- speaker is bemoaning the action of writing any letter at all. 02br
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0 Excellent question Hela, as some people think that articles are one of the most difficult points in English. 02br
02br
00The very basic answer to your question above: 02br
02br
01b00a/an02b00 is called the 01i00indefinite02i00 article, and it is used to talk about a thing 01i00in general02i0
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0 So Abbie what would you say/answer than to : 02br
02br
00"I felt that it had been a mistake to write 01b00a02b00 letter" 02br
02br
00a) I regretted ever having written 01b00the02b00 letter. OR 02br
00b) I regretted ever having written 01b00a02b00 letter. OR BOTH ? 0
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0 It is difficult to answer definitively without the context, Hela. 02br
02br
00Do you mean that you wish you hadn't written at all, or that you wish you had written a 01i00different02i00 letter? 02br
02br
00If you wish you hadn't written at all, then you would say 01b00a02b00 letter. 02br
02br
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0 Thank you very much Abbie for this explanation and also for the site. 02br
02br
00Cheers 0-
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