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Moon7296 Posted 13 years ago
Vocabulary
the / an (opportunity)
1. You'll have the opportunity to ask any questions at the end.
2. At least give him the opportunity of explaining what happened.
Q1) Is an article "an" also natural instead of "the"?
Q2) I can't read the implication of "the" in front of "opportunity" in each exmaple. i.e. what's the difference in meaning if "the" is replaced with "an"
2. At least give him the opportunity of explaining what happened.
Q1) Is an article "an" also natural instead of "the"?
Q2) I can't read the implication of "the" in front of "opportunity" in each exmaple. i.e. what's the difference in meaning if "the" is replaced with "an"
Top answer
"An" is okay in both sentences, with approximately the same meaning. There is the very subtlest difference in sense, however. With "the," the sentence is more formal and unfriendly-sounding.
- "An" is okay in both sentences, with approximately the same meaning.
- There is the very subtlest difference in sense, however.
- With "the," the sentence is more formal and unfriendly-sounding.
- With "an," the speaker implies that he being more friendly and sympathetic.
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2 Answers
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"An" is okay in both sentences, with approximately the same meaning. There is the very subtlest difference in sense, however. With "the," the sentence is more formal and unfriendly-sounding. With "an," the speaker implies that he being more friendly and sympathetic.
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There is a fundamental difference inasmuch as "the" is the definite article, and so it means that there is only one opportunity, whereas "an" (or "a"), being the indefinite article means that there would be multiple opportunities. In this context, however, there is no real difference, but it is important to know the difference.
Many native speakers will use the terms interchangeably an
Many native speakers will use the terms interchangeably an
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