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Anonymous Posted 17 years ago
Grammar
The use of "the"
hi, can anyone tell me how to explain to my Polish girlfriend the correct use of the word "the"?
Top answer
Books have been written on the use of the English articles. 90% of the uses of the can be related to (1) specificity or (2) previous mention. Your beer is in the refrigerator .
- Books have been written on the use of the English articles.
- 90% of the uses of the can be related to (1) specificity or (2) previous mention.
- Your beer is in the refrigerator .
- (Specificity: there is only one refrigerator in a normal household) I went to get a beer, but the beer was still warm .
- ) .
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4 Answers
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Books have been written on the use of the English articles. 90% of the uses of the can be related to (1) specificity or (2) previous mention.
Your beer is in the refrigerator. (Specificity: there is only one refrigerator in a normal household)
I went to get a beer, but the beer was still warm. (Previous mention: Beer is mentioned previousl
Books have been written on the use of the English articles. 90% of the uses of the can be related to (1) specificity or (2) previous mention.
Your beer is in the refrigerator. (Specificity: there is only one refrigerator in a normal household)
I went to get a beer, but the beer was still warm. (Previous mention: Beer is mentioned previousl
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I think Polish doesn't have a definite article, so there's really no equivalent. If she knows German, then it would be easier.
One simple way is to say use 'the' when you can point to an exact one, use 'a' when it could be any one of something. This doesn't tell the whole story, but it should help a little bit.
One simple way is to say use 'the' when you can point to an exact one, use 'a' when it could be any one of something. This doesn't tell the whole story, but it should help a little bit.
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