the vs a

Question

Can someone tell me when i can use "the" and "a" in the sentance.

Mister Micawber · Accepted Answer

Hello, Prettyprashu.

Use the when the noun is an item previously mentioned in the text, or refers to a specific item. Use a when it is unspecified (any one of many, or newly mentioned:

I bought a hat (newly mentioned). The hat I bought is too large (previously mentioned).
I want to buy a tower (any tower). The Eiffel Tower is going cheap (a specific tower).

Therer is more information here: http://www.wm.edu/wrc/handouts/Articles.doc .

Pieanne · Answer

Just to begin:

- "the" is definite, so it has to be defined:"The boy with a red Tee-shirt"/"a" is not definite: "A boy hit me!" (we don't know which boy)

- If you've already mentioned someone/something in your speech, then when you refer to him/her/it further on, you'll have to use "the".

More will come!

CalifJim · Answer

Whole chapters have been written on this topic, so a forum post can only touch briefly on the generalities.

We use both "the" and "a" (or "an") before a noun.

"the", taken together with the rest of its noun phrase, constitutes a referring expression, an expression that refers to something unique, that is, it defines a thing in such a way that there can be no doubt which thing we are referring to.

Take this example:
"the president of the United States"

By using "the" we intend to present the idea of "president of the United States" as unique. There is only one entity which is "president of the United States", so we use "the". Similarly, "the" is used with "United States" because there is only one country called "United States".

Real world context also helps us create such definitions.

"the man sitting next to Ram"

In this case, we look to find Ram. There is one man sitting next to him. So that one man is who we are talking about when we say "the man". Now if there are two men sitting next to Ram, we have not said it exactly right, because we will be asked "Which man sitting next to Ram?". If "the" is used correctly, no one will ever ask you "Which one?" In the case of two men, you would say, "the man sitting to the right of Ram" (or "left") -- or "the man with the white shirt" if only one of them has a white shirt, or "the very thin man" if only one is very thin. Here, "man sitting to the right of Ram" will specify exactly one man, so "the man sitting to the right of Ram" presents the idea in such a way that we know there will be only one man who is being talked about.

In short, when we say "the X", we mean roughly, "X, and there is only one X". With plurals we mean the whole set, and there is only one set. For example, "the students in my algebra class" refers to all students in my algebra class and I am implying that there is only one set of students in that class.

"a/an" has different uses. We use "a" or "an" when we do not wish to present the noun as necessarily unique, that is, we don't present it as definite. It may be specific or non-specific, but in any case it is not definite.

"A man came to the door and knocked twice."

Here there is a specific man, but we are not talking about him as if we both knew him or knew who he was. This can be paraphrased as "A certain man came to the door ..." or "A particular man came to the door ...".
This is a use of 'specific' "a/an". Another example of specific "a" is shown in: "I bought a new coat yesterday." Here it is not a question of trying to define which new coat it is, even though it is just one unique coat, distinct from all other coats in the universe.

"I hope to buy a home in Hawaii some day."

Here there is no specific home. We certainly don't know which home it will be. It can be paraphrased as "I hope to buy a home, any home, in Hawaii some day, and I don't know yet which home that will be.". This is a use of 'non-specific' "a/an". Another example is "If your car breaks down, you should take it to a mechanic." Here there is no specific mechanic mentioned. "... you should take it to a mechanic, any mechanic, and I don't know who that will be".

Note the difference between the last ("mechanic") example and this:

"If your car breaks down, you should take it to the mechanic on Seventh Street." By saying this, I have implicitly defined exactly one mechanic I am recommending. I am claiming, in a way, that "mechanic on Seventh Street" is enough information to define for you exactly which mechanic I am talking about.

Well, that's enough for one post. I hope it helps.

CJ

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