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Mowgli Posted 21 years ago
Grammar

We have the dog Max.

Hello,

is it possible to use the definite article in this sentence if I mention the dog Max for the first time?

We live in a village. We have a house and a garden.... We have the dog Max.

Or should I say: We have a dog called Max./We have a dog Max.??

Thank you Mowgli
  

Top answer

No, I wouldn't use the definite article if you mention the dog for the first time, you have to use "a". You can also say "We have our dog Max". Yet I think it's possible to say "We have Max, the dog", since you've already named it, well, "him", I guess

— Pieanne

  • No, I wouldn't use the definite article if you mention the dog for the first time, you have to use "a".
  • You can also say "We have our dog Max".
  • Yet I think it's possible to say "We have Max, the dog", since you've already named it, well, "him", I guess
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15 Answers
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No, I wouldn't use the definite article if you mention the dog for the first time, you have to use "a".

You can also say "We have our dog Max". Yet I think it's possible to say "We have Max, the dog", since you've already named it, well, "him", I guess
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Dear Mowgli,

You may say:


We have a dog called Max.
Kind regards, Emotion: smile

Goldmund
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I always have second thoughts when I call my son "Max"...
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Because he has started responding "woof woof"? (Oh wait -- "Ouaf ouaf"!)

Actually, I think Max is a great all-purpose name. In Annie Hall the Woody Allen character and his friend call each other "Max" (with no explanation) although it is not the name of either one. For a while I called my daughter Sarah "Max."
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Lol!

No, his whole name is Maxime, but most people shorten it to Max. I don't like it that much, for all the Maxs I've ever "known" are dogs...
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Never trust your girlfriend with a "Max".

MrP
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Maybe it's different in the U.S.? I know a few Max's, but they are all people. And I've never heard of calling a dog Max until I read this thread. You may as well call the dog Pete or Gary, for heaven's sake. It's crazy.
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Emotion: smile

I ran across one of those "get kids interested in wildlife" leaflets a few years ago. It was MC'd by "Steve the Chaffinch"
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I don't think we have chaffinches in the U.S. It's a person that practices some sort of perversion, isn't it? Is it a criminal offense as well?
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