which "the" should I take?

Question

Hi,"the" is used to refer to one particular thing or one particular type of things.Let's say, in the sentence "Graham Bell invented the telephone in 1876," the telephone means one particular type of communicating tools.Now what about the case below?"Are you sure your boss doesn’t mind your using the telephone for personal calls?"I'm actually looking for "the telephone" that means one particular telephone for a reason.Thank you.M

CalifJim · Accepted Answer

mitsuwao23Graham Bell invented the telephone in 1876

This is the generic use of "the".

mitsuwao23Are you sure your boss doesn’t mind your using the telephone for personal calls?

This is fine. This is a different use of "the". "that telephone which is available to you at work"

This use of "the" is sanctioned by factors outside the sentence which can reasonably be assumed to be part of the conversational exchange, in this case, that the person addressed does have a telephone available to him (or her) at work. That telephone would be referenced as "the telephone".

Similarly,

Do you take the bus to work? (that bus which is available to you as part of the transportation system in your locality)

CJ

Mitsuo23 · Answer

Thanks! as clear as clear can be.
M

which "the" should I take?

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