It might be a dumb question but I would like to ask when should we use A and THE. I have found a lot of many definitions, rules but I can't to realize them in pracice. Please give some useful advices. I'll be appreciate ;)
A or THE
Generally you would say "a" when it's nothing specific and you would use "the" when you are talking about something specific...
Sorry, I know that's not very helpful... But that's all that really comes to mind...
Sorry, I know that's not very helpful... But that's all that really comes to mind...
"Death" asks this question?
What happened? Did you come to take someone but were somehow bested by a grammar question?
Skippy, darn you! Don't help "death" or anyone named "G. Reaper" in the future please.
What happened? Did you come to take someone but were somehow bested by a grammar question?
Skippy, darn you! Don't help "death" or anyone named "G. Reaper" in the future please.
The basic idea is that you use "the" when you expect the listener to know about the thing you're talking about, and "a" when you don't. For example:
"A dog is in the street."
"The dog is in the street."
In the first sentence, we don't know this dog. It could be any dog at all. In the second sentence, the listener is expected to know which dog is being talked about -- it's a *particular* dog.
You can also use "a" to introduce a topic, and "the" once the topic is established:
"A dog is in the street. The dog is barking."
In the first sentence, we are "introducing" the dog: we don't expect the listener to know about this dog yet. But in the second sentence, we're talking about the same dog -- the dog in the street -- so we use "the" because the listener knows which dog we're talking about.
Now suppose that a day has passed and we see the same dog again the next day. The listener might have forgotten about the dog we were talking about, so "The dog is in the street again" might not be enough. But I wouldn't say "A dog is in the street again" unless it were a different dog. So I might say, "The dog we saw yesterday is in the street again." (In colloquial speech, one could also say "That dog we saw yesterday...", but you don't need to worry too much about that right now. :))
Hope this helps. :)
- Kef
"A dog is in the street."
"The dog is in the street."
In the first sentence, we don't know this dog. It could be any dog at all. In the second sentence, the listener is expected to know which dog is being talked about -- it's a *particular* dog.
You can also use "a" to introduce a topic, and "the" once the topic is established:
"A dog is in the street. The dog is barking."
In the first sentence, we are "introducing" the dog: we don't expect the listener to know about this dog yet. But in the second sentence, we're talking about the same dog -- the dog in the street -- so we use "the" because the listener knows which dog we're talking about.
Now suppose that a day has passed and we see the same dog again the next day. The listener might have forgotten about the dog we were talking about, so "The dog is in the street again" might not be enough. But I wouldn't say "A dog is in the street again" unless it were a different dog. So I might say, "The dog we saw yesterday is in the street again." (In colloquial speech, one could also say "That dog we saw yesterday...", but you don't need to worry too much about that right now. :))
Hope this helps. :)
- Kef