A few grammar books carried by ESL students suggest that "there is" only takes indefinite articles such as "a/an", as in "There is an apple". Anything else, such as "the, my, our, his", is not supposed to

Ant, you mean that even article the is used with countable nouns or the nouns which are acting as countable nouns. Yes, but it can be used with uncountable nouns as well. Countable (along the lines of GG's example): " The happiness that

A few grammar books carried by ESL students suggest that "there is" only takes indefinite articles such as "a/an", as in "There is an apple". Anything else, such as "the, my, our, his", is not supposed to

I need your opinion on "there": A few grammar books carried by ESL students suggest that "there is" only takes indefinite articles such as "a/an", as in "There is an apple". Anything else, such as "the,

Thank you. You said: Usually when we introduce a common noun into a conversation for the first time we use the indefinite article , then when we refer back to that item/person/etc. we use the definite . Does it apply to what seems to be a common

GG, your post is just to the point. It's just that I do consider such nouns countable when they're used the way you showed. The very specifying of special properties makes these nouns refer to an instance of happiness or ecstasy, thus

GG, your post is just to the point. It's just that I do consider such nouns countable when they're used the way you showed. The very specifying of special properties makes these nouns refer to an instance of happiness or ecstasy, thus

Usually when we introduce a common noun into a conversation for the first time we use the indefinite article , then when we refer back to that item/person/etc. we use the definite . There was a man . The man was eating an apple . Although the

. Hello Mathew, and welcome to English Forums. The 2 pronunciations of 'the ' are not grammar rules, but physical effects of the smooth flow of sounds between words-- they are more like laws of physics. Native speakers (lucky us!) do not

IMHO to use the indefinite article (or none) would imply that it might not be there, in contrast to your opening clause. Of course "It is there to dig" may mean "That's where one should dig." (It does have kind of an