He is a Mr. Godfrey Norton, of the Inner Temple. (Sir A. Conan Doyle. Sherlock Holmes: A Scandal in Bohemia) In older literature, the pronoun "one" or the indefinite article was used before a person's name when the character was

1. The use of the indefinite article implies that more than one shop are involved. On second thought, I'm trying to envisage a conversation with "it's a little shop of my own"... Perhaps it could be used even if you have only

Hi all! I've been giving English conversation lessons to a theology professor for about a year now. He's getting on in the years - a couple years from retirement - and his primary goal has been just to get his spoken English going a little

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

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

I've heard the word with the indefinite article: "she went off on a tangent." In geometry, a tangent is something that touches, but does not intersect, another figure. In conversation, a tangent is something touching, but not really pertaining to,

This is not a matter of "kitchen (or any other noun) must always take the article the ", or a matter of " kitchen (or any other noun) must always take the article a" . The articles are used in specific situations. Some situations require the

Hi, Let me try a different kind of explanation. The first time you mention something to me, say 'a'. That makes the thing specific/definite in our conversation. So thereafter, you can say 'the' and I'll know the thing you are talking about.

Hi again, The only thing I didn't understand is #5. That list always consists of the four directions, so why is the indefinite article correct? A similar example: «Can I have a list of the people you have called today?» Can you explain such