where should i use "the" and "a"?

Answer 1

very easy... you use 'a' if you mean one of many... and you know nothing more about it...

but you use 'the' when you mean a specific thing that you and the listener know.

example... you are in A museum. (jsut some museum... we dont know which)
while you are in THE museum...( now that we have spoken about it, it becomes a specific museum... the one you are in right now.)... you see A man. ( again an unspeciefied man) THE man watches A Picture... Then he looks at Another. After a glance Backwards to THE first, he walks to THE main exit.
( although we didnt speak about exits, we know which one... the exit of the museum).

sounds a bit complicated... but if yu think about it, i am sure you have a similar distinction in your own language. once you realize that, it will be easy.

Answer 2

Use the with things that are already familiar and introduced in the text: The policeman when u've already mentioned him once whilst for the first time, you would say a policeman. The will also be used with general truths: The Himalayas and the sun, the moon etc since we all know there's just one of them!

Answer 3

Basically The is used when you are referring to the subject several times. A is used when u are referring to the subject the 1st time.

Answer 4

You use 'the' to refer to a specific thing. For example I went to the Bank of Lower Slobobia .

You use 'a' to refer to a general class of things. For example a monkey is more intelligent than a lot of the people who use 'Yahoo Answers'.

Answer 5

"the' is the article that you use when you want to refer to something specific- ex. you point to a book and say, " Please give me the book", (You mean ONLY THAT PARTicular book). as opposed to saying, "Give me a book"- and that could meany ANY book. Use "an" the same way in which you would use "a" when the noun about which you it is referring begins with a vowel. eg. AN elephant!

Answer 6

"The" should be used when there is only one object you can be referring to - or you are referring to a specific object "The car is red" (implied here is "this car - not some random car out there is red").

"A" is indefinite - "A car is red". What car? Who cares? Some car out there is red. It could be any car.

Answer 7

The is use before an adjective functioning as nouns.

Answer 8

"The" should be used when the object is definite or in some phrases, "a" is used in other situations.

Answer 9

in a sentence when you speak.