What's the difference between &quot;a&quot; and &quot;the&quot; in the following sentence?  This is a/the story of a little girl in a wheelchair called Susan who laughs, sings, flies and swings – just like every other little girl.
123917
The single sentence:     The novel tells the story of a salesman.   Can I say:      The novel tells a story of a salesman?   I chose a story, but the answer is the story.
113098
Repeating the indefinite article. Is it a matter of style? If so, which quote is more natural [or maybe sounds better]?     My name is Amy Purdy, I am a survivor, snowboarder, founder of   Adaptive Action Sports, globetrotter and daydreamer.   vs.     My name is Amy Purdy, I am a survivor, a snowboarder, a founder of   Adaptive Action Sports, a globetrotter and a daydreamer.   Source: Amy Purdy Note: the first comma is from the source. It should be replaced by a period.
61843
"The new laws are seen as an attempt to gag the press." In this sentence why the definite article 'the' is used before 'laws'(noun). I always get confused when to use 'the' and when not to. My teacher taught me, it is used when both speaker and listener are aware of what they are talking about i.e. both of them are familiar with that(noun). Can someone please clarify this? I have a feeling that I should've used 'the' before 'speaker' and 'listener' in the above sentence. Am I right?
67935
Is "flu" the only disease usually accompanied with "the"? From what I understand, you don't usually use "the" with diseases / illnesses / disorders ("have Alzheimer's / diarrhea / claustrophobia / dyslexia, etc." not "have the..."), but it's perfectly normal to say "have the flu". Is the flu the only exception?   Edit (this is only a side part, and can be glossed over if you will, so it's not a duplicate imo): What's so significant about the flu that other conditions don't have, so that it's entitled to "the"?
104557
what is difference between the two following sentences? And which one is grammatical?  1- If there is a car in the garden, it will be towed away.  2- If there is any  car in the garden, it will be towed away.  Please note that I am making a general statement and thinking of just one car.
82955
I am a learner of English. Sometimes I see an article (a and the) before the noun (life) but sometimes I also see the noun without any article. So I am confused when should I use an article before the noun and when I should not. Please check the examples and let me know are they correct?     Examples:      His life is an awesome life.      I want to get a beautiful life.      I like the life he lived.
77057
What is the difference between "anyone" and "everyone" in the following context?  For example,     Anyone is welcome to do such and such.   and     Everyone is welcome to do such and such.   mean exactly the same thing to me. But since I am not a native speaker, I guess there might be some subtle differences. Can anyone explain?
38938
What's the difference in the usage of the article "the" with the word "author"? Why is the article "the" left in the second sentence?     She's the author of "The Power of Glamour," "The Future and Its   Enemies" and "The Substance of Style."       She's author of the new book,   “The Intimidation Game: How the Left is Silencing Free Speech.”
65352
Why is 'the' used before air in the expression in the air? Air is an uncountable noun. However, 'the' (the article) precedes the word 'air'. For example: He hit a ball in the air. How can air be specific?
114170
Iv'e never understood what is the difference between the  "it" and the demonstratives "this" and "that".   To be precise, I understand well the difference between those two demonstratives ("this" and "that"). "this" is used for when being close physically or when pointing on the object, and "that" is used for when the object is far or no pointing it. But I don't understand the difference between these two ("this" and "that") and the pronoun "it".    N.B. The same question I can ask about the pronoun "they" and the demonstratives "these" and "those", but in this case "they" is used both for human beings and all the rest, unlike the pronoun "it" which is used for everything except about human being.
10458
For example, what is the difference between the following two sentences:     I had a bad day      I had had a bad day
68140
I wasn't forcing myself to say anything, or/nor trying to be funny.   "Or" sounds more grammatically correct to me. But "nor" has more Google results. So I'm confused.
66465
I am getting confused while using an article an. Because an is used while referring to vowels (a,e,i,o,u).  But today I read an article where for user they used a user.  My question is, why was an not used?  Could someone explain this with an example?
46354
It's not like there's anything else to do.   Shouldn't the speaker say: "There's something else to do." ? so what's the meaning of the sentence and what's the difference between the two of them? Thank you,
42488
In an English test book I found the exercise   That is a book. The book is thick. That book isn't thin. This is an interesting thick book.   Another one example   This is a compuer. The computer isn't old. This compuer is new. This is a good new computer.   I know the rule:  Use the to refer something that has already been mentioned.  I understand it like this: That is a book. - The book is being introduced for the first time. We use the indefinite article. The book is thick. - The book is being introduced for the second time. So we use the definite article. That book isn't thin. - &quot;That&quot; is a demonstrative pronoun. Before the word &quot;book&quot; we should use no article. This is an interesting thick book. - Why is there an indefinite article? We mentioned the book for the third time. We know about this book. I thought the sentence must be like &quot;This is the interesting thick book.&quot; The first mention - a/an. The second (third/fourth) mention - the Please explain this situation? Maybe it is due to &quot;This is an interesting thick book.&quot; We mentioned the book, not the interesting thick book/ So the interesting thick book is the new information for us. I think I understand! Am I right?
119036
Which pronount will be more appropriate to use in the following context?     If you neglect technique during the squate, it may cost several days weeks off because of a high possibility of injury. It/that happens pretty often.   I have asked similar question and there is a good answer to that, but I am still confused which pronoun to use in the context. With wich pronoun does the sentence sound more natural and why?
117553
I was trying to find out sentences without a subject, only object, and I came across  where the poster gives following sentences as an example     Under the tree is a dog.   Next to the park stands a clock tower.   Underneath his jacket was his white tucked in t-shirt and jeans.   Deep beneath the sea lies the mysterious kingdom of Captain Nemo.   Aren't the subjects in them: "the tree", "the park", "jacket", and "the sea" respectively?