definite/indefinite article problem
Posted: Fri May 25, 2012 4:45 am
I was trying to explain something to my students about articles and found myself stumped. Here is the example I used:
Q: What is wrong with you car?
A #1: The radiator is broken. (The definite article is used because both the speaker and the listener know which radiator they are referring to.)
A #2: It has a broken radiator.
Even though I know that A #2 cannot use the definite article, I cannot explain why it uses the indefinite article, "A."
Could anyone please explain this? Thanks.
Q: What is wrong with you car?
A #1: The radiator is broken. (The definite article is used because both the speaker and the listener know which radiator they are referring to.)
A #2: It has a broken radiator.
Even though I know that A #2 cannot use the definite article, I cannot explain why it uses the indefinite article, "A."
Could anyone please explain this? Thanks.