Anonymous Posted 10 years ago
Grammar
Grammar
I'm an Indian who really has problems understanding articles. I've a couple of questions. First, which of these sentences are correct, and why?
Mark, the son of Mr and Mrs Adams, will turn 25 this Monday.
Mark, a son of Mr and Mrs Adams, will turn 25 this Monday.
Mark, the son of Mr and Mrs Adams, will turn 25 this Monday.
Mark, a son of Mr and Mrs Adams, will turn 25 this Monday.
Top answer
Ah. My personal bane.
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"the son of Mr. and Mrs. Adams" means that there's only one son. "The" is a definite article. It's used for a specific thing that the people in a conversation already know about.
"a son of Mr. and Mrs. Adams" means that they have more than one son. "A" is an indefinite article. It's used when people in a conversation don't already know what thing (in this case, what son) you mean.
"a son of Mr. and Mrs. Adams" means that they have more than one son. "A" is an indefinite article. It's used when people in a conversation don't already know what thing (in this case, what son) you mean.
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So that means if we use 'the son' here, we are assuming that the listener also knows his parents. In the latter case, we are just telling that he is a son of some Mr and Mrs Adams
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No. The listener may or may not know the parents in these sentences. There is no connection between this and the article in front of 'son'.
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