Wednesday, April 08, 2015

"The" or "a"—and why

It follows from these characterizations that indefinite terms will typically be used to introduce a referent into the discourse, whereas definite terms will typically be used for referring back to a referent already established in the discourse. The great majority of usages of definite and indefinite can be understood in terms of this theory.— The Theory of Functional Grammar Part 1, The Structure of the Clause, page 139

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