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ESL forum > Grammar and Linguistics > Articles    

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Wild Cat Girl
Hungary

Articles
 
Dear Friends,

Could you help me with this exercise?

 Which is the correct answer?


 �There is a little pond at the bottom of _____ garden. It is under the biggest tree. A frog lives in the pond.�


1      the


2       a


3       --



Thank you for your answers.



 WCG

13 Feb 2014      





rayyendhahri
Tunisia

the

13 Feb 2014     



a.antonides
Spain

The: we know which garden is meant.

13 Feb 2014     



yanogator
United States

"the" is definitely the best answer, but "a" would also be correct, since we don �t necessarily know that it is a particular garden.
 
Bruce

13 Feb 2014     



douglas
United States

Bruce is right (of course). 
 
"The" is the better answer because the context of the rest of the sentence ("the biggest tree" and "the pond") indicates that we are talking about a particular garden.

14 Feb 2014     



pinkblossom
Germany

 (The) is right, because it is clear which garden we mean, the second sentence says It is under the biggest tree, so the speakers know the garden.

14 Feb 2014     



yanogator
United States

Actually, I �m going to change my answer, because it depends totally on the context. If the garden has been mentioned earlier, then "the" is the only choice.
 
If this is at the beginning of a story, when the scene is being described, then the garden, like the pond, is being mentioned for the first time, so it would correctly be "There is a little pond at the bottom of a garden. It is under the biggest tree. A frog lives in the pond.�
"The" biggest tree is still correct, because it indicates that this is the biggest tree in the garden just mentioned. Also, we usually use "the" as part of the superlative of an adjective. Also, "the" pond at the end is correct, because the pond has already been mentioned.
 
So, it all depends on whether the garden is being mentioned for the first time.
 
Bruce

14 Feb 2014     



douglas
United States

Fine Bruce!  See if I agree with you again! :) --but you do have a point and a good argument--both can work.

14 Feb 2014     



Wild Cat Girl
Hungary

Thank you for your answers!!!

The Teacher �s Book says:

Number 3

is the correct answer.

Now I am sure it is a mistake.

WCG

14 Feb 2014     



yanogator
United States

Well, at least the book chose the only one that isn �t correct!

Bruce

15 Feb 2014