In this sentence:
She is in Burford now, - little town near London.
Which article do we use? "a little town" or "the little town?"
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2 Answers
"A little town near London" implies one of many little towns near London.
"The little town near London" implies one particular Burford that is near London as opposed to other Burfords around the country or the world.
In general, if there is no ambiguity, "a" would normally be used.
answered Nov 2, 2022 at 13:25
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1Agreed. We might say "I live in Paris - the city in Texas, not the one in France."– stangdonCommented Nov 2, 2022 at 14:03
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So in this case, we use @She is in Burford now, a little town near London.@, right?– VenroCommented Nov 2, 2022 at 14:15
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As Peter says, it depends which meaning you want to convey! Commented Nov 2, 2022 at 14:23
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I see. And what do you think about this sentence: @Pete has got a dark flat in town. In the village he has got a big house.@ In this example we don't use any article to "town" but we say "In the village"– VenroCommented Nov 2, 2022 at 14:50
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1+1 Further, "the little town near London" might also mean there's only one little town near London.– gotube ♦Commented Nov 2, 2022 at 15:53
Correct: She is in Burford now, a little town near London.
She is in Burford now, a little town near London. (Perhaps one of many towns near London.)
She is in Burford now, the little town near London. (only one town near London,)
answered Nov 3, 2022 at 7:19
