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Ask for help > When you introduce where you live
When you introduce where you live
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ttuffl
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When you introduce where you live
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Would you help me which is used, a or the?
I live in a/the city.I live in a/the country side. I live in a/ the town.
Both a/the seem to be used for �city � and �country side � a sounds better for �town � to me.
Thank you always.
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4 Nov 2014
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Zora
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I live in A city... when it �s a city different to the one you are in now. I live in THE city... when you are referring to the city you are in now, or if you are on the outskirts of a city and you want people to know you live inside the city somewhere.
I live in THE countryside.
I live in A/The town... Same explanation as for city... You could also say, "I live in town" for "I live in the town". |
4 Nov 2014
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Matthew@ELSP
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In addition to what Zora said...
Whether you mention a city, a town, or anything else, this rule applies when you are talking about a topic that is new / known to the listener.
Generally speaking, and also for your example:
When you talk about �city � for the first time, the listener does not know about it as a topic.
So: I live in a city. / I live in a town. That �s when you introduce it as a new topic.
When the listener knows the topic (for example you have talked about it before), you use �the � to talk about the city. Ex:
Hi, I am from a big city. The city I live in is called Seoul.
�city � and �town � are areas that you can see / measure / define clearly. So they are count-nouns. They are clear units. A city, 2 cities etc.
................................
As Zora said, we use �the � with countryside as it is not a clear area that we can see / measure / define clearly. So we cannot use �a � as �countryside � is not one countable thing among many.
So even if you are introducing �countryside � as your new topic, the �a/the � rule is not needed. It is �the � in all cases. Countryside is thought of as on mass of something, not as one clear discreet unit of something.
Hope that is not a poor explanation. Good luck :)
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5 Nov 2014
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yanogator
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I don �t know if this is true of British English, but in the US, we would say "I live in the country". We use "countryside" as something to drive through and look at, but not a place to live. We were driving along, enjoying the countryside, even though we live in the country, so it is all around us. Bruce |
5 Nov 2014
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Zora
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Thanks Matthew and Bruce for explaining a bit more. 
In Canada, we generally use �country/countryside� the same way as in the US. However, there are people that will sometimes use it as in the example. |
5 Nov 2014
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ttuffl
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Thank you Zora, Matthew and Bruce for your kind help. |
5 Nov 2014
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