Teacher Discussion Forums

Hello:

I was asked why we use "a" when saying, for example, "That person has a nice smile" instead of "That person has nice smile."

I looked up the rules for using the indefinite article "a" and thought the rule of using it to introduce new people or things might apply (but using "the" afterwards wouldn't apply in this case).

What's your opinion?

I get asked this question by my Spanish speakers because many times they omit the article. You are talking about the "smile" it is a noun. We use articles before a noun.

Andrew Lawton
http://drewseslfluencylessons.com