indefinite article

[hela]

Dear teachers,

How would you justify the use of the second indefinite article in the following sentence?

1a) A figure in a uniform appeared in the mist.

b) A man in a uniform appeared in the mist.

a = indifinite because the figure itself (or the man himself) is not defined, is unknown.

a = indefinite because... ?? Does this use of "a" have a paticular name in syntax?

the = definite because we are talking about a specific type of weather (?)

2) The woman in a blue dress was standing behind the door.

3) The woman, a physician, was standing behind the door.

Are the 3 indefinite articles "a" the same in all 3 sentences?

Many thanks,
Hela

[ewelina]

I noticed that sometimes you could use the phrase without any article

a man in uniform

and in case you want to specify that there is a lot of types of uniforms, you use "a"

Ewelina