the

[kpkroy]

hello

This time, I wanted to ask you about a more popular question: when to use "the" and "a"

"the" and "a" have always been confusing to me; in general, I've come to understand its rule.

however, as i was reading newspapers, it hit me again, and the confusion just got worth.


when do you say
"the two Koreas" in contrary to "two Koreas"?
I've seen both, and i couldn't really see the difference in its usage.

also,
when you want to talk about "foreign minister of affairs,"
do you say

"the Korean foriegn minister of affairs" or
"Korean foreign minister of affairs"?

It seems clear to me that there are cases when you say "the Korean government" but I wasn't sure if I could apply the same rule to specific ministries.


thanx

[Tdol]

I would say 'there are two Koreas' but that 'the two Koreas are negotiating...'. In the first, I am merely conveying the information about the existence of the two countries, but in the second, I am stating that these two specific states are doing something. I would say 'the Korean minister' as there is only one minister for each post, or two if you include North Korea ('the Korean foreign ministers')

[kpkroy]

;) thanx