The Wright brothers invented the/an airplane.

[Nasir]

Which is the appropriate sentence?
And also give the reason.

The Wright brothers invented the airplane.
Or
The Wright brothers invented an airplane.

 

[jutfrank]

The first sentence is correct. The second one is wrong.

We use the when talking about things as inventions.

 

[Nasir]

Is the used with countable things only ?

 

[emsr2d2]

Is the used with countable things only?

No.

Note my correction above. Don't put a space before a question mark.

 

[jutfrank]

Is the used with countable things only ?

Yes. Use the only for things that are understood as single objects, such as machines and devices.

the wheel
the combustion engine
the television
the internet


If you're talking about materials, methods, improvements, and processes, don't use the.

[STRIKE]the[/STRIKE] penicillin
[STRIKE]the[/STRIKE] underfloor heating
[STRIKE]the[/STRIKE] horse riding
[STRIKE]the[/STRIKE] brewing

 

[emsr2d2]

I would use "the" with some uncountable nouns.

He dropped it in the water.
She left the flag in the sand.

 

[jutfrank]

I would use "the" with some uncountable nouns.

He dropped it in the water.
She left the flag in the sand.

I presume we're talking only about technological invention and scientific discovery.

 

[emsr2d2]

I presume we're talking only about technological invention and scientific discovery.

I took the question in post #3 to be a general language question.

 

[Phaedrus]

We use the when talking about things as inventions.

I'd like to add a footnote to Jutfrank's rule, with which I completely agree. His rule applies when we are using the name of the invented thing.

If we are describing the invented thing as a thing of a certain type, then we can (and, I believe, generally should) use the indefinite article.

Wilhelm Kress invented an airplane that could take off of and land on water. It is known as the seaplane.

Johann Christoph Denner invented a new type of woodwind instrument. It came to be known as the clarinet.

 

[Nasir]

Phaedrus
Your footnote is very helpful in understanding the article.

 

[Tdol]

Kress's invention was the first of its kind of aeroplane, but the Wright Brothers were the first of any kind. If we were talking about that kind of plane, I would say that Wilhelm Kress invented the seaplane.