at a zero-to-eighteen-month level of a typical development (article use)

[Alexey86]

b) The building that he is in has only one fifth floor. This particular fifth floor is just one instantiation of many possible instantiations of fifth floors.

Three questions:
1) If I asked you what floor the man on the picture below is on (NOT: which floor of the rightmost building), what would you say?
2) If you were to ask me to show you any third floor, how would you do that (without any): Show me a third floor (my choice) or Show me the third floor?
3) If you use different articles with floor in 1) and 2), why?

[Piscean]

Tiny complication: whether it's a, the, any or whatever, AmE third floor is BrE second floor.

[jutfrank]

Three questions:
1) If I asked you what floor the man on the picture below is on (NOT: which floor of the rightmost building), what would you say?
2) If you were to ask me to show you any third floor, how would you do that (without any): Show me a third floor (my choice) or Show me the third floor?
3) If you use different articles with floor in 1) and 2), why?

Sorry, I don't follow. (Nice pictures, by the way.)

Did you understand my point about how something can be one and many at once?

[emsr2d2]

If you showed me that picture and said "Show me a third floor", I would point to one of the third floors that are visible. If you said "Show me the third floor", I would have to ask "Of which building?" If you asked me where the man was, I would be able to use the definite article - "He's at the left-hand window of the second floor of the building on the right".

[Alexey86]

Did you understand my point about how something can be one and many at once?

It would really help me to understand if you answered my questions above. What do you not follow exactly?

[Alexey86]

If you showed me that picture and said "Show me a third floor", I would point to one of third floors that are visible

That's clear, thank you.

If you asked me where the man was, I would be able to use the definite article - "He's at the left-hand window of the second floor of the building on the right".

But that's a different question! My question is What floor the man is on?

[emsr2d2]

But that's a different question! My question is What floor is the man is on?

And my answer would be "He's on the second floor". A man can only be in one place at one time. Your question does not need to elicit the information that we're talking about the building on the right because that's where we can see him. That building has only one second floor.

[jutfrank]

What do you not follow exactly?

What the point of the questions is.

My question is What floor the man is on?

I think the answer you want me to give here is: He's on a third floor. Is that what you mean?

[Alexey86]

And my answer would be "He's on the second floor". A man can only be in one place at one time. Your question does not need to elicit the information that we're talking about the building on the right because that's where we can see him. That building has only one second floor.

I'm not asking about the floor of that building. There are five buildings in the picture (I mistakenly wrote on the picture earlier) and, therefore, five second floors. The man is on one of these five = He's on a second floor. This is all my question is about.

What the point of the questions is.

I think the answer you want me to give here is: He's on a third floor. Is that what you mean?

That's my point! See my reply to emsr2d2 above.

[jutfrank]

That's my point!

Okay, good. That's my point too. I hope we've gotten somewhere.