I have a question about the use of 'a,the etc...'

[middleage S]

"Koreans follow the original version of a Christmas carol. Australians, meanwhile, change the lyrics of a Christmas carol."

I'm not sure which article should I use to write the sentence above...

 

[bubbha]

It's more natural if you pluralize it as "Christmas carols" (without the "a", of course). Otherwise, you have "the" correct.

 

[middleage S]

It's more natural if you pluralize it as "Christmas carols" (without the "a", of course). Otherwise, you have "the" correct.

Thank you for your answer!

After I change like this: Koreans follow the original version of Christmas carols. Australians, meanwhile, change the lyrics of Christmas carols.

Do I also have to pluralize version in this case?

 

[GoesStation]

"Koreans follow the original version of a Christmas carol. Australians, meanwhile, change the lyrics of a Christmas carol."

I'm not sure which article should I use to write the sentence above...

You're asking about two sentences. Where do they come from?

The choice of articles will depend on the intended meaning of the passage. The ones you picked are not impossible. The passage means that Koreans use the original lyrics of any carol they encounter, but Australians always use different lyrics. This is an odd thing to say and obviously not true. If you use the definite article in all four places, you'll get a less unlikely statement about one specific carol.

If you provide the context, we can comment further. If these sentences come from an exercise book and have no further context, I wouldn't worry about them. It's not a useful exercise.

 

[Charlie Bernstein]

"Koreans follow the original version of a Christmas carol. Australians, meanwhile, change the lyrics of Christmas carols."

That's what I'd do. As noted above, there's not one right answer.

I'm not sure which article should I use to write the sentence above.

It depends on which sentence you're asking about.

Does that mean Koreans use the languages they were written in?