the postman - an article

[AlexAD]

Hi, there.
Here are some examples where the Definite Article is used before postman.
1. Has the postman come yet?
2. This morning the postman brought me a letter without a stamp.
Why we use the, not a/an article before postman here?
The only suggestion which however I can hardly believe in is that everyone in the UK/US is assigned the particular postman which is not truth for the place where I come from. Otherwise I think that would be a postman like a conductor.
Could you please share you ideas?
Thank you.

 

[susiedqq]

In your sample sentences, "the postman" could be a concept, really meaning "mail". It is not meant to mean a particular person.

Has the postman come yet? (Has the mail come yet?)
This morning the postman brought me a letter without a stamp. (This morning, the mail delivered . . .)

You could also say:

Has John, the postman, come yet?
This morning, Mary, the postman, brought me a letter without a stamp.

Here, it means a particular person with a particular job:

John has a job as a postman.

 

[AlexAD]

I do also think of that as a concept.
But is then a/an article possible as well?

 

[Raymott]

I do also think of that as a concept.
But is then a/an article possible as well?

No. There is only one postman who delivers your mail on any particular day. That is "the postman". If you live in a place which is served by several post offices, each of which sends a postman to deliver mail, you can say, "Have any postmen been today yet?" (This would seem to be an inefficient postal system; I don't know of anywhere that this happens.)

However, if you're talking about couriers who deliver packages from private companies, and you're expecting something, you could ask, "Did a courier come today?", "Did any couriers come today?"
If the person you're speaking to knows you're expecting a package, you'd say, "Has the courier come yet?", or, if you're expecting several couriers, "Have any of the couriers come yet?"

 

[AlexAD]

Thank you, Raymott.
That is right about I wanted to hear.