I have been confused about the grammar in the use of the articles in English since I started learning the language seriously, that is around two years ago. I still don’t think that I am quite confident to handle them naturally and freely in various contexts and wondered if any of the native speakers could help me resolve the problem at once. (or at twice would be all right as well! )

For example, ‘a dog’ with a ribbon is definitely not as specific as ‘the crazy dog that I saw in the park last night…’.

But even in the second sentence, if I am speaking to a person about the story for the first time, shouldn’t the preceding article of the word ‘dog’ be the indefinite ‘a’?

Another example, which is more abstract: You should not pass up an/the (?) opportunity of going to the restaurant that I have told you before, if you ever come to this area. The love of mother. The tension between the South and North Koreas. The/A(?) agony of despair.

Oops, I cannot think of good examples right now. But anyway I often experience a/the(?) situation where I am not so sure if the/a(?) sentence or word is SPECIFIC enough to be preceded by the definite article ‘the’ or too general and therefore should be preceded by ‘a’. Do you understand my question? Basically I cannot easily draw a/the(?) border between SPECIFIC and GENERAL, besides some obvious a-piece-of-cake cases.

Please also correct the sentences with a question mark by choosing between a and the.

Thanks a lot.

-A determined English learner.

I enjoy the show Ramsey’s Kitchen Nightmares and love how Gordon works with failing restaurants to try to turn them around. How much of the show is real, and how much is “staged” for the TV audience? I have heard that sometimes the producers will hire people for dramatic effect and tension. It is interesting how the restaurants’ owners seek Chef Ramsey’s help, but most instances turn into shouting matches!

I am looking for an on-line guide concerning the status of restaurants that Gordon has visited on the show.(USA version) to see whether or not they are still open. Also, what establishments have not taken Gordon’s advice, and have reverted back to their old ways?

Jeff

A bottle of soy sauce sits near the edge of a circular turntable in the middle of a big family table in a restaurant. As a child spins the turntable with constant angular velocity, which one of the following forces provides the “centripetal force” that keeps the bottle moving in a circle, intead of flying off?
A: Weight
B: normal force
C: tension
D: friction
E: centrifugal force

I know that
centripetal force = (m) * (a) = m * w^2 *r = (mv^2) / r

So the answer must be friction. Am I correct?

Part II: In order to further ensure that the bottle does not fly off, which of the following things could you do?
A: move the bottle closer to the center
B: spin the turntable faster
C: increase the period of rotation
D: make the turntable stickier
E: empty out some of the soy sauce

My answer is either C or D. I know mass is negligent, so that eliminates D. I know that I want a choice that will increase the friction force I chose above. But I’m lose. Help please?

McDonald’s Corp. would neither confirm nor deny on Tuesday the reported national introduction this summer of its long-tested Angus Third Pounder, a product rollout that sources say could spark some franchisee tension.