After gymnastics today, D and I went to Home Depot. As we left, we drove by the big sign and ended up with a very fantastic conversation.
D: Why does that say The Home Depot?
me: Because that’s the name of the store. We just usually call it Home Depot.
D: But it’s not the only one.
me: [with no idea where this is going] . . . no
D: Well the should turn off the light in ‘The’ and tun on the light in ‘A’.
Well I’m not sure in which grade I learned the difference between definite and indefinite articles but I do remember it involved tons of grammar rules. Seemed to me it can be learned by ear. I thought this was just a bit of linguistic – and logical – brilliance. No grammar text book, no lessons, no fill-in-the-blank worksheet to practice when to use ‘a/an’ or ‘the’ and yet he understood that a definite article isn’t used when there are multiple, interchangeable objects.
