ABSTRACT
Each class functions in different (but sometimes overlapping) ways with the others to specify the status of the entity or concept referred to by the noun in the discourse.
Defi nite articles indicate that the entity/concept referred to by the noun is uniquely identifi able by both speaker and hearer. If you say Passe-moi la fourchette ‘Pass me the fork’, both speaker and hearer know that there is a unique, identifi able ‘fork’ in the context in which the conversation is taking place.
